Title for Clonbony without even striking a ball

 

St Senan’s Kilkee did not travel to Cusack Park on Saturday last for the Division 6 Hurling League final because they had three players in the Clare junior football panel for Sunday’s Munster Championship semi-final against Cork.

Kilkee hurling official Mike O’Neill told The Clare Champion this week he is bitterly disappointed that the game was fixed, as there was never an agreement to play it.

“The first we knew of the fixture was when Sean Malone rang me on the Bank Holiday Monday. We were available to play the game but we weren’t going to play without three of our best players. I told Sean Malone that we would not be playing and I also told the county secretary,” said O’Neill.

Clonbony official Sean Malone said his club also had players involved with Clare. “Martin McMahon and Gordon Kelly from the Clare senior team play with Clonbony. We offered to play the game on Sunday evening. We brought a player home from London for the game and he was due to fly back on Sunday morning. We were prepared to change the flight to accommodate him but they wouldn’t play on Sunday evening. They said they would play on Monday. We did as much as we could to accommodate them.”

Continuing, the Clonbony official said, “The lads were deprived of a chance of playing in Cusack Park and it is probably the only chance many of them will get to play there.”

Malone added, “It’s a sad state of affairs and an insult to the memory of John Hynes (the cup is named in his memory), who was a true promoter of hurling in West Clare.

Clare GAA chairman Michael McDonagh said, “I went to a lot of effort to get the game into Cusack Park and I am bitterly disappointed it didn’t take place. I can’t understand why an agreement couldn’t be reached between the clubs. Clonbony are now the winners of the competition.”

The hurling team at St Senan’s was formed earlier this year to promote hurling in West Clare. “We ran a coaching course recently and we hope to get juvenile hurling up and running in the autumn but the way I am feeling at the moment after this issue, I won’t be doing it. We didn’t look for Cusack Park last week. It’s up to the powers that be to decide now what the situation is,” O’Neill said. He added that the adult team “is getting ready for the first round of the championship”.

While no one was prepared to confirm, it seems that a cup was presented to members of the Clonbony club during celebrations in Miltown on Saturday night.