Sports

THERE was more great news for Clare handball at the weekend when Clare juveniles participated in the Cumann na mBunscoil Munster championships.

THE Ennis Swimming Club Grade A swimmers had a very successful meet in Tralee in a competitive Munster region gala. They won a total of 35 medals (11 gold, 14 silver and 10 bronze) in the individual events and a total of seven medals (three gold, three silver and one bronze) in the relay events.

THE Athletics Association of Ireland National novice cross country championships plus the juvenile uneven ages from U-11  to U-19 were held at Coleraine University College in Derry on a very tight course with ideal weather conditions for fast running.

SIX Clare competitors returned home from the World Tae kwon do Championships in Argentina with a hugely impressive haul of 11 medals, the best ever Irish performance at world level.

Spa 2-11  Cratloe 0-10 SPA’S second goal, netted in first-half injury time, and a fortuitous point seven minutes from full time, helped the Killarney club to eventually shake off Cratloe in Mallow last Sunday.Michael O’Donoghue, who flitted between full and centre-forward, scored that decisive 1-1 and added a further 1-2 from play in an impressive individual display.The second goal pushed Spa into a 2-4 to 0-5 interval lead, having played against a biting wind.The Kerry champions exploded into the Munster intermediate final and had established a 1-2 to 0-0 advantage after just seven minutes. With their defenders largely playing behind their men and only Conor McGrath looking sharp up front, the portents suggested that Cratloe might be in for a hiding.Fielding five minors and a total of eight U-21s in their starting 15, Cratloe displayed admirable tenacity in clawing their way into the game.Once they moved Podge Collins back to help tighten up their defence, Cratloe steadied and kicked a …

St Caimin’s    2-7        Our Lady’s Templemore   0-10 The pitch was in remarkably good condition but weather conditions were difficult with the players having to contend with biting cold and driving rain.Templemore played with the aid of the wind in the opening half and they took an early lead with points from Dan McCormack (free) and Shane Hassett before Pa Sheehan opened the winners’ account in the 10th minute when he converted a 50m free.McCormack (from a 65’) and Hassett replied for the Tipperary school to leave them three clear at the end of the opening quarter. The loss of McCormack with a leg injury was a blow to Templemore, whose forwards found it difficult to make any impact against a well-organised St Caimin’s defence in which central defenders Noel Purcell and Kevin Lynch were strong throughout.There was quite a lengthy hold up due to McCormack’s injury and this resulted in almost five minutes of injury time at the end of …

ENNIS teenagers Aaron Flynn and Jessica Lane picked up national karate titles at the Official National Amateur Karate Association of Ireland (ONAKAI) open championship in Dublin last weekend.Both are members of the World Shotokan Karate-do Federation of Ireland (WSKF) club in Ennis. Aaron, who is a leaving certificate student at Rice College in Ennis, won gold in the U-18 category. This follows the silver medal he won in Japan recently at the federation’s world championship, while he also competed in Morocco in the under 75kg open championship this year.Jessica Lane also won the U-18 title at the national karate championships. She is a student at Ennis Gaeilcolaiste.Meanwhile, Conal Tunney, John Tunney, Patrick Tierney and Cormac Hennessy, who are also members of the Ennis club, won medals in various categories at the national championships.

SHANNON Town United is celebrating its 40th anniversary and last weekend it announced a new partnership with Celtic.