Sports

Sliabh Luachra (Kerry) 4-15 Banner Ladies 0-11 The writing was on the wall for Banner Ladies at half time when they trailed the Kerry champions by seven points in this Munster Senior B Championship final in Askeaton last Saturday. Sliabh Luachra had defeated Ballymacarby of Waterford in the semi-final and with players the calibre of Aoife Lyons, Lorraine Scanlon, Aisling Leonard, Elaine O’Connor, Margaret O’Donoghue and Mary O’Keeffe in their starting line-up, they were always going to be difficult to beat. On Monday of this week Leonard, Scanlon and O’Donoghue were named as All-Star nominees.The Castleisland-Scaraglin outfit scored 3-13 from play over the hour and got the opening score courtesy of a Leanne Mangan point. Banner replied with points from Naomi Carroll and a Niamh O’Dea long-range free but this turned out to be the only time in the match that the Clare club held the lead. Midfielder Lorraine Scanlon and corner-forward Mary O’Keeffe, with a point apiece, equalised before …

Clarecastle 2-14 Clooney-Quin1-8 A contribution of 1-9 from Eamonn Callinan helped Clarecastle advance to the Senior B Hurling Championship final when they overcame the challenge of a disappointing Clooney-Quin outfit at Sixmilebridge on Saturday. An early goal from Conor O’Gorman sent the Magpies on their way and they led 1-2 to 0-0 after six minutes. Clooney-Quin never really recovered from this early set-back as the Magpies held the lead for the rest of the tie.Five points separated the sides at half time, 1-9 to 0-7, and Clooney-Quin hopes of getting back into the contest were dealt a blow at the beginning of the second half when Callinan pounced for his side’s second major.The winners were 1-6 to 0-2 in front at the end of the opening quarter and while the losers hit the next three points, they never looked like they would get through for the goal desperately needed to get back into contention.When the next goal came it was …

Shannon Gaels 1-7 Kilrush 0-8 Following an exciting, tense Senior B Football Final replay in Cooraclare on Sunday, Shannon Gaels ended their season on a positive note, capturing their first adult title since 2005. Nigel Hehir scored the only goal of the game midway through the first half when he finished a move involving John Paul O’Neill and Shane Tubridy. That score put the winners ahead for the first time, 1-1 to 0-3. Kilrush had made an excellent start and raced into a 0-3 to 0-0 lead, playing into the car park end in Cooraclare. Young full-forward Eoin Tarrant and Ruaidhrí O’Connor (0-2) put over the early Kilrush scores. Michael Coughlan put over Shannon Gaels’ first score from a free as the Gaels began to win more ball in the midfield area. Ten minutes before half-time, Kilrush introduced Donal O’Sullivan for Martin Griffin. However, the Gaels stretched their advantage as the interval approached with John Paul O’Neill from play and …

New Clare senior hurling manager Davy Fitzgerald (pictured) wasn’t surprised when last Thursday’s draw for the 2012 Munster Senior Hurling Championship pitted Clare against Waterford in the semi-final.“In the lead-up to the draw, I felt that it was going to be the pairing. I have had great times with them in recent years but that’s over now and I will be doing all in my power to help Clare win next summer,” he told the Clare Champion at the weekend. Fitzgerald recently stepped down having served almost four years as Waterford boss during which time he led them to the provincial title.Clare and Waterford will clash in the semi-final with Cork getting a bye into the other semi-final where they await the winners of the Limerick v Tipperary first-round tie.In football, Clare also received a bye into the semi-final and here they will meet the winners of the first round game between Waterford and Limerick. A Clare v Limerick game …

Ennistymon 2-13 Kilmihil 1-7   Leading 2-10 to 0-1 at half-time, everybody in Miltown at last Saturday’s minor A final knew the Hennessy Cup was definitely heading back to Ennistymon for the first time since 2007. The only small detail to be ironed out was how much would they win by.Bearing in mind the magnitude of the half-time deficit, Kilmihil must be credited for showing sufficient pride and resolve to outscore Ennistymon 1-6 to 0-3 in the second half. They could have completely capitulated had they been less inclined to ignore the scoreline. Instead, they threw their best shot at Ennistymon and showed why they reached the final in the first place. That said, Ennistymon played excellent football in the opening half and simply had too many lively forwards for Kilmihil to cope with. Both Ennistymon corner-forwards, James McConigley and Barry Keating knew exactly what they were doing movement-wise and they contributed 1-4 between them. Joey Rouine was the best …

As ecstatic as Kilrush people were following the clubs first minor championship win since 1990, nobody in Miltown would deny that the new minor B champions, must have been one of the most motivated teams ever to play football. Speaking after the game Kilrush mentor Pat ‘Rico’ Clancy nearly deafened the packed stand, such was the passion with which he delivered his verdict to a startled press corp. It was this type of passion that drove the Kilrush youngsters to glory, with 15-year-old Liam Madigan especially eye catching. The Kilrush number 15 scored a hat-trick of goals from play, one as opportunistic and as calmly despatched as the next. Madigan also slotted over three points from frees to cap a superb innings. “It’s been a long time coming for Kilrush. We’re 21 years waiting for this. People might say it’s only a B but it’s gone so long now we had to win something,” Pat Clancy said after the match, …

FLAGMOUNT may not be a renowned rugby heartland yet a local rugby coach played a major role in developing the talents of five of Ireland’s Rugby World Cup squad.While the nation lamented Ireland’s exit from the rugby tournament thanks to their unexpected 22-10 defeat by resurgent Wales on Saturday, rugby coaches in a Limerick secondary school can look back on the tournament with a great deal of satisfaction, having honed the skills of several players at college level.Remarkable for its size – just over 500 boys – and almost unique as a non-fee paying rugby school, St Munchin’s has provided a veritable conveyor belt of talent for the Irish rugby team.John Broderick from Flagmount was one of the rugby tutors who helped Ireland scrum-half Conor Murray, winger Keith Earls, forward Donnacha Ryan and hookers Damien Varley and Jerry Flannery fine-tune some of the basic skills of the game at St Munchin’s College, Limerick, where almost half its pupils come from …

Old Christians 12 St Senan’s 15 ST Senan’s travelled to Cork to face a team that, like themselves, had been victorious in their first game of the season.The strong crosswind favoured Senan’s in the first half, who started the game with a long kick which the home side fumbled and knocked on. A strong Senan’s scrum resulted in them being awarded a penalty and a kick for touch set up a Senan’s line-out that was too strong for Christians. When the maul got moving, it was Fernando Gallant who broke away to score Senan’s first try. The strong wind pushed Declan Collins’ conversion attempt just wide, leaving Senans 5-0 up after just two minutes.Senan’s continued to use the wind to their advantage and after some good strong forward play, they were rewarded with a penalty. Declan Collins converted, this time judging the wind perfectly, to open up an 8-0 lead. This was to be the last score of the half …