Tag Archives: Ballyea

CLARE defender Paul Flanagan has announced his retirement from intercounty hurling. In a statement on social media issued through Clare County Board, the Ballyea man said, “It has been the honour of my life. Thank you for the opportunity and support along the way.” Flanagan leaves the intercounty game having won two senior All Irelands, two National Hurling Leagues, two All Ireland under 21 championships, two Munster under 21 championships and a Munster minor title. He served as captain of under 21 All Ireland and Munster minor championship-winning sides. In a statement this morning Clare GAA said, “We wish Paul all the best in his retirement. He has been a fantastic player, leader, ambassador and teammate throughout his elven year senior career in saffron and blue. Anyone who has shared a dressing room with Paul will attest that he has embodied all a Clare supporter could wish for in a hurler. We thank him sincerely for his dedication and commitment …

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 …

Under 15A Hurling Championship Final Sixmilebridge 2-11 Ballyea 1-8 A powerful finish ensured that Sixmilebridge maintained their current superiority to garner the Under 15A Hurling honours in Cusack Park on Thursday evening, writes Eoin Brennan. The defending Under 14A champions were full value for their latest victory too, having led for the final three-quarters of the tie before finally seeing off a resilient Ballyea with a clinching last gasp goal through substitute Conor Gleeson. Amidst incessant rain, a low-scoring final duel sparked into life entering the final minutes when a Sixmilebridge counter-attack yielded the opening goal as Dylan McInerney centred to Stephen Gavin to shake off the defensive cover and fire to the net at 1-10 to 0-8. True to form, Ballyea refused to panic but a potential lifeline would be dashed four minutes later when a Dara Kennedy penalty, earned by his midfield partner Evan Cleary, was superbly tipped away by goalkeeper Conor Keogh at his right hand post. …

In a top class Munster hurling club final a powerful finish saw reigning provincial and All Ireland champions Ballygunner prevail by 1-23 to 0-17 after a huge battle with Ballyea. Outscoring the Clare champions by 0-6 to 0-1 in the last ten minutes put the icing on the cake for Darragh O’Sullivan’s charges. Tony Kelly was simply majestic for the Banner men scoring 0-11 but it is youngster Patrick Fitzgerald who will take all the plaudits after landing 1-4 from play in a devastating performance. The first half simply flew by such was the non stop action on display. Starting brightly the Waterford champions led 0-4 to 0-2 and only for a remarkable Peter Casey block on Hutchinson the game’s first green flag would have arrived. Five Tony Kelly points though followed including a sensational monster point from distance before disaster for Ballyea in the 20th minute. Pauric Mahony picked up possession just inside the 40 before cutting through and …

UNTIL it is surpassed, 2016 will be regarded as Ballyea’s greatest season as breakthrough county and Munster titles were garnered in a fairytale few months that only ended in the All-Ireland Final on the following St Patrick’s Day. Personally however, 2022 has to be Paul Flanagan’s best year to date, with his immense performances for Clare earning him a first ever All-Star nomination before also excelling once more for Ballyea in securing historic back-to-back Canon Hamilton crowns. Understandably therefore, he is not too keen for 2022 to end anytime soon. “The year keeps going and it’s funny because it kind of instills a bit of extra hunger in you too to go up to Dublin for that awards night. It was my first time at anything like that whereas for some guys they’re probably there every year. “So for me it was all new as the All-Stars recipients are the best in the country and to get to that level …

Former Waterford defender Noel Connors believes Ballygunner’s strength in depth will prove decisive when they meet Ballyea in this Saturday’s Munster final. The three time All-Star believes Ballyea will provide a stern examination of the reigning champions’ credentials, but he believes that Ballygunner possess a squad that is deep enough to withstand the best Robbie Hogan’s side can produce. “They probably have a squad of 32, 33, 34 lads at a similar level. They have players who have starred at minor and U20 level and sometimes those guys aren’t making the panel. Fellas can come in if a guy like Dessie (Hutchinson) is being held. “Probably not many people knew Harry Ruddle before his goal in the All-Ireland final but he was exceptional in the Club Championship all along and was probably the best player in the league down here. “They have quality throughout and that’s why I think they can pull away near the end against Ballyea. I think …

Adrian O’Brien is certainly looking forward to patrolling the sidelines of Semple Stadium this Saturday. The Limerick native was faced with the unprecedented conundrum of seeing two clubs he’s currently coaching clash in the Munster Senior Club Semi-Final a fortnight ago when Ballyea and St Finbarr’s met for the very first time at competitive level.. “As such, there is a huge sense of relief that he can finally get back down to work after stepping back from both the Clare and Cork champions ahead of their Cusack Park bout. “It has definitely been a strange few weeks. That said, the two boys have been brilliant, both Ger [Cunningham] and Robbie [Hogan] and both sets of players and clubs too. “You don’t envisage something like that happening at the start of the year but just the way it came together I suppose was just a very unique situation. “So I watched the game from home. I wanted to remove any emotion …

It’s unusual to be beginning a Munster Senior Club Final preview on such a sombre note but Ballyea Manager Robbie Hogan is more than willing to go down the cathartic route of embracing last year’s nadir. Indeed, after winning what could be argued as their greatest county title, 17 points subsequently separated Ballygunner and the Clare champions in their quarter-final bout in Cusack Park almost twelve months to the day. “It’s a long time since we took a beating like that,” admitted Hogan in the safe confines of the Ballyea GAA Club dressing rooms. “I’d say Cuala were the last side to give us a trimming and they were back-to-back All-Ireland champions. Signs on Ballygunner ended up being All-Ireland champions last year but regardless it still doesn’t make up for the size of the defeat. “If you look across their results, they scored 3-20 against us and put up the exact same score against Kilmallock in the Munster Final and …