Four teams chasing Féile honours

Sixmilebridge are the Clare Camogie Féile winners for 2011 but three more camogie clubs from the county will also take part in Féile at the request of the Galway Camogie Board.
Sixmilebridge will be in Group B of Division 2, along with Galway sides, Clarinbridge and Oranmore. St Patrick’s of Keady in Armagh will be the fourth team in the group.
Clooney/Quin will feature in Group D of Division 3, along with hosts, Kiltormer and Meelick-Eyrecourt and Mayo side Na Brídeoga.
Group C in Division 5 will see the remaining two Clare sides, The Burren and Killanena, face up to Clontibret of Monaghan and Longford Slashers.
In both Division 2 and 3, Sixmilebridge and Clooney/Quin will need to finish top of their group to progress to the semi-finals. In Division 5, there are three groups, with the winners of each group, along with the runners up of Group A, progressing to the semi-finals.
The camogie club in Sixmilebridge was formed in 1981. In the 1980s and ’90s, the senior team won nine senior championships in a row and are the only Clare club to have won a Munster senior title. Since its revival, the club has tasted success in all underage competitions at some stage and in 2007, they swept the boards, winning U-11 ground camogie, U-12A, U-14A, U-16A and U-18 B championships. In 2009, the club contested the U-11 ground camogie, U-14A and senior championships and won the U-12A, Community Games (Clare) and U-16A championships. Last year saw them win the U-12A shield and the U-14A championship, along with the minor A championship.
Having won the Clare Féile na nGael competition, beating St Joseph’s, then Clarecastle in the semi-final and Éire Óg in the final, manager Alma Keane will be hoping to see the girls lift the Division 2 title in next week’s Féile  competition. Sixmilebridge last represented Clare in 2008 and travelled to Toomevarra that year. While they beat Burgess and Douglas, having lost out to Toomevarra in their opening game meant they didn’t go through to the semi-finals so they will be hoping to go one step further this year.
This time round, they will be hosted by Clarinbridge and will play them on Friday afternoon. On Saturday morning, they will play Armagh champions St Patrick’s of Keady, as well as Oranmore. With four teams in each of the four groups, the ’Bridge girls need to win all their games to progress to the semi-final that evening. This same panel of players competed in the U-14 championship in Clare recently and gave some excellent displays in winning all their five games, before a cracker of a final against Inagh/Kilnamona. They were unlucky on the evening.
Selector Mike Morey feels the standard of U-14 camogie in Clare is high at the moment, something he attributes to the hard work being put in by clubs. “Look at Inagh/Kilnamona, St Joseph’s, Clooney/Quin, Éire Óg, who won the Division 2 Féile title last year and you can see what work is being put in. The standard is up across the board. Clubs are putting the emphasis on skills and it’s starting to show,” he said.
Clooney/Quin Camogie Club was the first camogie club in Clare when it was founded in 1933. The club has enjoyed great success through the years and at the moment has representation on all the county panels. Over 150 girls wear the club colours from U-6 to senior. Last year was the club’s first appearance in Féile and all enjoyed the experience as a host club. This year, they are delighted to once again be part of Féile. Mick Hennessy, who founded the club, was the first secretary of Clare Camogie Board and today, Orla Considine from the club is chairperson of the board.
Clooney/Quin will be based in Kiltormer, where they will play their first match against the host club at 2pm on Friday and afterwards, the team will take part in the Féile parade in Loughrea. On Saturday, they will travel to Clonfert, where they will play Na Brídeoga of Mayo and Meelick/Eyrecourt of Galway. The semi-finals will be played on Saturday and whether they qualify or not, the team will attend the final on Sunday morning before returning home. The team mentors are Brian Leamy, Aisling Hannon, Pádraig Ward and Cillian Duggan. Last year, Clooney/Quin were beaten by their visitors St Brenda’s from Ballymacnab in Armagh and also Leitrim Fontenoys from Down while they beat Clarecastle.
Their panel comprises 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 and Sarah Costelloe.
Killanena Camogie Club has been invited to host Longford Slashers Camogie Club in Division 5 of the national competition. Plans are well advanced to ensure the weekend will be a great sporting and social success.
Killanena will play the visitors in the local pitch on Friday evening and afterwards, all will head to Loughrea for the Féile parade. On Saturday, the Burren camogie team and a Monaghan club will visit the Killanena pitch for a series of matches. The group winners will progress to the semi-final that evening in Ballindereen.
It is fitting that Killanena is part of the Galway Féile as in the early days of the club, they often travelled to Galway for tournaments in Gort and challenges with UCG. This was in keeping with club founder, the late Fr Liam Murray’s view that the girls should play against, and socialise with, girls from other areas and backgrounds.
Last year, when Clare hosted Féile, Killanena performed excellently to reach the Division 4 final, in which they were beaten by a strong North Kerry combination.
This year’s team has been prepared by Anne McNamara and Sean Broderick and hopes are high that they can emulate the performance of last year’s side.
The Killanena panel comprises Michaela Broderick, Róisín McNamara (captain), Deirdre Brady, Leanne Kelsey, Gráinne Conlon, Josie O’Donnell, Celine Murray, Patricia O’Donnell, Ciara Hayes, Rebecca Smyth, Sinéad O’Callaghan, Niamh Reilly, Eleanor Lawerence, Sinéad Canny, Polly O’Neil, Eithne Brady, Róisín McNamara, Sarah McMahon, Róisín McMahon, Louise O’Callaghan, Shauna Canny and Ella MacNamara.
Burren Camogie Club is a club of 35 players aged from five to 15 based in Lisdoonvarna. Formed in February 2008, the club gets excellent support and help from parents and the local GAA club, St Breckan’s. The club currently plays at U-15, U-14 and U-12.
The objective for the club is to create a camogie club that will become an integral and enjoyable part of the sports scene for girls in the local community and wider area of North Clare.
This year has been a good year for the club, with three from the club being picked for the Clare U-14 development squad.

Camogie skills
Lauren Tuohy, Clarecastle, will represent Clare in the Féile camogie skills on Saturday at the Raheen pitch in Athenry.