Sports

The Central Council of the GAA has this afternoon (Saturday) voted against the retention of the three hand-pass rule for Gaelic football. Under the trial rule for the pre-season competition, a maximum of three hand-passes were permitted before the ball had to be kicked. The vote of 25-23 means the rule has now been scrapped, with the majority of inter-county managers and players having spoken out against its implementation. The other trial rules will remain for the National League, with the advanced mark, forward-only sideline kicks, sin-bin and 21 metre kickout rules all staying in place. They will not apply in the Championship however, with a further review to be held after the league with an eye towards bringing them to next years Congress. #GAA news: Ard Chomhairle has decided not to continue with the restricted hand pass experimental rule in the upcoming #AllianzLeagues! — The GAA (@officialgaa) January 19, 2019 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

When Clare take on Kilkenny in the opening game of the 2019 National Camogie League, it will mark the 11th year that Chloe Morey lines out as part of the senior squad. The Sixmilebridge woman has been a cornerstone of the panel since her debut season in 2008 at just 15 years old, picking up an All-Star for her performances in 2013. She has seen plenty changes along the way too, but admits she is taking a different outlook ahead of this year’s campaign. “There are different things going on in everyone’s lives and we all take our camogie very seriously, but perhaps a little bit too much at times. If we only had a look at how we approached it when we were a bit younger, that bit of freedom that allows you to enjoy it a bit more and play your best then. There’s a good few of the panel, myself included, that would have got caught up …

He might be retired from inter-county hurling, but Cian Dillon has lost none of the competitive streak that made him such a warrior for Clare. The Crusheen man brought the curtain down on a career stretching back to 2007, and he has very vivid memories of the first day he got the call up to the county squad. He said: “It was in Mike Mac’s first year, back in ’07. We had just lost narrowly in the county final to Tulla and within two weeks of that match I was called in. I actually got a letter at the time calling me in to go training. I hadn’t really played at any level for Clare at the time, I think I had only one year on the U21 panel and I had never played for the minors. I had only played two years senior with the club at the time but we had a good year that year and I …

PS Chorca Dhuibhne 1-5 St Flannan’s 1-3 St Flannan’s suffered a heart-breaking defeat in this Corn ui Mhuiri (Munster A Colleges Football) quarter-final on Wednesday afternoon. The Ennis side were two points clear heading into injury time, when a long ball into the heart of their defence bounced in the square. PCD corner-forward Ruairi Ó Beaglaoich managed to reach highest to tap the ball over the line and send his side into the last four. It was cruel on a St Flannan’s side who fought bravely throughout with a massive defensive effort stifling the holders attack for large periods. The Kerry side had the elements at their backs in the first half, and opened the scoring with a point through Cillian Falvey. St Flannan’s pounced for their goal just minutes later, when Cian McDonough picked out Darren O’Brien with a brilliant cross-field pass. The Eire Óg man made no mistake with a low finish across the keeper to send his …

St Flannan’s are preparing to take on the defending champions in the quarter-final of the Corn Uí Mhuirí on Wednesday afternoon. The Ennis side will take on Kerry outfit Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne, with the Dingle-based side managed by former Kingdom boss Eamonn Fitzmaurice. It is a busy time for their Corn Uí Mhuirí manager and PE teacher Gary Brennan. The Clare senior football captain is preparing for the opening round of the National Football League against Donegal, but said while his free time is limited, it is an enjoyable time of year. “This date has been a target for us since we qualified in late November. Earlier in the year, it was harder to get lads together because they were tied up with their clubs but we have them since that. They’ve put in a huge effort to get themselves in right shape for the game and we are confident they are ready.” St Flannan’s had comfortable wins over High …

Munster GAA has confirmed the dates for the 2019 Bord Gais Energy Munster GAA Hurling Under 20 Championship and the 2019 EirGrid GAA Football Under 20 Munster Championship. These games will take place in July 2019 to accommodate players sitting the Leaving Cert exams in June or 3rd Level College exams in May. Clare will be in action in the U20 Hurling Championship semi-final on Wednesday July 10th when they will travel to take on the winners of the Cork v Limerick quarter-final. The Banner will also be on the road in the U20 Football Championship, as they take on Waterford in the quarter-final on Tuesday July 2nd. Should they come through that tie, they’ll face Cork at a Clare venue in the last four. It has also been confirmed that the curtain raisers for the Munster Senior Football Championship Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals will be games in the TG4 Munster Ladies Football Senior and Intermediate Championship. This will see each …

Coming up on this week’s show: The lads look back on the weekend action and there’s another quiz to get the brain working. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/558936495″ params=”color=#ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

A strong second half display proved crucial as Clare beat Tipperary by 4-19 to 1-18 in the Munster Hurling League Final. A brilliant 35 metre sideline cut from Jason Forde in front of the Mackey Stand opened the first half scoring before Colin Guilfoyle showed great strength to shrug off Padraic Maher and finish over his shoulder to level proceedings. The Premier then hit four unanswered points with Seamus Callanan on target twice from placed balls while there were good scores from play through Forde and Alan Flynn to leave Liam Sheedy’s side 0-5 to 0-1 clear after the opening 15 minutes. Cathal McInerney reacted quickest after a long ball from Aidan McCarthy was misjudged by the Tipperary defence and the Cratloe man made no mistake from close range to hammer home. The impressive Diarmuid Ryan then finished a point that was all of his own making, before Tony Kelly began a sweeping move involving Michael O’Neill and McInerney. McInerney …