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Senior Hurling Final - Eire Og v Ballyea

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Cycling with legend Seán Kelly in The Burren

Seán Kelly leading out the cyclists at Ballyvaughan on Saturday.

John Galvin WHEN Peter O’Connell’s first action as the new editor of The Clare Champion was to send me to Ballyvaughan to cycle 60km early on a Saturday morning, I feared for our future professional relationship. I don’t do mornings, particularly on bank holiday weekends. There were extenuating circumstances, as this was no ordinary cycle. It was a cycle led off by none other than the legendary Seán Kelly. Suddenly, I was interested. My brothers and I grew up through the era of the twin cycling supernovas. Kelly and Stephen Roche divided the spoils between them seemingly at will through the ’80s. While Roche won the big one, the Tour de France and got to meet Charlie Haughey on the Champs Élysées, in our house, it was the quiet man from Carrick who was the big hero. Although he started with the reputation of just being a sprinter, he became a consummate all-rounder, able to lead a breakaway or power …

The outstanding Ian Galvin gets away from Waterford’s DJ Foran at Cusack Park on Wednesday. Photograph Arthur Ellis

Clare 1-23 Tipperary 1-21 THE Clare hurlers scored an incredible, breathtaking win over Tipperary in Semple Stadium on Sunday. Clare didn’t lead until 90 seconds from the end of five minutes of injury time. Tipperary had led 1-21 to 1-20 three minutes into injury time. It was Clare’s first Munster championship win over Tipperary since 2003 and means that next Sunday’s final round game, at home to table topping Limerick, will have a place in the Munster final at stake. If Clare win they will qualify for the final. They currently sit on four points, one behind Limerick, while Cork, who play Waterford next week, are also on four points. Peter Duggan who put over 0-15 in total, 0-13 from frees, was superb while Podge Collins also injected life and pace to the Clare attack. The Cratloe man set up Ian Galvin’s 64th minute goal, seconds after Jake Morris had spurned a goal chance for the home county. Tipperary led …

The Clare team to play Tipperary in the Munster senior hurling championship at Semple stadium in Thurles on Sunday is unchanged for that which was named to face Waterford two weeks ago. Conor cleary has again been named at full back as has been the case for both of Clare’s championship games to date but he has played both those games at centre back with David McInerney in the full back line and the same is likely to be the case this week the team named for duty is; Donal Tuohy (Crusheen); Patrick O’Connor (Tubber) CAPTAIN, Conor Cleary (Miltown St. Josephs),Jack Browne (Ballyea); David Fitzgerald (Inagh-Kilnamona), David McInerney (Tulla), Jamie Shanahan (Sixmilebridge); Colm Galvin (Clonlara), Cathal Malone (Sixmilebridge); Peter Duggan (Clooney-Quin), Tony Kelly (Ballyea), David Reidy (Éire Óg); Conor McGrath (Cratloe), John Conlon (Clonlara); Shane O’Donnell (Éire Óg) SUBS:Andrew Fahy (Whitegate), Cian Dillon (Crusheen), Jason McCarthy (Inagh-Kilnamona), Seadna Morey (Sixmilebridge), Mikey O’Malley (Kilmaley), Ryan Taylor (Clooney-Quin), Niall Deasy (Ballyea), Ian …

Kerry 0-32 Clare 0-10 KERRY coasted into a Munster final meeting with Cork on June 23, hammering a very poor Clare in Killarney on Sunday afternoon. Playing in front of a crowd of 16,729, Kerry fielded seven championship débutantes and while it took them a few minutes to settle, once they did, Clare could not live with them and will now to have to lift themselves for the All-Ireland qualifiers. Kerry led by 12 points at half-time, 0-16 to 0-4, having put on an exhibition of shooting. Ironically, Clare’s strongest area, at that stage, was midfield, where Gary Brennan was outstanding while Cathal O’Connor also had some good moments. Clare went into an early 0-2 to 0-0 lead following points from Eoin Cleary (f) and Pearse Lillis. However, Kerry went on a scoring spree with Seán O’Shea kicking 0-5 from play, frees and a 45. Paul Geaney also looked exceptionally sharp at full-forward and raised four first half white flags. …

CILLIAN Brennan has just turned 21 and has a few things on his mind. In the short-term, he is thinking of Kerry and how best to effectively monitor inside forwards like David Clifford, James O’Donoghue and Paul Geaney. Beyond Sunday though, Brennan, who is the younger brother of captain Gary and Shane, is on the hunt for a job. A recent Mary Immaculate College, Limerick graduate in primary teaching, ideally he would like to apply his trade in Clare or at least the mid west region.. “I’m on the lookout for a job at the minute and trying to get the foot in the door and get the face out there. Hopefully, I’ll get somewhere close to home come September,” Brennan told The Clare Champion after training in Caherlohan on Sunday morning. Before that though he will play his second championship game for Clare in what is his début season. He is the first Brennan to play as a back …

CLARE GAA season ticket holders were excluded from the seated area at Cusack Park last Sunday for the Munster championship clash with Waterford. Also, supporters who bought tickets for the standing areas paid higher prices than what applies for the terraces at the three other Munster Championship venues; Cork, Limerick and Thurles. While the Munster Council originally justified this by saying that general admission would be on offer to all areas in Cusack Park, in actual fact the stand and terraces were segregated on the day. A Clare season ticket holder this week said that when she purchased her ticket last November, she had no idea that when championship came around, she would be denied a seat for Clare’s home games. “When you bought the tickets it said you may not get access to the stand. I assumed that meant that it could happen because all the seats were already taken up, and they couldn’t be reserved. I didn’t think …

What a difference a week makes. Seven days ago Clare hurling followers left Pairc Ui Caoimh disappointed having witnessed the minor and senior teams lose out to Cork in their opening games in the \Munster championship. Making those losses all the more disappointing was the fact that Clare could have won both games. This afternoon the mood was much better as Clare followers in the 13,736 crowd departed Cusack Park having witnessed the Banner sides bounce back into championship contention with merited victories over Waterford. Clare 2-27 Waterford 2-18 For the second week in a row John conlon excelled for Clare, this time playing a key role in many of his side’s scores while accounting for 1-3 himself Waterford can point to injuries to key players and the fact that they played the last twenty minutes with fourteen players following the sending off of their captain Kevin Moran as reasons for their defeat in this tie the reality is that …

A new study measuring the effects of resistance training on people with depression has revealed that activities such as weightlifting result in significant improvements in depressive symptoms. A review of 33 clinical trials, comprising 1,877 participants in total, found that when compared to non-active control conditions, resistance training was comparable in effect to frontline treatments such as antidepressant and behavioural therapies. The study, entitled Association of Efficacy of Resistance Exercise Training With Depressive Symptoms; Meta-analysis and Meta-regression Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials, was published online in JAMA Psychiatry. Brett R. Gordon of the Physical Education and Sport Sciences Department at University of Limerick said, “The effect of strength training on symptoms of depression compares to the effects of other common treatments, like antidepressant medication and behavioural therapies. Strength training or weight lifting, is free from the negative side effects and high costs of many medications and therapies. Strength or resistance training can also be carried out alongside the other therapies.” …

An unchanged Clare team from that which started in Cork last week has been named to face Waterford in round 2 of the Munster senior hurling championship at Cusack Park on Sunday. As was the case in the lead up to the Cork game, there has been much speculation that there will be some changes and while this may stil prove to be the case, the team named on this Friday evening is the same as that which was named seven days ago. Positional changes occurred before the throw in last week and the same is expected on Sunday. Conor Cleary will play at centre back with David McInerney in the full back line Having tasted defeat last week in Pairc Ui Caoimh, Clare need to win this week to bolster their chances of getting to the knock out stage of the competition The team is Donal Tuohy (Crusheen); Patrick O’Connor (Tubber) Captain, Conor Cleary (Miltown, St Josephs), Jack Browne …

While Clare’s starting team for what is now a crucial championship tie against Waterford on Sunday (3.30pm throw-in) will not be named before Friday evening, it’s likely to feature one or two changes. Although not introduced until the end of normal time last Sunday in Cork, Jamie Shanahan is believed to be strongly in contention for a place in the first 15 this week. Sections of the defence struggled in Páirc Uí Chaoimh and Seadna Morey, David Fitzgerald, who recovered from an injury in the warm-up to take his place at the start and team captain, Pat O’Connor, may be under pressure to retain their first team places for this week. Positional changes are also quite likely. These could see David Reidy switching to midfield, with Tony Kelly going to the half-forward line and Conor McGrath or Shane O’Donnell going to full-forward. Niall Deasy is likely to be in contention for a place in the line-up, while Podge Collins is …

Clare tasted defeat on the double at Pairc Ui Csoimh this afternoon when the minor and senior hurlers both went down to #cork in their opening games in the new format Munster championsbhip. Making the disappointment all the gre\ter for the clare fans in the official attendance of 24,490 is the fact that both teams had opportunities to win their games. Their losses make next Sunday’s round 2 games against Waterford in Ennis all the more important as another defeat for either would considerably dent their chances of getting to the play off stages. Cork 2-23 Clare 1-21 Failure to convert a number of good goal opportunities proved costly for the senior side as Cork put in a storming finish to seal a somewhat flattering five point win Clare made a great start with three points in the opening four minutes but Cork had levelled by the seventh minutes and from here to half time it was score for score. …

Clare 1-23 Limerick 0-14 ON an evening when 13 Clare players contributed to their 12 point winning tally, they qualified for a June 3 Munster semi-final meeting with Kerry in Killarney. Another very impressive statistic is the fact that five Clare substitutes contributed 0-6 from play between them, with Conor Finuncane and Gavin Cooney putting over top class scores. When Kieran Malone goaled, at the second attempt, in the 18th minute, Clare were completely in control, leading 1-6 to 0-1. Limerick looked very poor during that spell but they upped their game for a period, outscoring Clare 0-9 to 0-3 between the goal and half-time. Clare still led by five points, 1-9 to 0-7, at the interval while Limerick kicked two early second half points, with Jamie Lee and Seán McSweeney scoring. It looked as if the game might turn into somewhat of a contest but Clare re-established control and went on a scoring spree. Apart from the substitutes hitting …

Newmarket Celtic A 3 Avenue United A 2 (after extra time) Newmarket are the Clare soccer cup champions for the seventh successive year but for much of this evening’s final at Frank Healy Park in Doora it looked as if they would have to settle for the runners up spot. In the end, however, the experience that Newmarket have gained in recent seasons saw them stage a tremendous rally and an injury time goal levelled the tie at 2-2 and forced extra time. The game was in the last minute of the extra period and fans were asking when the replay was likely when the champions struck for the winner, a score which sparked off great celebrations amongst their loyal fans Two Mark Roche goals in a three minute spell shortly before half time gave Avenue United a 2-0 interval advantage and this was still the position at the three quarter stage. Celtic had introduced Colin Ryan and Colin Smyth, …

Despite intense speculation that Cian Dillon, Jason McCarthy and Jamie Shanahan would be named in the Clare senior hurling team to play Cork in the opening round of the Munster senior championship at Pairc Ui Caoimh on Sunday, neither have been included. All three had started in the team’s most recent challenge game—against Wexford—last week when David McInerney was at full back with Conor Cleary at centre back, the positions they also filled over a week earlier when Clare played Offaly at Cusack Park. While the management team headed by Donal Moloney and Gerry O’Connor have now named Cleary at full back with McInerney in the centre, it won’t be a surprise if they switch positions before the throw in. The team named for duty is Donal Tuohy (Crusheen); Patrick O’Connor (Tubber) – CAPTAIN, Conor Cleary (Miltown, St Josephs), Jack Browne (Ballyea); David Fitzgerald (Inagh-Kilnamona), David McInerney (Tulla), Seadna Morey (Sixmilebridge); Colm Galvin (Clonlara), Tony Kelly (Ballyea);Cathal Malone (Sixmilebridge), John …

Kilkenny 2 Clare 1 Clare’s dream of a third successive Oscar Traynor title die at Frank Healy park in Doora this afternoon when a lively Kilkenny side emerged as deserving winners. With extra time looking likely, Kilkenny struck for what proved to be the winning goal when Emmett Nugent outpaced the Clare defence before cracking home the winner to the roof of Barry Ryan’s net. The Kilkenny player picked up a yellow card when he removed his jersey as he celebrated what proved to be the winning score. While the visitors enjoyed the major share of possession in the opening half, it was Clare who came closest to scoring. Just after the half hour mark Dave McCarthy’s effort rebounded off the crossbar with the Kilkenny defence beaten while earlier Gary O’Connell had his effort saved by the Kilkenny goalie Owen Wall. Five minutes into the second half Derek Fahy saw his effort rebound off the post after he latched onto …

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Banner brilliance dominates hurling All-Star nominations

Clare’s epic 2024 season that saw them capture the Liam MacCarthy Cup for the first time since 2013 and the Allianz League title for the first time since 2016 sees them deservingly dominate the list of PwC Hurling All-Stars nominees announced this morning. The Banner braves are the standout contingent in the list of 45 names and have 14 players nominated across all areas of the field. In addition, star forward Shane O’Donnell is nominated for PwC GAA/GPA Hurler of the Year where he is joined by Cork’s midfield dynamo Darragh Fitzgibbon and Limerick’s defensive rock Kyle Hayes. The PwC GAA/GPA Young Hurler of the Year nominees are Clare’s Adam Hogan, Cork’s Eoin Downey and Limerick’s Cathal O’Neill. There are eight counties represented in total. The breakdown is Clare 14, Cork 10, Limerick nine, Kilkenny four, with Waterford, Wexford, Dublin and Antrim having two representatives each. Goalkeepers: Patrick Collins (Cork), Nickie Quaid (Limerick) and Eibhear Quilligan (Clare). Defenders: Adam Hogan …
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Tones just shade 12 goal thriller
Can the real Inagh-Kilnamona please stand up?
Group of Death comes alive
Intermediate predictability dashed by compelling Group 4

Intermediate predictability dashed by compelling Group 4

Intermediate Hurling Championship Round 3, Group 1 Clarecastle v Smith O’Brien’s at Páirc Micheál Uí hEithir Cratloe, Saturday 5pm, (Andy McMahon, Cratloe) They’ve met regularly in the Clare Cup and even the Magpies’ second string have battled Smith O’Brien’s but at adult championship level, this appears to be the first time that their flagship sides have clashed. It would potentially have been a heavyweight showdown if the Killaloe-Bridgetown side were at their 2021 or ’22 levels while it will still be a battle, the loss of key players to emigration for Smith O’Brien’s should mean that Clarecastle possess the better balance to shade matters and top the group. Verdict: Clarecastle Ruan v St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield at Crusheen, Saturday 5pm, (Jim Hickey, Cratloe) It’s only three years ago since St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield’s first team raided for five goals to floor Ruan in the intermediate semi-final. However, it’s a strong sign of the Parish that while their first team is now operating …

Clooney or not Clooney, that is the question

On initial viewing, the race for the Fr. Murray Memorial Cup (intermediate camogie) appears fairly straight-forward. After all, with all three semi-finalists from 2023 (Tulla, Whitegate and Éire Óg) and senior demotee Clooney-Quin split evenly between the two groups, the business end overtly looks clear-cut. Clooney-Quin’s senior experience along with negotiating their way to intermediate glory as recently as 2021 makes them the stand-out candidates, with Tulla currently ranking a close second having contested back-to-back intermediate finals, three if you include the replay in 2022 against eventual champions Clarecastle/Ballyea. They won’t want to see another mid-Clare side join them in the second tier but for Tulla, it’s all about learning from their previous deciders and leaving no stone unturned in the pursuit of reaching the promised land of senior. Whitegate were beaten finalists to Clooney-Quin in 2021 and actually meet them first this Thursday evening at 7pm, in what is potentially a Group A decider in Clooney and the same …

Clare camogie power base is still in the East

Current kingpins Truagh-Clonlara and Scariff-Ogonnelloe may have switched roles last October after the latter’s two year reign but having clashed in the last three finals, they will be overwhelming favourites to do so once more come October 19th. It’s up to the chasing pack to alter that perceived narrative as with only the finalists seeded for this year’s race for the McMahon Cup, the groups initially appear a bit lopsided. After all, with three of last year’s semi-finalists (Scariff-Ogonnelloe, Inagh-Kilnamona and Feakle-Killanena) pooled in Group B, the fact that there are two business end berths means that one major contender has to fall at the group stages. Scariff-Ogonnelloe’s vast experience of three titles in the last five seasons makes them the forerunners to maintain their perfect group record as since bounding back to senior level in 2017, they have progressed to the penultimate stage at a minimum. That’s a seven year record that no other senior side in the county …

Doora/Barefield hit the ’Bricks for six

St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield 6-10 Kilmurry Ibrickane 2-13 Senior Ladies’ Football Championship Group A Round 1 It took free kicks to finally separate these sides in the Division 1 League decider but this time it was six timely goals that ensured revenge for St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield but also a major opening boost to what is unquestionably the group of death in this year’s senior ladies football championship in Gurteen on Sunday afternoon. Such a heartbreaking means of losing a final seemed to be channelled into Sunday’s display for the Parish who were never behind at any stage despite facing into the strong conditions in the opening period. Decisive first half goals through Roisin Fowley, Lyndsay Clarke and Aoibhinn McMahon kept wind-assisted Kilmurry Ibrickane at arm’s length in the opening period, with Chloe Moloney inevitably leading the charge with seven points in what was a compelling tussle with fellow county senior Siofra Ní Chonaill at 3-5 to 0-9 by the break The …

‘There was hurling in Clonbony before there was hurling in Sixmilebridge’

When Limerick referee Johnny Murphy blew his full time whistle at the end of what was arguably the greatest All-Ireland final of all time there was naturally a huge outpouring of emotion the length and breath of this beautiful County. For the people, especially the hurling fraternity, in places like Ennistymon, Clonbony and Kilkee there was also an overwhelming sense of pride as Miltown’s Conor Cleary and Ennistymon’s Cathal Malone walked the steps of the Hogan Stand. Heroes forever more to every Clare person, be they man woman or child, these two great warriors are now the proud owners of a coveted Celtic Cross medal and their achievements will no doubt inspire a whole new generation of children to pick up a hurley and dream of following in their footsteps. Sport has always been part of the DNA of the Banner and hurling has always had a massive following all over the County. In recent weeks the John Hynes Memorial …

The rocky road to recovery

The resilience shown by Clare hurlers Ryan Taylor and Tony Kelly to battle back from serious injuries has been lauded by team physiotherapist for the last three years, Shane Malone. While Shane has attended All-Ireland homecomings in his native Kerry following All-Ireland successes, he described last week’s welcome for the Liam McCarthy Cup in Clare as “incredible”. He will never forget the hundreds of Clare hurling supporters who lined the streets and rural roads to welcome the team home, which was a real “eye opener”. “The enthusiasm and love for Brian Lohan and the team is quite different from my previous experiences. I was very impressed by the volume of support out there for the Clare team. It shows the high esteem they are held within the county. “The response from Clare fans all year has been unbelievable. There is a great connection between Brian Lohan and the county and people respond when they like what they see. “The way …

‘A special day and a special win’ – Diarmuid Ryan

The relief; the jubilation on the field when it was all over; the calm and satisfaction afterwards as Clare left Croke Park secure in the knowledge that they’d be back in a few weeks time. These were the winning moods and personas displayed among the players as they went on their way after the glass ceiling of this All-Ireland semi-final stage had finally been cracked. A first All-Ireland semi-final win over Kilkenny since 1997 and only a second championship win over Kilkenny ever; a day of atonement for the most recent semi-final defeats against Kilkenny; an All-Ireland final day out to look forward to on July 21. “It’s a special feeling for sure,” said Diarmuid Ryan. “A special day and a special win but we’re going to knuckle down for two weeks and the All-Ireland final.” As he spoke the reset had already taken place – the hoopla had died down, with Ryan and the rest of the players being …

‘We grabbed it with both hands’ – Tony Kelly

It’s a measure of the standards that Tony Kelly has set in his 13 years as a senior inter-county hurler and of his star quality that despite being subdued for the first 45 minutes of the All-Ireland semi-final that he still ended up as one of the game’s most influential players. Doing the maths tells this story – no Clare player ended up with more than him from play as he top-scored jointly with David Reidy who had a huge game in the 61 minutes of game time that he got. And for the Ballyea colossus, who has slipped into the veteran classes almost unnoticed, his three-point burst down the long home straight of this All-Ireland was a crucial part of the power-play that ultimately swamped Kilkenny and left them shellshocked at the end. And you could say that this comeback was really kickstarted by Kelly, with his opening point being the first response to the Billy Ryan goal, which …

Dominant display drives Blues to record 26th Clare Cup title

Newmarket-on-Fergus 1-19 Inagh-Kilnamona 1-11 The victor wasn’t a surprise but the manner of Newmarket-on-Fergus’ 26th Clare Cup title certainly proved to be as the roll of honour leaders had a rather bloodless final triumph in Clarecastle on Friday evening. Bridging a six year gap to their last Clare Cup crown, it was an utterly commanding display when first responding to the hammerblow of an early goaled Inagh-Kilnamona penalty to outscore them by 1-7 to 0-1 in the second quarter and carve out a match-winning 1-11 to 1-04 interval cushion. Indeed, it wouldn’t have flattered the Blues had the half-time chasm been doubled as amidst their second quarter siege, James Carrig’s side passed up four glorious goal chances in as many minutes just before the recess. Niall O’Connor was outstanding at the back, Peter Power was equally influential at the other end while Stephen Casey was also hugely effectual when switched to shadow Inagh-Kilnamona’s talisman Fred Hegarty. This was an impressive …

Kearns’ golden goal secures Division 3 Hurling League title for the Parish

St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield 2-14 O’Callaghan’s Mills 0-17 It really doesn’t matter if you lead early in a match or are chasing the game for lengthy spells but what does matter though is who is ahead when it counts the most and that’s at the final whistle. On Sunday morning out in Tulla the men from the Parish epitomised resilience and got their just rewards for never surrendering when grabbing the lead for the only time in the sixtieth minute to practically steal a cracking league final that was played in a hugely sporting manner. It was two second strings but nobody who was in Dr.Daly Park would have guessed that as these two played out a superbly contested battle that ebbed and flowed throughout with the result in doubt right up until referee Pat Healy’s full time whistle. Level on six occasions it took a late late Conor Kearns goal to decide the destination of league honours. One could only …

Éire Óg go to town on the ’Bridge

Éire Óg 3-20 Sixmilebridge 2-14 There’s always a certain level of respect between clubs but sometimes there’s also a level of contempt that is evident for all to see. On Sunday evening this Division 2 final was practically over by the end of the opening quarter. The townies who would have genuine Canon Hamilton ambitions were going through the motions and without much exertion had eased to an eight point lead. Fast forward to the final minutes and after battling throughout the Bridge’s second team who will compete in the Intermediate Championship to their credit only trailed by nine. Gerry O’Connor’s charges are in complete and utter control with several tap over point opportunities but rather than take them they continually try to engineer another green flag to inflict more pain on their opponents. I suppose a series of high profile clashes between the clubs in recent years will have that effect and they did eventually get their third major in …

Clare set for Wexican stand-off

The distinctive stench of turpentine has permeated around the county in the last two weeks as slates have been cleaned and canvases blanked ahead of Clare’s senior hurling championship resumption in Thurles this Saturday. Following the heartbreak of a third consecutive Munster Final reverse to trophy hoovers Limerick at the same venue last time out, picking up the pieces has never been more important as they look to regather self-belief, confidence and momentum once more in the All-Ireland series. While earning the unwanted record of being only the second team ever to lose three Munster deciders to the same opposition was harrowing enough, the despondency surrounding the below-par performance made it arguably the most disappointing of all three provincial final clashes. After all, Brian Lohan’s side had exceeded all expectations to push Limerick all the way to extra-time in a Munster Final for the ages in 2022 while the Banner subsequently almost took down the champions in their own home …

Promotion the main prize for semi-final winners

Adult Football League Semi-Finals (Winner on the day) Cusack Cup Semi-Final Lissycasey v St Joseph’s Miltown at Lissycasey, Friday 7.30pm (Jim Hickey, Cratloe) Considering the seesaw form of these sides in recent seasons, it’s hard to believe that only three years ago, Miltown were Cusack Cup and Lissycasey were Garry Cup champions. All because both have been in the second tier since and are now vying for a pre-championship boost of attempting to dethrone holders Ennistymon in the final. Lissycasey were subsequently beaten finalists to Corofin in 2022, the same season that Miltown dropped to the second tier. However, having secured a first Garry Cup crown in 18 years twelve months ago, it would be a major jolt to qualify for the Cusack Cup decider once more. Meanwhile it’s 17 years since Lissycasey last contested and won their sole Cusack Cup title, a major carrot in itself this Friday evening as they look to make home advantage count. The sides …

Ballyea in a league of their Eoin after powerful finish

Under 18A Hurling League Final Ballyea 1-20 Sixmilebridge 1-11 A devastating finish saw Ballyea complete a remarkable 13 point second half turnaround to snatch their first ever Under 18A League title on the away soil of O’Garney Park in Sixmilebridge on Wednesday evening. Having led for the previous 30 minutes, the ‘Bridge seemed set for victory themselves when accentuating their 0-8 to 0-7 half-time edge with a goal after only 25 seconds of the restart as good play from Stephen Gavin was finished to the bottom right corner by Donal O’Leary. However, it was if subconsciously the home side assumed that the job was done as they would be sorely second best for the remainder as the defiant visitors outscored them by 1-13 to 0-03 in the final 30 minutes. Eoin Kennedy found his range from frees while the talismanic Eoin O’Connor provided the real spark to ignite Ballyea’s challenge when fielding a Dillon Killoughery delivery to cut in from …

900 million fans shows the popularity of volleyball

Volleyball is one of the most popular sports there is with over 900 million fans worldwide. That fanbase is growing all the time and the sport consistently ranks in the top five of the most watched global sports. At the end of the month Ireland will head to San Marino for the CEV SCA (European Volleyball Small Countries Association) Championship where they will face Scotland, Malta, Northern Ireland and hosts San Marino in the group stages. The Banner County have had huge success in the sport with the Senior and Junior All Ireland titles residing in the county courtesy of the Coláiste Muire and the Munster Thunder clubs. The strength of the sport in Clare can be highlighted by the fact that four Banner players will represent Ireland in the tournament. Amy O’Sullivan, Catriona Ní Riordan, TJ Sweeney and Maria Jones will all proudly don the green jersey in Serraville from May 30th to June 2nd. Three of the girls …

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