*Edel McNamara of Kilmihil gets away from Éire Óg’s Amy Russell. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
FAVOURITES Kilmihil, Kilmurry Ibrickane and Banner Ladies all began their Clare LGFA senior championship bids with winning starts while Liscannor reigned supreme over Burren Gaels to mark a successful jump to senior.
Kilmurry Ibrickane accounting for Doora/Barefield may not have been a surprise but the twenty one point hammering dished out to The Parish certainly raised eyebrows.
Champions Kilmihil ran out convincing twenty eight point victors against Éire Óg which already ties up their clash with Kilmurry Ibrickane as one to decide who tops the group while the meeting of neighbours St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield and Éire Óg will determine who is battling relegation.
Back with a vengeance, Banner Ladies proved too strong for Fergus Rovers while the shock of the round saw Liscannor overturn Burren Gaels.
Round two takes place this Sunday. Doora/Barefield have had to concede home advantage and face Kilmihil at St Michael’s Park (15:30) while Kilmurry Ibrickane will look to record back to back wins at Éire Óg’s expense in Ennis (14:00).
In Group 2, the two defeated sides, Fergus Rovers face off with Burren Gaels in Páirc na Muintire, Lissycasey (13:30) while Banner Ladies head north to Liscannor at 14:00.
Champions Kilmihil show class against Éire Óg
Kilmihil 5-21
Éire Óg 0-8
Venue: St Michael’s Park, Kilmihil
As expected Kilmihil kicked off the defence of their county title with victory against Éire Óg which already puts them in a firm position of advancing to the knockout stages.
Caught on their own kickouts on too many occasions, Éire Óg afforded Kilmihil opportunities to punish them which they duly did, seven of their sixteen points in the opening half stemming from turnovers from kickouts.
When the second half came around, Kilmihil turned their focus to green flags and they raided for four in the final quarter to flesh out the scoreline to twenty eight points by the final whistle.
Éire Óg missed their first two chances on goal, a wide and the crossbar denying Alanna McNamara who would be their chief scoring target over the hour.
Two goal opportunities were spurned by Kilmihil in the first quarter but they were raising white flags, Áine McNamara with a brace and Ailish Considine kicking a two pointer to respond to Alanna McNamara’s first point.
Considine’s quick thinking saw her go short with a 45 which allowed Katie Mullen to split the posts, this arriving after Considine had landed a second two pointer of the day on sixteen minutes.
As they began to struggle on kickouts, Éire Óg compounded matters by conceding frees which a clinical Kilmihil punished. They scored 0-7 without reply in the second quarter and by half time were 1-16 0-2 in front, the goal arriving on thirty minutes when Áine McNamara and Eimear Considine combined with a running attack for the experienced Eimear to finish to the net.
Playing with the aid of the breeze in the second half, Éire Óg brought more energy and pushed up on the Kilmihil kickout. They worked the ball to Alanna McNamara and scored on their first attack, they followed this with Sarah Redmond splitting the posts after driving forward from a solo and go. McNamara kicked the next two scores to see the Ennis side put four scores on the bounce.
Becky Mahon kicked Kilmihil’s first score of the half on thirty nine minutes and they added to this with an Ailish Considine free. Éire Óg replied with two scores in succession, Maggie Power and McNamara on target as the game entered the final quarter.
This became Kilmihil’s purple patch, Éire Óg’s decision to push up left them exposed at the back and the West Clare side capitalised. Edel McNamara hit the net in a move made by Eimear Considine on forty six minutes, she had a second on fifty five minutes, Considine again the provider via a solo and go fifty yards out before popping to Edel.
Possession stayed with Kilmihil, Katie Mullen finished goal number in their next attack, Eimear Considine again teeing up the shot. Considine took the credit for their fifth goal, her sister Ailish the provider in this instance.
Scorers Kilmihil: E McNamara (2-3), E Considine (2-1), A Considine (0-7 2TP), K Mullen (1-3), A McNamara (0-4), B Mahon (0-3).
Scorers. Éire Óg: A McNamara (0-6), S Redmond (0-1), M Power (0-1).
Kilmihil: Micaela Glynn; Niamh Quinlivan, Rosie Currane, Aisling Downes; Megan Downes Rigney, Ellie O’Gorman, Zoey Ryan; Ailish Considine, Laura Egan; Carol O’Leary, Becjy Mahon, Edel mc, aine mcnamara, Eimear Considine, Katie Mullen.
Subs: Sarah Browne for A McNamara (HT), Grainne McMahon for Ryan (HT), Aoife McNamara for Downes (HT), Katie O’Halloran for Quinlivan (HT), Caitriona O’Gorman for Mahon (HT).
Éire Óg: Rebecca Crowe; Amy Lyne, Aoibheann Hahessy, Laura Brown; Orla Devitt, Amy Russell, Maria Redmond; Roisin Martin, Sarah Redmond; Maeve McInerney, Rachel Russell, Elizabeth Russell; Maggie Power, Alannah McNamara, Genevieve Scullion.
Subs: Sarah Broderick for R Russell (35), Charlie Duggan for Scullion (38), Izzy Coffey for Brown (50), Katie Conlon for McInerney (50), Heather O’Malley for E Russell (50).
Referee: Barry Kelly (St Joseph’s Miltown)
Gallery of photographs by Gerard O’Neill.
Kilmurry Ibrickane take down Doora/Barefield
Kilmurry Ibrickane 3-16
St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield 0-4
Venue: Páirc Naomh Mhuire, Quilty
Four points was the gap when these sides met in the 2024 county final, Kilmurry Ibrickane again came out on top in their latest encounter but this time by a margin of twenty one points, a statistic to clearly indicate the diverging paths both sides have taken since then.
Kilmurry Ibrickane took their scores well and were the stronger more balanced outfit of the two which is why they are marked as genuine contenders. They got their scorers when they had the elements with Ciara McCarthy kicking a two pointer.
Playing with the breeze in the opening half, Doora/Barefield trailed by seven at the break which was the sign that they’d be leaving West Clare without the coveted points. They had been level twice in the opening ten minutes.
They lacked an attacking threat and didn’t unduly test the Bricks’ defence, they will have to find firepower if they are to make a dent in this year’s championship and coughed up five wides in the first half. With players such as Aisling Hannan, Eabha O’Driscoll and Aoibhinn O’Loughlin they have ability but the scoreboard needs to be ticking frequently.
What helped to keep them in the game in the opening half was their ability to turn over Kilmurry Ibrickane kickouts and keep pressure in this sector of the field, but they crucially were unable to force scores from this.
Ironically Kayla Darcy’s goal for the hosts in the second half stemmed from a turned over Doora/Barefield kickout. The flip side was when the Bricks applied pressure on Doora/Barefield’s kickouts, they picked off scorers and the Parish found it immensely difficult to bring the ball out of their defence.
Íde O’Connor struck for goal in the opening half when her effort was dropped into the net while a composed finish from Chloe Moloney on forty minutes saw the second goal arrive.
On top in the second half, Kilmurry Ibrickane drove forward and their backs weren’t overly busy. In the first half, they defended well by pushing the opposing forwards out wide but as the game progressed, Joanna Doohan and Leah Darcy got on more ball to nullify Doora/Barefield’s limited threat.
Scorers: Chloe Moloney (1-7, 0-2f), Ide O’Connor 1-1, Kayla Darcy 1-0, Ciara McCarthy (0-3, 1TP), Amy Sexton 0-3, Ellie Hanrahan, Leah Darcy 0-1 each.
Scorers: Eabha O’Driscoll (0-2 1f), Aisling Hannon (0-1), Sophie Torpey (0-1)
Kilmurry Ibrickane: Rebecca Sexton; Aoife Martin, Rebecca Doohan, Niamh Miller; Keela Markham, Joanna Doohan, Leah Darcy; Ciara McCarthy, Íde O’Connor; Sophie Daly, Amy Sexton, Kayla Darcy; Karen Galvin, Chloe Moloney, Michaela Sexton.
Subs: Ellie Hanrahan for Galvin (40) (inj), Rachel Tubridy for Markham (45), Emma Talty for O’Connor (50), Sarah Keavey for M Sexton (50), Máire Garvey for Martin (55).
St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield: Orla Moloney; Lucy Power, Fiona Tuohy, Meadhbh O’Connor; Eimear Clune, Hannah Doyle, Ciara Cahill; Sophie Torpey, Shauna Moloney; Aisling Hannon, Aobhinn O’Loughlin, Amy Reynolds; Katie Callaghan, Eabha O’Driscoll, Siún McNamara.
Subs: Sophie Leahy for McNamara (40), Katie Moran for Callaghan (49), Laura Butler for O’Connor (49), Muirne O’Connell for Reynolds (49).
Referee: John O’Connell (Cooraclare)
Liscannor full of life to start senior run on a high
Liscannor 2-13
Burren Gaels 2-5
Venue: Gleann Chíosóg, Carron
Liscannor took a major step forward in their bid to secure successive seasons in the top flight.
Last year’s intermediate champions deservedly overcame Burren Gaels in the North Clare derby to kick off a successful jump to senior football. They will of course look to follow up this high in their upcoming games with Banner Ladies and Fergus Rovers, where another positive result will guarantee their status but if Burren Gaels fail to put points on board this first round game will not alone keep them in senior but put them into the knockout stages.
Sinead Considine goaled in the first quarter to steady the visitors who fell behind with Emma Healy’s opener but they did manage to get level thanks to Roisin Considine.
Composure from Burren Gaels saw them respond to the major by bagging a goal of their own when Ellie O’Dwyer capitalised with twelve minutes played.
Scores from Roisin Considine, Shannon Cagney and Marie Considine helped Liscannor to a 1-7 1-1 interval lead but they should have been further ahead and kicked five wides in a row during the second quarter.
Kicking on as the ball was thrown in, Liscannor extended their advantage, scoring 1-1 on the bounce. Marie Considine collected the goal with Cagney adding to her tally when splitting the posts.
Burren Gaels did battle for the final quarter, Teresa Collins finishing a high ball to the net but they were guilty of missing two goal chances as they tried to pull off a comeback. They felt the losses of Lizzy Roche, Sally King, Áine Hegarty and Norah O’Dwyer but their focus quickly switches to trying to snatch points off Fergus Rovers.
Scorers Liscannor: Roisin Considine (0-5), Shannon Cagney (0-4), Sinead Considine (1-3), Maire Considine (1-0) Ella Healy (0-1).
Scorers Burren Gaels: Ellie O’ Dwyer, Teresa Collins (1-0 each), Emma Healy (0-3, 2fs), Caoimhe Byrne O’ Connell, Ciara Mai O’ Dwyer (0-1 each).
Liscannor: Aine Burke, Aislinn Nagle, Lisa Connelly, Aoife Considine, Leah Commane, Orlaith Considine, Ella Healy, Shannon Cagney, Maria Fitzgerald, Emer McInerney, Roisin Considine, Lauren Flaherty, Maire Considine, Blaithnaid Reynolds, Sinead Considine.
Subs: Elaine Shannon for McInerney, Cliona Falvey for Reynolds, Katie Considine for M Considine.
Burren Gaels: Bernie Linnane, Sarah Leigh, Caoilinn McCormack, Abbey Cahir, Ciara Mai O’ Dwyer, Shannon McCormack, Mairead O’ Shea, Lauren Fahy, Teresa Collins, Ellie O’ Dwyer, Emma Healy, Caoimhe Byrne O’ Connell, Kayleigh McCormack, Roisin McNamara, Laura Griffey.
Subs: Sarah Hawes for Fahey, Aisling Nagle for O’ Shea.
Referee: Noel Quinn (Gort)
Big Banner statement with eight point win over Fergus Rovers
Banner Ladies 3-8
Fergus Rovers 1-6
Venue: Banner GAA, Ennis
Determined to get back to the winners enclosure after a two year absence, Banner Ladies started as they mean to go on when overcoming Fergus Rovers by eight points in round one.
The band is almost back together so far as the Banner are concerned. Grainne Nolan’s return from Australia, Naomi Carroll is back after giving birth to her first child while the experienced powerhouses of Niamh Keane, Niamh O’Dea, Laurie Ryan and Louise Henchy remain along with the addition of former Clare camogie player Eimear Kelly.
Though Aoibhin Ryan and Nolan from a free had Banner leading, by the arrival of the second quarter the sides were level following a brace from Louise Cleary.
This was as good as it got for Fergus Rovers with Banner powering, outscoring them 2-4 0-1 for the remainder of the half, Niamh O’Dea and Ryan striking for goal. It was a powerful finish from O’Dea to set them on their way.
Half-time saw the score read 2-6 0-3 and with their first attack, there was a bit of life about Fergus Rovers thanks to Aoibhin Keane raiding for goal.
Demonstrating their clinical nature, Banner killed off this comeback and immediately struck for goal with Nolan weaving her way through the Fergus Rovers defence and rattling the ball past Aoife Griffin.
Scorers Banner Ladies: G Nolan (1-3 3f), A Ryan (1-2), N O’Dea (1-1 1f), N Keane (0-1), L Henchy (0-1)
Scorers Fergus Rovers: L Cleary (0-3), A Keane (1-0), A Costelloe (0-2), R Meaney (0-1)
Banner Ladies: Kate Dowling; Niamh Beirne, Eva O’Dea, Holly Wynne; Laoise Ryan, Clare Hehir, Emer Burke; Louise Henchy, Aoife Keane; Eimear Kelly, Niamh O’Dea, Grainne Nolan; Laurie Ryan, Niamh Keane, Aoibhin Ryan.
Subs: Naomi Carroll for Kelly (HT), Caoilfhionn O’Dwyer for Henchy (60).
Fergus Rovers: Aoife Keane; Emma Keating, Ciara O’Malley, Abbie Cahill; Sophie Culleton, Shauna Melican, Fiona Breen; Ali Talty, Áine Slattery; Ria Meaney, Hazel Keating, Louise Cleary; Clara Meaney, Aisling Costelloe, Aoibhin Keane.
Subs: Zoey Warren for Cahill (18), Eimear Burke for O’Malley (HT), Meave Clancy for E Keating (HT), Abbi Doyle for C Meaney (HT), Ellen Griffin for Slattery (52).
Referee: Paul Howard (Ruan)
