Double delight for Clonlara

THERE was a mass exodus from Clonlara village last Wednesday, as the local sporting faithful made their way to Cusack Park. For the first time in their proud history, Scoil Seanáin Naofa, Clonlara had both camogie and hurling teams competing for Division 1 honours.
It had been 21 years since Scoil Seanáin Naofa’s camogie team last contested the Division 1 final and between them and the title stood Feakle, a team they had beaten in the group games.
Clonlara, having won the Division 2 camogie final last year, managed to retain a few experienced players in Leah Hawes, Chloe Ryan, Becky Foley, Hannah Horgan, Róisín Powell, captain Áine Gully and Sarah Fahey and they formed the spine of the team.
In the opening half, Róisín Powell’s pace and power caused havoc for the Feakle backs as her scoring exploits helped Clonlara lead 2-2 to 0-1 at the break.
Hannah Horgan showed great composure throughout the match as she converted two frees while, crucially, she also managed to suppress the ever-present threat of Feakle’s star player Robyn Conway.
Clonlara held the whip half on the changeover and were always in control, running out comfortable 4-3 to 0-1 winners.
For many of these girls, however, there is no time to rest on their laurels as they face an even bigger challenge when they represent Truagh/Clonlara Camogie Club in the national Féile competition in Limerick in July.
The hurling final was a titanic battle, with Clarecastle making the early running. They notched the first three points, with Clonlara finding it hard to curb the influence of Ronan Donnelly and Luke McDermott.
In what was one of their few attacks of the first half, Clonlara’s Tom Power seized the initiative with a tremendous goal. Clarecastle continued to apply the pressure and gained their just reward, sending over four more excellent points.
Clonlara’s plight worsened shortly before half-time, when the outstanding wing-forward, Oisín Casey, pounced for an opportunistic goal. An Aidan Moriarty free was little consolation for Clonlara, who trailed 1-1 to 1-7 at the break.
With the wind at their backs in the second half, Clonlara appeared re-invigorated. They quickly settled into the game and began to chip away at the deficit.
When Conor Bourke raised a white flag, the Clonlara faithful began to rally their troops. The following 10 minutes were an exciting and breathtaking an end to a game.
The switch of Conor Bourke to centre-forward proved the catalyst for a comeback. Not alone did he play a real captain’s part, he also notched some crucial scores, including the match-winning goal in the final minute.
In the dying embers of the game, Clonlara’s defence, under the stewardship of Jathan McMahon, Max Tiernan, Gavin Duffy and Cillian O’Brien, held firm to seal a famous victory.