Month: May 2011

WHEN the An Post Rás rolls into Kilrush on Monday next, the west Clare capital’s link with Ireland’s most prestigious cycling event will be restored.

And those links run deep thanks to Kilrush’s storied association with the famous event that was first staged in 1953 when the route went from Dublin to Wexford and back.

Kilrush had to wait 18 years to play host to the Rás – the town’s first big day coming in 1971, when a stage started and finished in the county.

It was a 17-mile morning time-trial from Miltown Malbay to Kilrush, with the finish on the Town Square. Victory went to Barry Flynn, riding on the Kerry team. From there the cyclists traveled on to Killimer to take the ferry service to Tarbert, from where the next stage that taking them to the Dunquin in the Kerry Gaeltacht began.

Almost a year to the day of the Rás’ first coming to Kilrush, the cyclists were back – this time it was a 26-mile time-trial from Ennistymon, won by Carlow’s Mike O’Donoghue, before cyclists took another ferry ride ahead of the next stage from Tarbert to Killorglin.

It was not until 1982 that the Rás had its third coming in Clare – this time cyclists ferried in the other direction from Tarbert and coasted two miles in the road ahead of the start to the 23rd stage from Kilrush to Kilkee – not a short seven-mile spin but the long way around and a 67-mile trek via Lissycasey, Ennis, Inagh, Miltown Malbay, Quilty, Doonbeg and finishing in Kilkee. Victory in the stage went to William Gibb of Scotland.

The fourth and last visit to Kilrush came in 1998 when it was the stage finish for one of the longest stages in the history of the race – 116 miles from Wesport, with victory going to Belgian Jonge Rakkers.

It was a big day for Kilrush on the double as Vincent Gleeson, then riding for the Mayo team, had the opportunity to finish a stage in his home town.

And the West Clare Cycling Club connections with the Rás don’t end the – the overall winner in 1981 Jamie McGahan from Scotland is married to Brid Cotter, daughter of former West Clare Cycling Club chairman, Paddy Cotter, from Kilmihil.

McMahon later became a member of the West Clare club and won the 55th running of the Crotty Cup in 1989.

YOGA, surfing and taekwon-do were all the menu for PE class at Inagh National School last week as the parents, staff and students of the school all took part in their first ever Active School’s Week.

The week, which saw children from the school taking part in a host of traditional and non-traditional sports and activities, is the latest step in the school’s bid to become of the first school’s in Clare to earn a Active School’s Flag.

Similar to the Green Flags handed out to school for environmental achievements – the Active Schools Flag aims to encourage staff and pupils to focus more on enjoying themselves through a range of diverse physical activities.

The week was co-ordinated at the school by teacher Síle O’Loughlin, who believes that it has already had a positive effect for all the students.

“We are a very strong hurling school here and the local club was very helpful in sending in coaches to the school but the week was about showing the children the benefits off all different types of sports. For a start the children either walked or cycled to school every day and we also had a large variety of different activities for them throughout the week,” she said.

“The children all kept a daily diary where they tracked how much exercise they were getting. The aim to make sure that every child got at least 60 minutes of solid exercise each day. It was about introducing different things to the children, like we had one boy on Monday who ab- solutely loved the yoga, he wouldn’t have had a chance to do that if wasn’t for Active School Week.

“Also some of the older boys who would play a lot of hurling found things like yoga much more challenging than they had expected. The Green Room Surf Club were also with us and they told us how a lot of sports club would come to them because surfing is good for building stamina and working muscles that they wouldn’t normally be working.”

The Active School Week is just one part of a series of events that Inagh National School are undertaking in order to win the Active School Flag. The school has a already undertaking a review of it’s Physical Education policy as well as looking at the open play areas and trying to make them as interesting as possible.

PAT Rutherford could be described as a sporting fanatic – he’s run more marathons than there are sunny days in an average year in Ireland, swims every day, or at least every other day. Plays golf too.

Not much time left for other sporting pursuits you might think, but if so, you’d think wrong. There’s the Special Olympics, be it up on Lees Road getting the best out of Robbie McNamara ahead of the 21-year-old’s participation in the Special Olympic European Games in Poland last year; be it in the bowling alley in Drumbiggle, but further up the Drumbiggle drag in Ennis Golf Club.

“I love it,” he says. “All of us involved do and we have a lot of volunteers now who help out in Special Olympics,” he adds.

His work on the track in Lees Road yielded gold and silver medals for Robbie McNamara in Poland, but true to the Olympic ideal, for Pat it’s not all about winning but taking part and seeing athletes grow as the participate.

In golf, in athletics, table tennis, bowling. “It’s seeing their personalities coming out and the confidence they get from Special Olympics. It’s brilliant to be part of it – brilliant for the athletes in other times they might have been left out and others got to play games.”

Rutherford makes the time, as do other key volunteers like Larry Parks, Barbara Foley, Pierce Cahill and many more – so much so that their Monday mornings aren’t the space without a date for Special Olympics golf.

“There is something in it for every athlete,” says Rutherford “and that’s what makes it so interesting for them. The degree of disability puts you into the divisions – the first half of every big event is validating the information and deciding what category the athletes should be in.

“It’s the HER, the honest effort rule. This is fundamental to the games, in other words that they would be in the right category. If you are 15 per cent of your recorded performance beforehand in the final, you are disqualified. It’s the way the games are run,” he adds.

BRIDGE UNITED B shocked most by reaching the Clare Cup final last year, a feat that many would have put down to a bit of fortune and some good luck along the way but they have proved just how much of a formidable cup side they can be by reaching back to back finals.

Such a great cup run again after last years final defeat could not have been predicted and what makes it harder to believe is that Bridge United B were relegated from Division 1 this year having only won one league game out of eighteen all season. However, their form in the Clare Cup over the past two years is one that cannot be argued with.

Having only beaten lower league teams with the exception of a big win over Bridge Celtic, manager Mark Egan admits that the semi-final against Burren was a great game for them before the final.

“The Burren was definitely the most difficult game. It was a good workout, going the whole distance there and coming through has its just rewards and at the end of the day the lads were delighted with it.”

Last years 3-0 defeat to Avenue in the cup final will still be in the minds of the players but a lot has changed since then according to Egan.

“The lads know that we went up to the final last year and they got caught up in the moment and we never really produced the goods on the day.

“All we can do is get the heads right this time around and hopefully we will give them a good game.”

If Bridge United B are to be successful against Avenue United on Saturday they will need the experience of players such as Albert Finnan, Gavin Downes and Damien Murray along with the fresh talent of Alan Mulready and Dan Larkin to aid them to victory as they look to gain revenge from last years final heartache.

LAST YEAR’S double winners, Avenue United lost out on retaining the league just a few weeks ago but they will be hoping to retain the Cup when they meet Bridge United B in this Saturday’s Clare Cup Final in Doora for the second successive year.

Avenue United won both the cup and league last season but this year they have already surrendered their league crown to rivals Newmarket and according to manager Pat McDaid they will be going all out to win the in cup in order to end the season with some silverware.

“We have to go all out for the cup, there’s two big trophies really the cup and the league and at the end of the season we want to end up with both of them. We were a bit unlucky in the league but you know thats the way it goes.”

Avenue United have become teh flagship side in Clare football and Pat feels ending the year without a trophy would be disappointing but a cup win would end the season on a positive note.

“This is what we have now, we take what we have. Its a Cup Final its a big day in Clare soccer so its good to be there again and hopefully we’ll win it.”

Avenue have come through some close encounters along their path to the final, having been brought to extra time against West Clare United and Bunratty and beating Tulla Utd

on penalties in the semi

final will have been great

preparation for this resil

ient Bridge United B side,

a side which Avenue will

not be taking lightly.

“You can’t take it away

from them they’ve been

in two cup finals in two

years. That says an awful lot about them. One year a team might sneak it but two years on the trot says something, you got to have something about you and they have.”

Avenue United are favourites going into the game but they will not be taking the challenge of underdogs Bridge United B lightly. They will know how determined Bridge will be especially after last year and how good they can preform in cup encounters. However, Avenue will be hoping with the talented squad they have that they will retain the Cup on Saturday.