This article is from page 76 of the 2008-05-06 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 76 JPG
THERE was double All-Ireland suc- cess for Clare at the weekend as the Banner County claimed the Under 14/15 and Under 16/17 team cham- pionship titles at Clarecastle on Sun- day. In theUunder 14/15 event (team of six), Clare won their semi-final against Galway by 86 to 55 and came up against Kilkenny in the final. The home team was much too strong on the day and recorded an 82-59 win.
Christopher Philpot (Kilkishen) and Keith Hogan (Newmarket) won their games on a 14/15, 15/8 score, with Darren Cooney and Kevin O’Callaghan (both Kilkishen) re- cording a score of 8/15, 15/4 while Evan Corbett (Tulla) and Patrick Fitzgerald (Tuamgraney) won 15/10, RAE
This was a double for the Tulla Tua- mgraney pair as they were members of the under 12/13 team that won last years title, as was Barry Nash who did not play this weekend due to a bout of flu. Clooney’s Peter Duggan (captain) also played in the semi-fi- nal against Galway.
Not to be outdone, the Clare Under 16/17 team also went all the way and captured their own All-Ireland title. Also played at Clarecastle on Sun- day, the Clare team of Sam Edbrooke (Tulla), Chris Ryan (Clarecastle), Ryan O’Neill (Clooney), Liam
Clancy (Newmarket), Shane Crehan and Eoin McGrath (both O’C. Mills) overcame Wexford in an epic final, eventually emerging as winners by a single ace, 48 to 47. Great credit must go to the mentors of both teams who put in a lot of hours in the run up to the semi-finals and finals and Clare handball owes a debt of gratitude to people like Christy Philpot, Joe Cor- bett, John Clune and Owen Conlon.
The weekend just passed also saw the East Clare Construction-sposn- sored Boys Under 11 tournament, hosted by the Kilkishen club. There was a large turnout and the day con- cluded with Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3 finals. One of Clare’s great handball servants through the years, in the shape of Donal Flem- ing, was on hand to help organise, run and referee the various games.
Meanwhile, the Clare County Ju- venile Handball Committee held the annual Medal Presentation Evening at East Clare Golf Club on Sunday last. All players who won county, Munster or All-Ireland honours, in- cluding Sunday’s victorious team- event winners, were presented with iW eLoyDMmBaLeLO rN ECE
County Chairman Matthew Mc- Mahon addressed those present and highlighted the importance of a strong juvenile structure in keeping handball booming within the coun-
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