Sports

Clare’s intermediate hurlers will enjoy home advantage in Cusack Park on Saturday, August 13, for their All-Ireland semi-final clash with neighbours Galway.Last week, both counties agreed to toss for venue and this took place on Monday of this week, when Clare called correctly.Clare manager Kevin Kennedy and his backroom team of Niall Romer and Tommy Donoghue are continuing their preparations for that tie and hope to play another challenge game next week.Kilmaley’s Daire Keane suffered a broken wrist while playing for his club in a challenge game against Ahane last week and he will miss out on that game.Hopes that Ballyea’s Tony Griffin was about to throw his lot in with the squad for the All-Ireland series took a dip this week when the former All- Star is understood to have indicated to management that he is unlikely to be able to answer the call, having considered their approach to him to join the panel.They were understood to be keeping …

Cooraclare was the venue last week for the West Clare Divisional board’s U-12 football finals. In ideal weather conditions, Kilmurry-Ibrickane accounted for Lissycasey in the A final while the B decider between Kildysart and O’Curry’s ended in a draw and will require a replay. Kilmurry-Ibrickane 7-10   Lissycasey 2-3 Last year’s defeated finalists, Kilmurry-Ibrickane bounced back to claim the title when they had a comfortable win over Lissycasey in the A division final.Dermot Coughlan got the winners off to a great start with a goal in the fourth minute and he added a second minutes later. Helped by another brace of goals from Caolfhionn O’Dea, the winners were ahead 5-2 to 1-2 at half-time, with the loser’s goal coming from Ronan Cahill.Coughlan continued to cause problems for Lissycasey in the second half when he added 1-3. Philip Talty had Lissycasey’s second half goal while Cathal Considine  kicked good points for them.After the game, Anne Hayes and PJ Murphy from the …

  Burren United’s Donie Garrihy from Lisdoonvarna is the new chairman of the Clare and District Soccer League.In a three-way contest for the position at last Monday’s annual general meeting at the West County Hotel, he defeated former chairman Jim Madden and Frank Healy.Outgoing chairman Paul Tuohy from Newmarket Celtic did not seek re-election but was successful in his challenge for the vice-chairman’s post, beating Frank Healy in a contest to return to a position he held for a number of years prior to being elected, unopposed, to the post of chairman 12 months ago.There was also a contest for the position of fixtures secretary and here, the outgoing officer, Michael Lydon from Connolly Celtic, was returned when he defeated Frank Healy.The voting strength of the meeting was 50 but the actual vote in any of the three contests on Monday night wasn’t revealed.On his election, Donie Garrihy, the outgoing vice-chairman, told a near full attendance that he was “so …

Galway’s high-profile summer festival opened before a bumper crowd of over 17,500 fans at Ballybrit on Monday night where the featured carlton.ie/galwaycity Qualified Riders Handicap went to Tom Mullins’ Fosters Cross, who is due to turn out again this Thursday afternoon off an attractive mark of 10 stone in the Guinness Galway Hurdle. A Grade 3 winner over fences, Fosters Cross, who was supported from an early morning show of 16-1 into 10-1 at the off, made every post a winning one in this two-mile contest under an enterprising ride from Wexford amateur Colin Motherway.  The nine-year-old, who races in the silks of Cork owner Patrick O’Donovan, was in front from an early stage and he relished the good ground when showing his 19 rivals a clean pair of heels as he passed the post four lengths in front of second-placed Cry For The Moon. Table Mountain filled third with outsider Eagle’s Pass back in fourth. Mullins, whose late father, …

Clonmel Golf Club will host the Munster finals of the junior and senior cups and the Barton Shield on Saturday and Sunday, August 13 and 14.Woodstock will be in action in the junior cup. They play East Cork in the semi-final on Saturday morning at 9.15am, with the winners going through to play Tralee or Mitchelstown in the final.In the junior cup, the semi-final pairings are Tramore v Limerick and Doneraile v Bandon while the senior cup semi-finals will see Clonmel play Ballybunion and Castletroy take on Muskerry.WoodstockIn a team-of-three rumble at Woodstock on Saturday, the winners were Jimmy Kelly, Michael O’Brien and Liam McInerney with 95 points from Jim Carmody, Joe Guilfoyle and Tony Roche with 90 points. In third place with a similar score were Michael O’Connor, Michael Lynch and David Pilkington. The winners of the ladies’ team award were Mary Sadlier, Yvonne Morrison and Ann O’Loughlin with 75 points while Mary Sadlier won the prize for nearest …

FORMER champion jockey, Kieren Fallon from Ballinruan, will have a strong contender in next week’s Ladbrokes.com Irish greyhound Derby. Uncle Eoin, which he owns with Athy trainer, James Robisnon, looked a great propsect after giving a dazzling peroformance to win the final of the €20,000 Townviewfoods.com Champion Stakes in Shelbourne Park last Saturday night.The Clare man was deleighted to be able to make it to Shelbourne Park for the great occasion after calcelling his ride in the last race at theYork meeting,Showing good promise since last year and putting together a number of great performances in recent times, including an exciting win in the  Champion Stakes semi-final, the black son of  Droopy’s Vieri-Dark Rose, got off to  the proverbial flier from trap six last Saturdaynight to lead at the opening bend from the trap five runner, the  Dolores Ruth-trained Razldazl Jayfay, the joint 2/1 favourite with Broadstrand Lad in two. Uncle Eoin was still the front runner as they made …

ENNIS club welterweight Keelan Sexton captured a bronze medal at the European Schoolboys Boxing Championships in Grozny in Chechnya last week.

Sports editor, Seamus Hayes looks ahead to the U-21 hurlers’ Munster semi-final against Limerick