Sports

Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Final Clare 3-16 Kilkenny 1-20 Clare received the perfect pre-championship boost after finally holding off roll of honour leaders Kilkenny to garner a first National Hurling League title in eight years in FBD Semple Stadium, Thurles, writes Eoin Brennan. Following a tentative opening half match-up, Clare raided for a timely goal either side of half-time (1-8 to 0-9) through Aidan McCarthy and David Fitzgerald to seize full control of the contest. However, the Banner still couldn’t fully shake off the stubborn Cats who kept in touch mainly through Eoin Cody and half-time reolacement Martin Keoghan. Not even a second goal for the buoyant McCarthy at the turn of the final quarter could out the tie beyond doubt as Kilkenny somehow teed up a nervy grandstand finish. A 65th minute opportunist goal through Cody halved the deifict to just three while it had to take an Eibhear Quiligan penalty save to deny the Ballyhale Shamrocks sharpshooter …

Lidl Ladies’ NFL Division 3 Clare 1-6 Roscommon 1-4 By Ivan Smyth At Grant Heating St. Brendan’s Park, Birr Clare were crowned National League Division 3 champions as a rock solid opening all against the breeze paved the way for the winners to survive a late Roscommon fightback. After losing out in last year’s decider while also coming up short in the Intermediate final, this will be a sweet victory for Wayne Freeman’s side on a day when they were full value for their win with a 59th minute Ashling Hanly goal proving only a consolation. The Clare defence was rock solid with Laurie Ryan effective as the spare player in defence while Siofra Ní Chonaill did an excellent job on Hanly once the Roscommon dynamo relocated to the edge of the square in the second quarter. Wayne Freeman’s side laid the platform for this victory when they were deadlocked with their Connacht opponents, 1-1 to 0-4 at the interval. Clare …

Division 3 football round up Goal hungry Cusacks stroll past Killimer Michael Cusacks 4-13 – Killimer 0-10 A 160km round trip for the Junior A champions as Killimer four days following an opening round defeat at the hands of senior champions Cratloe was not recommended for the Junior A champions as Michael Cusack’s, fresh from a good win over Banner in round 1 were lying in wait for the estuary side. It was a trip that they will attempt to consign to the never to be mentioned again department as Michael Cusack’s were simply too good for their opponents from the first to last kick of the ball. Sean McNamara who along with younger sibling Oisin were a thorn in the Killimer side all afternoon and Sean had the ball in the Killimer net after 15 seconds. Aidan Forde, Joey Droney added points before Oisin McNamara set up the stylish Domhnall McMahon for the winners second goal after 6 minutes. …

Munster Under 16A camogie semi-final Cork 5-13 – Clare 0-3 Father McNamara park on Sunday was a welcome hunting ground for Cork Under 16 camogie sides. Following their B squad edging past Clare it was the turn of their premier squad to take on Clare at A grade. In the end it turned out to be a sobering experience for the Clare side who struggled to compete with the striking and pace of the Cork side especially when they introduced more than capable replacements in the second half that delivered scores and renewed threats to an already overstretched Clare side. Anthony O’Regan, the Cork manager never saw his side in real danger in this contest as Clara Murphy was the scorer-in-chief from frees as Murphy and Eanna Duff opened the scoring before full forward Holly Fitzpatrick got on the end of a long ball and confusion in the Clare square for the first Cork score. Emily Carmody who was the …

On Saturday afternoon the ladies of Ennis/Kilrush rugby club will square off against Leinster champions Tullow for a place in the All Ireland final where ultimate glory would lead to promotion to the All Ireland League. This is truly fairytale stuff considering up until two years ago there was no adult ladies team. Limerick native Gareth O’Hanlon who resides in Clonlara was approached by representatives and players of both clubs and he openly admits their rise has been nothing short of sensational. “Both the clubs of Ennis and Kilrush have had great underage structures and success for many a year but once girls turned 18 there was no outlet for them to continue playing rugby at adult level unless they went into Limerick or down to Cork,” he said. “In terms of numbers, neither club had enough to set up their own team never mind being anyway competitive so an amalgamation of both clubs seemed to be the way forward. …

Just moments after the full-time whistle the Clare Senior football manager was extremely disappointed with the performance of his side more so than the actual result. “We didn’t play well at all, whether that’s because Down are a really decent team I don’t know. Look it, Down were good but we were very flat. Even when we got the goal it gave us no real momentum. There was no pace to our play and I’m just disappointed with ourselves. There’s no denying that they are the best team in the division and deserve their promotion. It’s just a pity we couldn’t test them a bit more.” Once Down got their kick out away short it seemed that we were in trouble and couldn’t cope with their running game. “We weren’t getting across the pitch quick enough. I mean they got several points direct from their restarts especially in the first half and we tried to address that at half-time but …

Clare won’t be lacking in confidence going to Páirc Esler on Sunday as they shoot for Division 2 football for 2025, because history tells them the man from the Mournes are always beatable, writes Joe Ó Muircheartaigh. Hard to believe it’s 31 years ago now, but it’s worth reeling in the years to a memorable afternoon in February 1993 because when this Sunday comes it’s a reminder of what can be achieved when a group of footballers believe. More than that, when they are fully convinced. The last Sunday of the month it was, and to say there was a fever over football because of the Clare team of the day is putting it very mildly. The Banner Ballers were the only show in town, and one of the biggest draws in the country. Just a scan of some of the other big games that were on that same League Sunday proves this true. Mayo played Kerry in Crossmolina in …

Four Clare hurlers have been named on the Electric Ireland Fitzgibbon Cup Team of the Year. Feakle’s Adam Hogan, Diarmuid Ryan (Cratloe), The Banner’s Shane Meehan and Mark Rodgers (Scariff) have all been selected. Hogan, Ryan and Meehan were all part of the Mary I side that lifted the Fitzgibbon Cup for the third time in the college’s history after defeating UL by two points in last month’s final in Abbeydorney. Meanwhile, Rodgers captained the UL side that progressed through to the national decider. Coached by cousins Jamie Wall and Podge Collins, Mary I lifted the title for the first time since 2017. They led the way with seven representatives on the team with UL seeing four players selected. There are also three University of Galway hurlers named alongside one from SETU Waterford. Uachtarán CLG Jarlath Burns said: “Congratulations to the players and institutions whose immense efforts have been recognised in this year’s Electric Ireland Higher Education GAA Rising Stars Hurling Team of …