Féile na Gael disqualification for Clooney-Quin

CLARE clubs acquitted themselves extremely well at the National Féile na nGael camogie finals in Galway at the weekend, winning the Division 5 title and capturing second place in Division 2.
There was huge disappointment for Clooney-Quin in Division 3 when they were disqualified as they prepared for the semi-final. They didn’t participate in the Féile parade on Friday evening and as this is compulsory, they were removed from the competition.
However, their disqualification only came after they reached the semi-final and following an objection from Meelick-Eyrecourt whom they beat in both the group stage and again in a play-off
“We didn’t know we were breaking any rule by not taking part in the parade. We were invited to take part in Féile but we got no correspondence from anyone with regard to the competition rules. On Friday evening, we had two girls sick and between that and the fact that it was very wet, we didn’t go to the parade but we didn’t know that we were breaking a rule as we never got the rules. Why weren’t we disqualified at that stage? We had played two games on Saturday and come through a play-off when we were told that we were disqualified. We were in the bus and on our way to Kilconeirn to play in the semi-final. According to the rules, as we know now, a team has 15 minutes to object. We went to the hotel in Loughrea but our appeal was rejected. Our team and mentors went to the semi-final venue and our opponents were there,” Clooney-Quin secretary Breda Daffy told The Clare Champion on Monday.

Sixmilebridge pipped in Division 2 final
SIXMILEBRIDGE had a great run in Division 2 but lost out in the final in Pearse stadium on Sunday to St Killian’s from Offaly.
Their opening game on Friday was against their hosts, Clarinbridge. Conditions were particularly difficult but the Clare girls did well and emerged victorious on a 3-1 to 0-1.
On Saturday, they overcame Oranmore in their first match on a scoreline of 4-2 to 0-0. The wet conditions seemed to have no effect on the ’Bridge girls as they convincingly beat St Patrick’s Keady (Armagh), 8-4 to 0-0 in their final group game. Three wins out of three qualified the girls for the semi-final in Ardrahan on Saturday evening against Camross, Laois.
In the opening minute, the Laois girls struck for a goal but the Sixmilebridge girls fought back and their never-give-up attitude earned them a goal in the dying minutes of the game, earning them a deserved 3-4 to 3-2 victory, securing their place in the club’s first ever Féile final in Pearse Stadium.
Final opponents, St Killian’s, had secured wins over Mountbellew-Moylough, Down and Cappataggle. The Offaly side opened the scoring with a goal in the third minute. Rachel Kelly goaled for Sixmilebridge two minutes later and Karen Gallagher pushed them in front with a well-taken point. St Killian’s laid siege on the Sixmilebridge goal and this resulted in them scoring 2-1 in the next 10 minutes. Sarah Loughnane pointed for the Clare side with two minutes remaining in the opening half and Niamh Whyte converted a 45’ to leave St Killian’s in front 3-1 to 1-3 at the break. Both sides traded points in the opening five minutes of the second half before Aoife Roche gathered a breaking ball, made a run through the Killian’s defence and finished to the net, narrowing the deficit to one point. Sixmilebridge battled hard in their pursuit of scores and had two goal attempts saved.
In the 30th minute, Niamh Whyte drove in a long shot, which Killian’s blocked but a poor clearance saw it come to the hand of Niamh McInerney who goaled for the ’Bridge putting them two points up. Though the ’Bridge defended well, Killian’s broke through to score 1-2 in the final three minutes to secure victory.
The members of the Sixmilebridge panel are Nicole Shanahan; Rachel O’Callaghan; Niamh O’Dea; Leanne Gaule; Katie Freeman; Rebecca Keane; Emma Kennedy; Niamh Whyte; Keelin Lyons; Niamh McInerney; Karen Gallagher; Sarah Loughnane; Olivia Phelan; Aoife Roche; Rachel Kelly; Mary O’Connor; Laura Collins; Aoife Corbett; Sarah Moloney; Aoife Hurley; Caoimhe O’Callaghan; Maygen Griffin; Caoimhe Phelan; Hayley Brooks; Alisha Ryan and Aoibhe Frazer.

Division 3
CLOONEY/Quin were hosted by Kiltormer and had a win over the hosts in their opening game on Friday evening. Saturday morning saw them travel to Meelick/Eyrecourt where a spirited performance saw the Clare girls claim their second victory on a score of 3-3 to 3-0. Mayo side Na Brídeoga were Clooney/Quin’s last game in the opening round where the Clare girls lost, 1-0 to 0-1. This result left the group in a three way playoff situation with Na Brídeoga, Clooney-Quin and Meelick/Eyrecourt.
Na Brídeoga were the Clare girls’ first play-off game and this time, they made no mistake as they secured a 1-2 win over the Mayo girls. Next up was Meelick/Eyrecourt and the Clare girls clinched another win which put them through to the semi-final.
However, this was the end of the Clooney/Quin girls’ Féile journey as an objection was upheld and they were disqualified.
The Clooney/Quin panel comprised Jessica Leamy, Aoibheann Duggan, Ciara Grogan, Jane Halpin, Maeve Clune, Hannah Leonard, Eleanor Leonard, Aisling Mullins, Gráinne Burke, Siobhán Halpin, Amy Moloney, Emma Deegan, Ciara Donnelly, Anna Corry, Shauna Duffy, Aoife Barry, Laura Haugh, Áine Nash, Orlaith Nash, Caitlin McNamara, Eve Ryan, Siobhán Cunningham, Alice O’Donnell, Sarah Costelloe.

Killanena win Division 5
TWO Clare clubs took part in Group C of Division 5, Burren and Killanena. Burren played Clontibret O’Neills on Friday evening and recorded a 1-0 win over the Monaghan side. Both sides were level at the break and it was Louise Stringer who broke through and goaled for the Burren midway through the second half. The Burren travelled to Killanena for the group games on Saturday and had an emphatic 7-5 to 0-0 win over Longford Slashers. This left the game between the Clare sides as the decider as to who would progress to the semi-final in Ballindeeren on Saturday evening and it was the East Clare girls who claimed victory with an 8-2 to 0-0 scoreline.
Killanena, having suffered defeat to Kerry side Killiard in last year’s Division 4 final, were determined to go one step further this year, once invited by Galway Camogie to partake as a host club. They laid down a marker in their opening game, 11-11 to 1-0. This was the second-highest score of any game of the weekend. Saturday saw them secure wins over Clontibret and Burren. On Saturday evening, Killanena travelled to Ballindereen to take on Roscommon side, Tulsk and went on to take a very comfortable win, exceeding Friday’s tally with 12-7 on the scoreboard at full-time. The other semi-final between Galway sides ,Moycullen and Kinvara ended in a draw and even extra time could not separate the sides, thus the additional match was played on Sunday morning and set up Kinvara for a final spot. The final was played at 10.30am and Killanena opened the scoring with a goal in the first minute from Ciara Hayes after Polly O’Neill’s aerial shot came off the upright. Two points from Róisín McNamara followed and Róisín McMahon put them in the driving seat in the fourth minute with another goal. O’Neill, McNamara and McMahon added another 3-1 to put Killanena 5-3 to 0-0 in front at the break. Killanena continued to dominate and by the midway stage, were 9-5 up. Becky Smith’s second goal and 10th for Killanena caused Féile officials somewhat of a headache in the 34th minute as the electronic scoreboard was unable to record double digits for goals. Killanena finished comfortable winners 11-6 to 1-0.