Tag Archives: sport

FEAKLE are on the cusp of creating history as they face into their first ever Munster final this Sunday, taking on Charleville of Cork in the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick. Feakle last won a senior county title in 1988 but lost their Munster semi-final to Waterford side Mount Sion. Thirty years later, Feakle made no mistake with an authoritative display against a Waterford side when they beat Clonea by nine points. Feakle is far from a massive parish but supporters flocked in their droves from East Clare to Fraher Field in Dungarvan and Gary Guilfoyle paid tribute to those who did. “I think they outnumbered the Clonea crowd by two to one. The whole place has been buzzing for the last few weeks, since before the semi-final. We are even getting crowds at training now,” Gary said. The name Guilfoyle is synonymous with hurling in Clare and in Feakle. But bad luck with injuries and the name Guilfoyle also go …

FOUR travellers, who had been playing soccer for Sporting Ennistymon, have left the sport following numerous incidences of racist abuse. Figures in the club have voiced their upset at the abuse meted out to the young men, which had become increasingly frequent since the beginning of the current season. Secretary of the Clare District Soccer League, Michael Lydon, refused to comment on the issue on Wednesday. Twenty-four-year-old Michael Sherlock had played for the club, along with his brothers, Edward and Patrick, and their cousin, Martin Mongan. He said that, in recent months, opponents had increasingly sought to insult their background.“We go out and play and you have fellas saying into your ear, ‘Go away, you knacker’. When we react, the referee doesn’t do anything to the other party.” Earlier this year he was sent off in a match played at Lees Road after reacting to a person who referred to him as a “knacker”, while the player who dispensed the offensive …

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Key figures in Shannon region companies have pledged to become conference and sports events ambassadors. An event in Dromoland Castle Hotel, hosted by Shannon Region Conference & Sports Bureau, in association with Fáilte Ireland and Shannon Chamber, sought to encourage a greater cohort of companies in the region to assess how they could bring a national or international conference, meeting, incentive group or a sporting event to the area. Karen Brosnahan, business manager for Shannon Region Conference & Sports Bureau said, “The bureau ambassador programme is running for over 10 years and has over 500 members.  A local ambassador is anyone who can influence a meeting, conference or event. The bureau, in partnership with Fáilte Ireland, offers a wide range of practical and financial supports to help ambassadors win business for their region. In 2015, the bureau secured €7million in economic impact between business and sports tourism with over 50% of events secured as a result of local ambassadors.” Mary Collins, Meet in …

Galway 2-10 Clare 0-14   THIS was one of the stranger games that most of the small crowd will attend this year, with Clare eliminated after a match that was delayed for well over 10 minutes due to heavy rain and lightning. While Galway won after extra time there was controversy at the end of the initial 60 minutes as most felt that the referee had miscalculated and that the Tribeswomen had in fact outscored the Banner by a point. While there was disbelief in many quarters and anger among Galway officials at the situation, it would be only fair to point out that the players were going by the score that the referee was telling them and that Clare sought points in the closing minutes, at a time when they would surely have been looking for a goal if the gap had been a point wider. In the end the controversy mattered not a jot, but if Clare had come …

CLARE hurling manager Davy Fitzgerald and Clare Champion journalist, Peter O’Connell, have both given their version of events regarding an incident at Cusack Park on Saturday evening, following the Banner’s draw with Wexford. As a result of the incident, Fitzgerald was restrained by members of his backroom team, while O’Connell was ejected from the tunnel area by Clare County Board secretary, Pat Fitzgerald [Davy’s father] and backroom squad member and referee, Seanie McMahon. They have claimed they ejected O’Connell from the enclosed area of the stadium due to safety concerns. However, O’Connell has firmly denied that such a move was required or that he had behaved in an aggressive or abusive manner. The incident occurred in the enclosed area behind the dressing rooms and close to the mouth of the tunnel, about 45 minutes after the match had ended. Emotions were still running high after one of the most dramatic games of the championship to date when Fitzgerald directed a …

CLARE County Council has identified a proposed sports complex in Kilrush as the county’s primary candidate for a possible €58,882 grant from a new initiative called Sport Nation. Kilrush town manager Anne Haugh revealed details of the grant application at last week’s town council meeting. Kilrush Town Council had previously and unsuccessfully applied for funding, under the Sports Capital Grant, for the Cooraclare Road sports complex. Details of the proposed complex were first announced at a Kilrush Town Council meeting in June 2011. The complex is to be located on the Cooraclare Road, where the ESB Moneypoint sports facilities are situated and on adjoining land owned by the Department of Education. At the 2011 meeting, Kilrush Town Council heard that 12 months of talks had culminated in a lease agreement between the council and landowners, the ESB and Department of Education. If the current funding application is successful, it could kick-start the complex, which has yet to receive sufficient public …