Sports

Ballyea’s victory over Cratloe in the senior hurling championship semi-final as shot by John Kelly

If Éire Óg win on Sunday they will bridge a 32-year gap to their last senior hurling success, a famine that far outlasts the previous drought that stretched from 1966 all the way to 1980 — a landmark success for the Éire Óg Dalcassians team now recalled by Joe Ó Muircheartaigh. “I always remember Paddy Kelly turning up in the Éire Óg Grounds on the morning of final day. He did some warming up exercises, pucked about and when walking off the field remarked to me with great enthusiasm, ‘Today has got to be our day’. With that injection of confidence, he lit his first cigarette of the day.” Tony Kelly, 1980 HURLING hindsight is 20/20 vision, or in this case it was 1980 vision, but Éire Óg couldn’t have played it better in their quest for a first county title in 14 years. You can never be under the radar in a county final because you had to show …

Eoin Brennan previews a high stakes Intermediate Hurling Championship Final between Tulla and St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield at Cusack Park Ennis, Saturday 3pm Let’s be honest, neither can really afford to lose this final. After all, with St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield (2018) and Tulla (2019) dropping down in successive seasons, what initially seemed temporary stays have descended into a meandering purgatory that both sides crave to end by whatever means possible. After all, the longer they remain at intermediate level, the more that the superior sharpness of senior deserts them as bad habits and slower hurling become more commonplace. Indeed, with Whitegate and Smith O’Brien’s set to rejoin the second tier pack in 2023, the time has to be now for either the Parish or the Windswept. Before a ball was pucked, both would have been installed amongst the favourites and while that tag dipped a little as Tulla stuttered against Junior A champions Ogonnelloe in their opening bout while St Joseph’s …

The Clare District Soccer League (CDSL) will hold its first domestic finals this coming weekend with the Liam Cleary sponsored league cup finals. First up on Friday evening, Ennis Dons will take on Hermitage in the Second Division Cup final at Frank Healy Park (kick off 7.30pm). Ennis Dons have started the season in impressive fashion, reaching the final of this competition while also currently sitting on top of the Brian Pyne Tiles Second Division. They have played more games than anybody else in their league but they did record an impressive 4-0 win over Shannon Hibs B in their last league outing. Meanwhile, Hermitage FC racked up nine goals in their three group games in this competition, gaining two wins and a draw from their three encounters. They have won one, drawn one and lost two of their league games to date but in a one off game, they will be aiming to produce an early statement win. On Saturday, …

Éire Óg’s victory over Sixmilebridge in the senior hurling championship semi-final as shot by John Kelly

Ballyea have a remarkable record at senior level since breakthrough championship year of 2016 — a run to county and provincial success and all the way to Croke Park that began with a defeat to Éire Óg in the first round of the championship as Joe Ó Muircheartaigh recalls. It was a 50/50 game beforehand, but when it was all over the feeling around Cusack Park afterwards was that the Éire Óg hurlers had finally come up with a statement performance that could propel them onto much greater things. As for Ballyea, the jury was definitely out. It was 2016 and the sides had drawn each other in the first round of the senior championship and even before a ball was pucked, they’d both come a long way from one of their previous games of real significance — that was when both were fighting relegation in 2008 and played in a decider in Clareabbey that Ballyea won with a late …

CLARE boxer David Ryan is set to make his professional debut on November 19 in Belfast, in a fight that will be shown on TG4.  Speaking this week he said he was delighted that the fight has been made. “I was actually meant to fight the week before in Glasgow, but I got offered this one. My manager decided to go for this instead, it’s better exposure and it’ll build my profile a bit more.” As of yet his opponent hasn’t been finalised with David telling the Champion that a few contracts had been sent out with the expectation that someone will sign this week. Does that make it harder to prepare? “Ah, you just go in and do your thing, don’t care what they do. That’s all you can do.” The bill on which he fights will be headlined by two Celtic title fights, featuring Belfast fighters.  David says that training has been very intense, and the fact a …

The Joseph O’Brien-trained Busselton heads 37 entries for the JT McNamara Ladbrokes Munster National Handicap Chase at Limerick on Sunday, October 23. Successful in a dramatic renewal of the Guinness Kerry National at Listowel last month, the five-year-old is one of four entries from the all-conquering O’Brien yard as the Piltown trainer seeks a first win in the race. Runner-up in the Tote Galway Plate and third in the Listowel Festival feature event, Darasso could also feature for O’Brien along with A Wave Of The Sea, second last year in the JT McNamara Ladbrokes Munster National, and Early Doors, a winner over hurdles at the Cheltenham Festival in 2019 and successful in the Tote Galway Plate the following year. Willie Mullins has won three of the last five renewals of the JT McNamara Ladbrokes Munster National and looks set to rely on El Barra which had Busselton in second place when winning at the Punchestown festival in late April. A …