Sports

The Clare Athletics Association Senior Cross-country Championship plus the juvenile B cross-country championships for U-9s, U-11s, U-13s and U-15s will take place on the lands of John and Bríd Collins, Kilnaboy, this Sunday. The programme starts at 12 noon and the first race will be the girls U-9. The senior ladies 5,000m will be at 1pm followed by the senior mens 10,000m at 1.30pm.In the ladies race, last year’s title-holder Claire Madigan, St John’s, the Munster U-23 cross-country champion will start as favourite. Marian Burke, St Mary’s, will be looking to capture her first Clare title and others to watch include last year’s runner-up Michelle O’Mahoney, Dympna O’Dwyer, Sue Garrahy all Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare; Veronica Colleran, Imogen Cotter, Marie Carey, Aishling Power, Deirdre Daly, Siobhán Lennon, Jackie O’Connor, all Ennis Track; Sharon Rynne, who is getting back to full fitness after a serious knee operation; all Kilmurry Ibrickane/North and Loretta Duggan, St Mary’s.In the team contest the 2008 champions Ennis …

Shannon Olympic 1 Turnpike Rovers 1(Olympic won 4-3 on penalties) A penalty shoot-out was needed to decide the destination of the Division One League Cup when Shannon Olympic and Turnpike Rovers clashed at Doora on Sunday.In perfect conditions for football on an excellent pitch, the sides were evenly matched throughout.Turnpike had the better of the early exchanges and took the lead as early as the seventh minute when David McMahon made a great run down the right before cutting in and crashing a powerful effort to the net.They continued to hold the edge for much of the first half but failed to add to McMahon’s goal.As the game moved towards half time, Olympic were doing better and when they second half got underway they piled on the pressure.However, they were dealt a big blow on the hour mark when Karl Fogarty was sent off for a tackle on Chris Shannon. The resultant free by David McMahon was well saved by …

Killaloe trainer Ronnie O’Leary visited the winner’s enclosure at Galway on Sunday where his One Fine Morning scored an impressive success in the opening Corrib Oil Sean Cleary Memorial Maiden Hurdle. Having run an encouraging fourth in a similar event at Sligo last month, One Fine Morning went off at 4/1 in this 16-runner contest and was sent into the lead from the drop of the flag by jockey David Casey. Heading towards the home turn, the son of Generous was still travelling well out in front and he dug deep on the uphill climb to the post to see off Enda Bolger’s Pocket Reader by a length-and-a-quarter. Former jockey O’Leary, who trains the winner for leading owner JP McManus, was thrilled with his latest success. “That was a very nice performance. He has come on a ton from his last run at Sligo and jumped great all the way today. David (Casey) liked him a lot and he’ll probably …

Eleven-year-old schoolgirl Lisa O’Shea from Shannon has been selected for the Irish Junior High Performance Squad. The Irish Ladies Golf Union (ILGU) has selected two high-performance squads, one senior and one junior, to develop Ireland’s top amateur female golfers and deliver international success throughout 2011 and beyond under the guidance of manager David Kearney. Shannon In the Shannon ladies’ singles golfer of the year competition, Connie Corry continued on her winning way when her 37 points proved too good for the rest of the field. Connie had two points to spare from Kathy Hurley, who was second on 35 points. Ann Daly was third with 34 points while Liz O’Sullivan won the gross with 21 points. The Wednesday open singles saw John Madden capture the spoils with 42 points. Despite having no score at the second, John covered the remaining eight holes in one under gross, recording back-to-back birdies at the seventh and eighth to turn with 22 points. He …

Crusheen 2-13 Cratloe 1-11 IN the world of Gaelic games, the launching pad for most successes is the half-back line and this proved to be the case again in the 2010 Clare Senior Hurling Championship final.A powerful display by Cathal and Cian Dillon and Ciarán O’Doherty laid the foundations for Crusheen’s historic first senior hurling title at Cusack Park last Sunday. Centre-back Cian Dillon’s performance earned him the man of the match award, an accolade he richly deserved.History was made on a number fronts on Sunday. In coaching his native club to their first senior crown, Michael Browne became the first man to lead two clubs to the top prize in Clare hurling. He was the coach to Tulla in 2007 when they defeated his beloved Crusheen in the final.The new champions deservingly overcame the titleholders, Cratloe, in a very entertaining game, which sparked great scenes of celebration as Gerry O’Grady accepted the Canon Hamilton Trophy from another proud Crusheen …

WHEN referee Seanie McMahon sounded the final whistle at Cusack Park on Sunday, Crusheen players and mentors jumped for joy but few jumped higher than team manager Michael Browne.It wasn’t because he had just created his own bit of history having led a second team to the Clare senior title in three years. It was simply because, as a Crusheen man, his club had just won the Hamilton Trophy for the first time.Having been in the opposition camp three years earlier when he coached Tulla to victory over Crusheen, he felt for his fellow clubmen on that occasion. “I was, of course, thrilled for Tulla but when you play for a club, it is always close to your heart,” he said amidst wild celebrations on Sunday. “I didn’t intend to be here but it ended up that way. I ended up with them a year ago. At the end of the year when we were knocked out of the championship, …

IT was a long time coming, 123 years in fact, but after Paddy Meaney blazed the ball beyond Sean Hawes on Sunday afternoon, it was clear that Crusheen were finally going to be champions of Clare. There were scenes of unbridled joy in Cusack Park straight after the game and throughout a long evening in Crusheen, as the tension of a tight county final gave way to elation.A few hours after the game, the victorious team arrived back in Crusheen and club chairman Colm O’Connor said the scene upon arrival was unforgettable. “We stopped in Ballyline and there was a good few over there. The sight when you came up to the bridge in Crusheen was unbelievable. To look out of the bus and see the people there, it was very emotional.”It’s O’Connor’s first year as chairman and he said he had been struck by the capability of Michael Browne the first time they sat down to talk about plans …

Sixmilebridge 1-16 Newmarket 0-16   Since he first hit the hurling headlines back in 1997, Niall Gilligan has delivered some outstanding performances for club and county.Last Saturday’s display by the Sixmilebridge captain in leading his club to the Clare Champion Cup senior hurling league title will rank with the best.A contribution of 1-12 steered his club to their first league title in six years and to a three-point win over neighbours and great rivals Newmarket.At the end of what was a closely contested final, they just about deserved the win but Newmarket will feel they should have done better. Three points ahead entering the final quarter, they looked like they might take a grip on proceedings but then Gilligan struck for the game’s only goal, which was followed by four points in as many minutes. Newmarket tried hard to get back on terms but the ‘Bridge defence held firm and despite finishing with 14 men, after Shane Golden picked up …