This article is from page 26 of the 2007-10-23 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 26 JPG
A YOUNG Clooney athlete’s vi- brant smile will light up the stage this weekend, when she receives a Clare Community Games All-Star.
12-year-old Aisling Corbett struck gold in handball at the Community Games in Mosney, during the sum- mer. She was on the Clooney/Quin team of five, which scooped the prestigious accolades, in the under- 13 category.
Aisling’s all-round enthusiasm for sport will see her winning her first All-Star and is eagerly anticipating the awards night.
“IT am excited, definitely. I will probably be nervous on Friday night though, as loads of my friends are coming,’ said Aisling, who referred to her gold medal win as “class”.
The award for handball 1s particu- larly pleasing, given that she just started playing the sport three years
ago. She regularly plays at the local handball alley in Clooney.
She is also a keen competitor in camogie, ladies football and run- ning, while off the sportsfield she en- joys playing the piano and fiddle.
She plays under-14, under-16 and minor camogie with Clooney/Quin, while she played with the local un- der-12 hurling team this year.
She also plays soccer, ladies foot- ball and camogie with St Flannan’s College, Ennis, where she is a first year student.
So busy is Aisling that she rarely has a free evening. Her proud mum Yvonne is her ‘taxi driver’, ferry- ing her around to the various sports events.
Yvonne says Aisling has been a keen sporting enthusiast since the age of just seven.
“She started playing football and camogie at the age of seven. She still plays and loves all sports. She loves
team sports. Aisling would be very sociable and outgoing. She always goes out and plays really hard for her team. She is very determined and is always willing to play,” she said.
Sport is a dominant feature in the Corbett family. Her father John is a keen GAA enthusiast and trains vari- ous teams. Her sister Saidhbhe (13) and brother Tadhg (11) also enjoy playing sport, while her younger sis- ter Roisin (6) has just started gym- ERO Leh
Aisling is one of 22 young athletes from the Shannon region who will honoured at the Community Games awards next Friday night.
The others are Orlaith Duggan, Clooney/Quin, (athletics); Thomas Dineen, Shannon (basketball); Laura McMahon, Newmarket-on-Fergus (camogie); James Danagher, Shan- non (chess); Karl Fitzmaurice, Shan- non (chess); Kelly Finnegan, Sixmi- lebridge. Kilmurry (culture corner);
Paula Loughnane, Quin/Clooney (cycling); Daniel Clair, Shannon (football); Naomi Lorrigan, Quin/ Clooney (handball); Keith Hogan, Quin/Clooney (olympic handball); Cormac O’Neill, Cratloe (tennis); Conor Cahill, Sixmuilebridge/Kil- murry (hurling); Jason O’Leary, Quin/Clooney (pitch and putt); Ciara Hallissey, Cratloe (rounders), Chloe Wars Ssixmuilebridge/Kilmurry (rounders); Noel Purcell, Sixmile- bridge/Kilmurry (rounders); Toni Lagan, Shannon (soccer); Daire Kel- ly, Quin/Clooney (indoor soccer); Eimear Wolfe, Sixmilebridge/Kil- murry (Swimming); Shauna Kerin, Sixmilebrige/Kilmurry (variety) and Stephen O’Dea, Sixmilebridge/Kil- murry (variety).