Seven Munster titles for Clare

 

Golden Vale Milk Clare Community Games had a busy weekend with trials for the mixed distance relay teams on Friday and the Munster finals on Saturday.
Clare had 17 teams competing in the Munster finals in a variety of disciplines at the University of Limerick.
Seven won gold medals and two captured silver making it one of the most successful provincial finals to date for the Banner.
Tulla won gold in both the U-10 and U-12 draughts and silver in U-14. Shannon won gold in both the U-12 and U-16 chess.
Ennis won the badminton title, Kilkishen won the U-13 boys handball title and the girls U-15 handball team from Derg also returned with gold. Kilkishen’s U-13 girls handball team were the other silver medal winners.
The remainder of the teams put in a good performance but were unlucky not to reach the final. 
All the gold medals winners go forward to represent Clare in the national finals in Athlone IT from May 27 to 29.

Calendar of events
Friday, April 1: Quiz at St Flannan’s college at 7.30pm.
Saturday, April 2: mini-rugby.
Saturday, April 2: handwriting at Tulla at 11am.
Saturday, April 16: hardcourt tennis in Ennis.
Saturday, April 16: tag rugby at St Flannan’s at 11am.
Saturday, April 30/Sunday, May 1: Futsal at St Flannan’s at 11am. Participants are asked to take note of this date as it is a change from what was originally announced.

 

Community Games mixed relay finals

The Golden Vale Clare Community Games cross country relays were held in Cooraclare GAA field on Friday evening hosted by Cooraclare/Cree Community Games.
There was a fine turnout with the U-12 girls 400m going to Chantel Burke, Kilrush and the 600m to Alex O’Neill, Quin-Clooney. The boys U-12 400m title went to Tony Odubuto, Ennis St John’s, with Paul Martin, Ennis St John’s, winning the 600m.
In the girls U-14 600m Áine Rouine, Ennistymon-Liscannor, was the winner while the 800m title went to Kate Taylor, Quin-Clooney. the boys U-14 600m went to Colin McNeilis Ballynacally-Lissycasey and the 800m to Mark Fennell Kilrush.  

Results
Girls
U-12 400m: 1. Chantel Burke, Kilrush; 2. Tara Kelly, Labasheeda; 3. Emily Barry, Clarecastle; 4. Áine Keane, Miltown Malbay.
U-12 600m: 1. Alex O’Neill, Quin/Clooney; 2. Emer Keane, Miltown Malbay; 3. Fidelma Marrinan, Carrigaholt/Cross; 4. Mary Connelly, Quin/Clooney.

U-14 600m: 1. Áine Rouine, Ennistymon/Liscannor; 2. Niamh O’Brien, Ennis St John’s;
3. Jennifer O’Neill, Quin/Clooney; 4. Lauren McConway ,Quin/Clooney.
U-14 800m: 1. Kate Taylor, Quin/Clooney; 2. Cliodhna Blake, Doonbeg; 3. Tara Bradley, Kilkee; 4. Aishling Kelly, Doonbeg.

Boys
U-12 400m: 1. Tony Odubuto,
Ennis St John’s; 2. Farouk Sobayo, Ennis St John’s; 3. Conor Malone, Ennistymon/Liscannor; 4. Ulick O’Sullivan, Quin/Clooney
U-12 600m: 1. Paul Martin, Ennis/St John’s; 2. Luke
Carmody, Doora/Barefield; 3. Thomas Clancy, Carrigaholt/Cross; 4. Zack Whelehan, Miltown Malbay.
U-14 600m: 1. Colin McNelis Ballynacally/Lissycasey; 2. Alan McGrath, Cratloe; 3. Eimhin Daly, Cratloe;
4. Colm Morrissey, Cooraclare.
U-14 800m: 1. Mark Fennell, Kilrush; 2. Seán Collins, Ennis St John’s; 3. Donal O’Grady, Cooraclare/Cree; 4. Conor O’Leary, Ballynacally/Lissycasey.

 

Rodgers and Colleran sparkle in Pakie Ryan

The Pakie Ryan Memorial 10k fun run, 5k walk, 30k and 40k cycle was held in Newmarket-on-Fergus on Saturday and attracted a record entry of more than 1,700 competitors.
Guests on the day included former world boxing champion, Bernard Dunne, and Tipperary All-Ireland hurling champion Brendan Cummins.
Michael Shannon (Kilnaboy), Kenneth Rodgers (St John’s), Brian Murphy (Ennis Track), Willie Devitt (Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare) set the early pace, with last year’s title holder James Liddane (Olympic Harriers) leading the next chasing group along with Pat Hogan (Ennis Track), Liam McGuane (Ennis Track) and John Hannon (St Cronan’s).
Veronica Colleran (Ennis Track) was in the top 12 as they went through the 5k mark with Tracy Guilfoyle and Imogen Cotter (Ennis Track) making steady progress along with Aishling Power (Ennis Track).
In the second half of the race, Kenneth Rodgers made a decisive break at the 7k mark and he came home a very comfortable winner in 32mins.26secs. Munster novice silver medal winner, Michael Shannon was a very good second in 33mins.07secs and one minute further back was Brian Murphy in 34mins.01secs, followed by Willie Devitt in 36mins.39secs.
In the senior ladies, Veronica Colleran lead from start to finish and had two minutes to spare over her nearest rival when she finished in 38mins.28secs, followed by Tracy Guilfoyle in 40mins.09secs, with junior athlete Imogen Cotter third in 40mins.50secs.

Results
Senior Men
1 Kenny Rodgers, (St John’s) (32.26)
2 Michael Shannon, (Kilnaboy) (33.07)
3 Brian Murphy, (Ennis Track) (34.01)
4 Willie Devitt, (Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare)
5 James Liddane, (Olympic Harriers)(37.12)
6 Pat Hogan, (Ennis Track) (37.14)
7 Liam McGuane, (Ennis Track) (37.36)
8 John Hannon, (St Cronan’s) (38.17)
9 Paul O’Neill, (Newmarket-on-Fergus) (38.23)
10 Colm Daly, (Ennis Track) (38.27)
11 Frank Landy, (Ennis Track) (38.50)
12 Richie O’Donnell, (Newmarket-on-Fergus) (38.54)

Senior Ladies
1 Veronica Colleran, (Ennis Track) (38.28)
2 Tracy Guilfoyle, (Kilnaboy) (40.09)
3 Imogen Cotter, (Ennis Track) (40.50)
4 Aishling Power, (Ennis Track) (42.22)
5 Margaret Webb, (Ind) (43.46)
6 Pauline Riffault, (Ind) (44.19)
7 Rebecca Coughlan, (Ennis Track) (44.24)
8 Emer Glynn, (Newmarket-on-Fergus) (44.27)
9 Lorna O’Neill, (Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare) (45.44)
10 Áine O’Leary, (Newmarket-on-Fergus) (45.47)
11 Siobhán Gallagher, (Ennis Track) (45.55)
12 Michelle Crowe, (Ind) (46.34).

 

Clare athletes shine in Tipp meeting

The Munster Athletics Association Masters two-mile road championships for ladies and masters four-mile for men were held in Ballyneale, Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, in glorious sunshine.
Three Clare athletes dominated, with Veronica Colleran winning the masters’ ladies’ two-mile O-40s while in the O-45s two Clare athletes were first and second, Tracy Guilfoyle (Kilnaboy) taking the gold and Michelle O’Mahoney the silver.
Carmel McDomhnaill (Tulla), running in the O-55s with West Limerick, won gold.
Eugene Moynihan (Marian) won the masters O-50s and (Kilmurry Ibrickane-North Clare) won the inter-club title.
In the masters ladies the early pace was set by Rhona Lynch (Eagle AC Cork) with Veronica Colleran (Ennis Track), who competed in the Pakie Ryan Memorial on Saturday, right on her shoulder as they went through the first mile in 5mins.35secs.
Marian Burke (St Mary’s) was running in the top 10 as they entered the final mile when Veronica Colleran moved into the lead and held off Rhona Lynch to take the O-40 title in 11mins.14secs, with Marian Burke finishing ninth, Ita Hanrahan (Ennis Track) 10th (second O-40s) and Rosemary O’Brien 20th.
Clare won the bronze medal on 40 points with Ennis Track taking the silver medals in the inter-club section on 31 points.
Tracy Guilfoyle (Kilnaboy) was seventh overall and she won the Masters Ladies’ O-45s title ahead of Michelle O’Mahoney (Kilmurry Ibrickane-North Clare), who was eighth, with Sue Garrahy (Kilmurry Ibrickane-North Clare) 18th, Marian O’Loughlin (Ennis Track) 21st and taking a bronze medal in the O-50s. Clare won the inter-county section on 33 points.
The masters men’s four-mile race was run over a two-lap course and the O-50s were being lead out by Eugene Moynihan (Marian).
As the leaders were going towards the two-mile mark James Kenny (Kilmurry Ibrickane-North Clare), Tom Madden (Marian) and Tom Mackey were starting to close up on all the fast starters with Michael (Kilmurry Ibrickane-North Clare) working hard to close the gap.
Eugene Moynihan was having a great battle with Ben English (Dundrum) for the O-50 title and over the final mile he made a decisive move to retain his title in 23mins.05secs, with James Kenny getting up for the bronze medal in 23mins.52secs.
Tom Madden (Marian) was 47th and he won a silver medal in the O-60s with Tom Mackey 51st.
Clare finished second on 161 points with the inter-club title going to Kilmurry Ibrickane-North Clare on 139 points.

Results
Masters ladies’
O-40s: 1 Veronica Colleran (Ennis Track) (11.14); 2 Ita Hanrahan (Ennis Track) (12.47).
Inter-club: 2 (Ennis Track) = 31 points.
Inter-county O-35s: 3 Clare (1.Veronica Colleran; 9. Marian Burke; 10. Ita Hanrahan, 20. Rosemary O’Brien).
O-45s: 1 Tracy Guilfoyle (Kilnaboy) (12.15); 2 Michelle O’Mahoney (Kilmurry Ibrickane-North Clare) (12.35); 4 Sue Garrahy (Kilmurry Ibrickane-North Clare) (13.49).
O-50s: 3 (Marian) O’Loughlin (Ennis Track) (15.08).
O-55s: 1 Carmel McDomhnaill (West Limerick) (14.11).
Inter-county O-45s: 1 Clare 33 points.

Masters men
O-50s: 1 Eugene Moynihan (Marian) (23.05); 3 James Kenny (Kilmurry Ibrickane-North Clare) (23.52).
O-55s: 4 Michael Harvey (Kilmurry Ibrickane-North Clare) (25.06).
O-60s: 2 Tom Madden (Marian) (24.35).
Masters inter-county O-50s: 2 Clare = 161 points.
Inter-club O-50s: 1 Kilmurry Ibrickane-North Clare) = 139 points.

Michael Egan Memorial on the run this Sunday

Kilmurry Ibrickane-North Clare Athletic Club will hold the Michael Egan Memorial four-mile open road race and four-mile fun walk this Sunday at Quilty, with both starting at 1.30pm.
Changing facilities will be at the Kilmurry Ibrickane GAA field and presentation of ­prizes will be in the Quilty Tavern. This year, Kilmurry Ibrickane is celebrating its 41st year and this is one of the most ­attractive races in West Clare.
The senior men’s race should be a very open contest, with title-holder Gary Thornton (Galway City Harriers) again starting as favourite. He can expect a stiff challenge from Jason Fahy (Olympic Harriers), Brian McGinley (Ennis Track), John Byrne (Mayo), Kenneth Rodgers (St Cronan’s), Michael Shannon (Kilnaboy),  the Munster Novice Road Champion Brian Murphy (Ennis Track), John Barrett (Desmond (Curran’s)  and Patrick Cassidy, the 2009 runner-up from Glaslough Harriers, Monaghan.
The  leading contenders in the masters race will be Tom Geraghty (Marian), Terry Hennessy (St Cronan’s), Eugene Moynihan (Marian), Ambrose Heagney (Kilnaboy), Pat Hogan (Ennis Track), Michael Harvey, Tom Mackey, James Kenny,  (Kilmurry Ibrickane-North Clare) and Tom Madden (Marian).
In the team contest, title-holders Ennis Track will be fancied to win from Galway City Harriers, Kilmurry  Ibrickane-North Clare, St Mary’s, Riocht, West Limerick, Bilboa of Limerick, Athenry and Craughwell of Galway.
In the ladies’ race, Veronica Colleran (Ennis Track) will be fancied to win but also in contention should be Tracy Roche (Dooneen), Marie Carey, Deirdre Troy, Deirdre Daly, (all Ennis Track), along with Marian Burke, (St Mary’s), Tracy Guilfoyle (Kilnaboy), Sharon Rynne, Michelle O’Mahoney, Lorna O’Neill (all Kilmurry Ibrickane-North Clare), and Claire Madigan (St John’s).
Clare Cross Country Champions Ennis Track should be strong in the team event, along with last year’s winners St Mary’s, Kilmurry Ibrickane-North Clare, St John’s Mayo and Galway City Harriers.

Juvenile Indoor Championships

The National Juvenile Indoor Track and Field Championships (Day 2) for U-14 to U-19 will take place at the Nenagh Indoor Arena this Saturday and Sunday, starting at 10am.
Ennis Track Club, Shannon, Kilmurry Ibrickane-North Clare, Marian, Kilmihil and St Mary’s will all be well represented.
Amongst those hoping to feature are Mark Fennell (St Mary’s) U-14; Molly Lynch (Shannon) in the girls’ U-16; Niamh Markham (Ennis Track) and Laura Egan (Kilmihil) in the girls’ U-17; Stephan Rooney (Ennis Track) in the boys’ U-16; Ian Slobody (Kilmihil) in U-17; Amy O’Donoghue (Clare and Emerald AC), Aishling Darcy (Ennis Track) U-18 and Harriett Flynn (Shannon) U-19.
In the boys’ U-18 William Flynn (Shannon), a bronze medal winner in Magherafelt, will be competing in the high jump and 800m.
Shannon O’Grady (Shannon) will be competing in the girls’ U-15 1,000m walk; Eimear Hillery (Kilmurry Ibrickane-North Clare) in the U-17 1500m; Seamus McMahon (Shannon) U-16 and Claudia Loughnane (Marian) U-18 1,500m walk.

Fixtures
April
2-3 Athletics Ireland Juvenile Track and Field Championships in Nenagh, starting at 10am.
3 Kilmurry Ibrickane-North Clare and the 41st annual Michael Egan Memorial four-mile road race and four-mile fun walk plus the Clare AAI 4 Mile Road Championships at Quilty, starting at 1.30pm.
10 The 27th annual Michael Sonny Murphy Memorial 10-mile road race classic and 10k fun walk at 1.45pm and road race at 2pm in Kilnaboy.
10 National 10k Road Championships in Phoenix Park.
12 Ennistymon-Liscannor Parish National School Sports Day at Lahinch Community Sports Field, starting at 11am.
14 Kilmurry Ibrickane Parish National School Sports Day at Mullagh, starting at 11am.
15 Ennis Track 20th anniversary celebrations at the Old Ground Hotel, Ennis.
16 The Johnny McMahon Healthy Heart 10k fun run and 3.5k walk in aid of two charities, Kilmaley Voluntary Housing and Uganda Rays of Hope Hospice, Jinya, starting at Kilmaley National School at 12noon.