Féile success for Clare handballers

Two Clare clubs captured All-Ireland Féile honours last week when the National festival was staged in Dublin.
Kilkishen won the boys’ Division 2 title when they defeated Cork side Mallow. Kilkishen’s girls also reached the Division 2 final but were defeated by local rivals Tuamgraney, who made it a double, the club’s first ever Féile wins, when their boys’ team took the Division 4 honours. This was another all-Clare final, with Clarecastle claiming the runners-up spot.

This year saw a new innovation in the Féile Hero awards and two Clare players received awards, Doireann Murphy (Clarecastle) and Stephen Frain (Clooney). Kilkishen’s Tiernan Agnew picked up bronze in the skills section.
Meanwhile, the Munster 60×30 adult championships are down to finals stages in most grades and while the majority of Clare players have fallen before the Munster final hurdle, Ashling Fitzgerald claimed the Munster junior ladies’ singles title with a 21-15, 21-2 final win over Tipperary’s Karen Monaghan in Ballina.
Ashling teams up with Edel O’Grady to play the Munster junior ladies doubles final against Karen Monaghan and her partner Ashling Horan in Tuamgraney tonight, Thursday at 7.30pm.
Declan Frawley of Clarecastle was defeated in the Munster intermediate singles final by CJ Fitzpatrick (Limerick) while Clooney’s John Nihill was defeated in the silver masters B singles final by John Frazer (Limerick). Ballina man David Hickey is on for a Munster double as he competes in both the junior singles and doubles (with Mike Carroll) finals over the next week.
This coming weekend sees Clare’s first involvement in the Munster 60×30 Juvenile Championships, having received a bye to the provincial semi-final. Clare’s entrants will face the winners of the Kerry-Tipperary first-round games in the various grades (at Tipp venues if Tipp, in Tuamgraney if Kerry).
Representing the Banner County are Tiernan Agnew (boys’ U-12 singles), Cathair Agnew (U-15 singles), Barry Loughnane and Luke Keane (U-15 doubles), Fergal Coughlan and Jacob Loughnane (U-16 doubles), Sean Donnellan (U-17 singles), Ella Donellan (girls’ U-13 singles) and Natasha Coughlan (U-16 singles).
This weekend, handball fans have the chance to see top-grade 60×30 action in Tuamgraney, with two All-Ireland ladies senior open singles quarter-finals down for decision on Saturday afternoon. Catriona Casey (Cork) plays Amy Corrigan (Mayo) at 4pm while at 5pm Pauline Gallagher (Mayo) plays Ashling O’Keefe (Cork).