This article is from page 91 of the 2008-11-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 91 JPG
THE weekend action involving the Kilmihil ladies and men in All-Ire- land and provincial final action re- spectively will prove to be a family affairs in many ways. That’s because of the links between the two sides.
Where to start!
The three O’Hallorans, Lorraine, Joan and Denise, on the ladies team are sisters of Enda who has made a telling contribution to the men’s team when introduced as a substitute in the county final, provincial quar- ter-final and semi-final.
Keith Considine was also a signifi- cant sub in Kilmihil’s victory over the “Barrs last day out — he’s a broth- er of the two stars of the Kilmihil ladies attack in the persons of Ailish and Eimear Considine.
Edel McMahon is a daughter of the team trainer James McMahon, while Karl Downes, who is wing-back on the men’s team is a brother of Una and Colette Downes.
Una Downes is one of two mem- bers of the Kilmihil team involved with the county intermediate team that reached the All-Ireland final this year. Downes, was a member of the Kildoon Gaels team that won the senior championship back in 2003,
That team was an amalgamation of Kimihil and Doonbeg and five years on there’s a strong Doonbeg connec- tion with Kilmihil’s march to the All-Ireland final. Edel Conway, Sa- rah Cahill, Yvonne Downes, Linda Russell and Mairéad Nugent are the Doonbeg contingent on the Kilmihil panel.
‘“There’s a great atmosphere build- ing up in Kilmihil this week,” says Una Downes. “All the shops have bunting up and as the countdown to the two final starts. The build-up has been great with the two teams look- ing forward to finals.
“At the start of year when we began training we weren’t thinking of an All-Ireland. We didn’t expect to be here but we’ve worked very hard. In all are games since the county final we’ve come from behind, so in this final we’ll be hoping to make a bet- ter start.”