*Kilmaley’s Tommy Barry. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill

There was no shortage of talking points when neighbours Kilmaley and Éire Óg did battle in the opening round of the senior hurling championship at a wet Cusack Park this Saturday evening.

Kilmaley 3-18
Éire Óg 3-15
Venue: Cusack Park, Ennis

Kilmaley emerged as deserving winners of a tie which produced six goals and some impressive individual displays.

When Éire Óg look back on this one they will reflect on a first half when they conceded three goals which ultimately proved costly.

Their success in the Clare Cup clearly helped Kilmaley as they were the more settled outfit for much of this game. That said they will admit that they struggled for a period in the second half but they recovered to finish strongly in a game in which nine players shared in their final tally.

The winners had the opening two points and they struck for their first goal in the ninth minute when Daire Keane fired a rasper to the roof of the net to give them a 1-4 to 0-2 lead. Goal number two came at the midpoint of the half and this put the winners 2-5 to 0-3 clear.

A foul on Shane O’Donnell who caused huge problems for the Kilmaley defence throughout the tie, led to a penalty which David Reidy converted four minutes later but Kilmaley had this cancelled out within two minutes when Gearoid O’Grady supplied the finish on the way to his side’s half time lead of eight points, 3-9 to 1-7.

Whatever was said in the Éire Óg dressing room at half time certainly got a reaction and five minutes into the new half there was just one score between the sides after the Ennis men had hit 1-3 while conceding just a point. Darren O’Brien was the goalscorer after Shane O’Donnell had created the opening.

A brace of Michael O’Malley points pushed the winners five clear but two from Shane O’Donnell left the score at 3-13 to 2-13 at the three quarter stage.

Éire Óg closed the gap to two with five minutes remaining but Kilmaley finished strongly and four unanswered points had them six clear with the game in injury time.

In the third of three added minutes substitute Kevin Brennan got in for a goal which was allowed despite protests that there was a square infringement.

Overall Kilmaley deserved victory on a day when Conor Cleary, Mikey O’Neill, Michael O’Malley, Brian McNamara and Daire Keane made valuable contributions. Shane O’Donnell was Éire Óg’s best player while David Reidy, also did well.

Scorers Kilmaley; Michael O’Malley (0-8, 6f, 1 line ball) Daire Keane (1-2) Cian Moloney (1-0), Tommy Barry (1 line ball), Brian McNamara (0-2) each, Sean Kennedy, Sean Ronan, Eanna McMahon, Brian Cahill (0-1) each

Scorers Éire Óg: Danny Russell (0-6, 5frees), David Reidy (1-3, 1-0 penalty) Shane O’Donnell (0-3), Darren O’Brien, Kevin Brennan (1-0) each, Tom Downes, David McNamara, Jarlath Collins (0-1) each

Kilmaley:
1: Bryan O’Loughlin

3: Colin McGuane
22: Martin O’Connor
2: Noel Casey

5: Aidan McGuane
6: Conor Cleary
24: Brian McNamara

8: Mikey O’Neill
4: Tommy Barry

13: Sean O’Loughlin
9: Brian Cahill
11: Michael O’Malley

18: Daire Keane
15: Gearoid O’Grady
12: Cian Moloney

Subs:
10: Éanna McMahon for Cahill (half time)
7: Sean Kennedy for O’Connor (52)
19: Sean Ronan for Moloney (58)
17: Joe Carmody for S. O’Loughlin (60)

Éire Óg:
1: Philly Walsh

2: Jarlath Collins
3: Ciaran Russell
4: Aidan McGrath

5: Niall McMahon
6: Aaron Fitzgerald
9: Cian O’Dea

15: Darren O’Brien
19: Tom Downes

10: David McNamara
11: David Reidy
13: Gavin Cooney

12: Oran Cahill
11: Shane O’Donnell
14: Danny Russell

Subs:
21: Conor O’Halloran for Downes (18)
22: Mikey Maloney for McGrath (27)
7: Liam Corry for Fitzgerald (half time);
20: Eoin Guilfoyle for McMahon (40),
18: Kevin Brennan for Cahill (56)

Referee; Joe Mullins, Clonlara

Related News

electoral chair debate 21-11-24 violet-anne wynne 4
Ex TD Wynne says she cannot pay this week's rent of €300 & 'is going to people who lend money & add interest'
play in pink kilrush 1
Kilrush golfers swing behind Play in Pink for cancer research
Snn Ryanair 1_cropped
Ryanair recruiting for 35 cabin crew roles in Shannon
weather warning
High temperatures reaching 30°c this weekend

Advertisement

Latest News
weather warning
High temperatures reaching 30°c this weekend
clare rd cycle scheme 1
'Ennis is choked with cars' - Clare Greens hail transport plan as 'visionary'
joe cooney jerry buttimer orlaigh thompson 1
Irish Seed Savers contributed €115k to local economy in 2024
mill rd traffic lights 1
'Staying stuck in traffic means staying stuck in the past' warn Better Ennis
murt mcinerney 1
'Doonbeg was the centre of Murt McInerney's universe and he was at the heart of it'
Premium
liam o'connor 1
Kilmaley's Liam left for Australia in 2012 and now runs successful Perth-based machinery & contracting business
Please Credit Photograph by Eamon Ward
'The Council want to rip up roads' - Flynn says Ennis transport plan is anti-car
mary howard mayor
Councillors stopped from having vote on Ennis transport plan with Mayor Howard coming under fire in first meeting
kerry v clare 04-05-25 manus doherty 1
Clare GAA make extra profit with sale of Roslevan house & officers commit to fight 'tooth & nail' against changes to Munster SFC
harvey's quay parnell street car park taxi rank 1
Reference to paused Ennis 2040 projects to be removed from transport plan

Subscribe for just €3 per month

If you’re here, you care about County Clare. So do we. Did you rely on us for Covid-19 updates, follow our election coverage, or visit The Clare Echo every week for breaking news and sport? The Clare Echo invests in local journalism and we want to safeguard its future in our county. By becoming a subscriber you are supporting what we do, will receive access to all our premium articles and a better experience, while helping us improve our offering to you. Subscribe to clareecho.ie and get the first six months for just €3 a month (less than 75c per week), and thereafter €8 per month. Cancel anytime, limited time offer. T&Cs Apply. www.clareecho.ie.

Subscribe for just €3 per month

If you’re here, you care about County Clare. So do we. Did you rely on us for Covid-19 updates, follow our election coverage, or visit The Clare Echo every week for breaking news and sport? The Clare Echo invests in local journalism and we want to safeguard its future in our county. By becoming a subscriber you are supporting what we do, will receive access to all our premium articles and a better experience, while helping us improve our offering to you. Subscribe to clareecho.ie and get the first six months for just €3 a month (less than 75c per week), and thereafter €8 per month. Cancel anytime, limited time offer. T&Cs Apply. www.clareecho.ie.

Advertisement