Strong contingent for Munster finals

The finals of the Clare boys, youths and ladies (15-17 years) were staged in Ennis last week and while only six finals were contested, a strong county contingent will travel to Nenagh this weekend to contest the Munster championships.

All the favourites in the youths and ladies’ divisions came through their county tests including European medalist and captain of the Ennis squad, Keelan Sexton, who will be fancied to advance to his fourth successive provincial crown.
Familiar names like 60kg champion Lee Sherlock and 63kg Sally Carrig, who is also a reigning Irish champion, will do battle with the scales next Saturday morning (10am-11.30am) and should they come in at their respective weight categories, they will be formidable and confident of further honours.
Kilfenora boxers claimed a lion’s share of the Clare titles last week and coach Patrick McCormack is confident his two national finalists from last year, daughter Caoilinn and niece Shannon Murrihy, will complete a double.
57kg Youth Robbie Cassidy came through a fantastic battle on Monday night with Ennis dynamo Simon McDonagh for a morale-boosting victory and he would be thrilled to capture his first provincial title and advance to the Irish championships.
Darren Ruane from the North Clare club also goes through to his second Munster championships with a good form record and might be one of the dark horses in Sunday’s finals.
Bad news for Ennis all-rounder Jamie Keane, whose sister Antoinette won an Irish title in 2010. He had been showing great form in pre-Christmas tournaments in Galway, Limerick and Mayo but was diagnosed with pneumonia last week and will be out for some weeks as he undergoes treatment for the illness.
The following are the Clare entries.
Boy 4 44kg Edward Sherlock (Kilfenora); 57kg Darren Ruane (Kilfenora); 70kg Pádraig Malone (Kilfenora); 75kg Keelan Sexton (Ennis); Girl 4 54kg Shannon Murrihy (Kilfenora); 60kg Niamh Ahearne (Kilfenora); 86kg Louise O’Regan (Kilfenora); Youth 1 46kg Ross McCarthy (Ennis); 50kg Seamus Nugent (Ennis); 54kg Simon McDonagh (Ennis); 60kg Patrick Flynn (Ennis); 63kg John McDonagh (Ennis); 75kg James Galbraith (Ennis); Girl 15 54kg Caoilinn McCormack (Kilfenora); 57kg Sinéad Collins (Kilfenora); 63kg Sally Carrig (Ennis); Youth 2 57kg Robbie Cassidy (Kilfenora); 60kg Lee Sherlock (Ennis); 70kg Cathal Lane (Kilfenora); 75kg David McCarthy (Kilfenora); 86kg Matthew Kinch (Kilfenora)

Clare ladies in winning form
Clare ladies’ boxing contenders made comprehensive strides in their progress towards the provincial and national championships, which are scheduled for the end of March, when they recently competed in the Connacht open ladies’ finals in Westport.
Antoinette Keane (Ennis) made a welcome return to the ring having missed out on training and competition through injury and illness while Kilfenora’s Kayleigh McCormack and Shannon Murrihy continued their unbeaten run of form.
Reigning Irish Champion Sally Carrig from the Ennis club moved smoothly into the welterweight class with a solid victory over Castlebar’s Saoirse Delargy and while the Ennis girl has no illusions about the task in hand in the defence of her Irish title, she is boxing well and rarely gave the Mayo girl scope for her familiar left-hook counters as she advanced to a 6-4 victory.
Kayleigh McCormack was also impressive as she beat an impressive Rebecca Cawley (Golden Gloves) on a 6-3 scoreline. This was the Kilfenora girl’s first outing of the new year and trainer Pat McCormack has high hopes of a progression to the Irish team for his prodigious niece.
There was disappointment for Niamh Ahern from the Kilfenora club when she was beaten in the 54kg final by Rachel Kearns (Geesala) but her clubmate Shannon Murrihy came good in her 56kg final to beat Clare McDonagh (Galway) on a 7-3 scoreline.
Antoinette Keane’s victory over old adversary Katie Hyland from Mayo’s Geesala club was ample proof of her return to form and fitness and was as exciting as it was emphatic over the three action-packed rounds of boxing.
The Munster ladies’ championships will be held in Nenagh this weekend and the Irish championships will be held in the National Stadium in Dublin commencing March 9.