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Senior Hurling

The senior hurlers take on Kildangan in the third round of the championship in Nenagh on this Saturday at 5.30pm.

Féile

The Kilruane MacDonaghs U-14 hurlers retained the North Féile title when they had eight points to spare against Roscrea in the final in St. Michael’s Park in Toomevara on a 2-4 to 0-2 scoreline. This was the fifth time MacDonaghs had claimed the Maher Cup, which was first presented in 2001. Kilruane were the inaugural winners of this trophy and also tasted success in 2006, 2009 and 2011. On their path to the final they had accounted for Borrisokane and Toomevara.

Roscrea had first use of the icy diagonal wind, but they found the MacDonaghs defence in stubborn mood. After five scoreless minutes Craig Morgan was fouled and he tapped over the resultant free to open the scoring. The outstanding Cian Darcy was unlucky to see a long range effort drift wide. The Kilruane defence breathed a sigh of relief when a Roscrea effort for goal hit the side netting. After twenty minutes they eventually recorded their first score when they raised a white flag to leave the teams level at the break.

On the resumption, John Blagdon was introduced at corner-forward and added considerable strength to the attack. Craig Morgan was moved to full forward where his agility caused problems for the Roscrea defence. In the second minute Jerome Cahill was fouled after a rampaging run and the ever accurate Craig Morgan punished the indiscretion. After a quiet first half Rory McCarthy began to flourish at centre-forward and in the third minute he ploughed through the Roscrea defence and banged the sliotar to the net. Cian Darcy increased the lead with a point from a long distance free after the hard working Oisín O’Meara was fouled. He tacked on another from a sixty five to leave five points between the sides. Roscrea responded with a point but Rory McCarthy put the issue beyond doubt when he crashed home his second goal. To Roscrea’s credit, they kept battling away and keeper Mark O’Neill made three magnificent saves to keep them at bay. Not only did Mark save the rasping shots, but he controlled the sliotar and effected clearances, drawing admiration from both sets of supporters. When referee Tommy Ryan signalled the end there was a gap of eight points.

MacDonaghs showed considerable improvement since the semi-final victory over Toomevara. Mark O’Neill was magnificent in goals and aside from his brilliant saves he placed his puck outs with great accuracy. The inside defence of Liam Hannon, Aaron Conroy and Tommy Dooley was very secure. Liam added a bit of steel to the line, though Tommy would probably be happier in the attack. Jerome Cahill was equally effective at centre-back and midfield. Oisín O’Meara worked tirelessly at wing- back, with captain Conor Lillis performing well on the other flank. Cian Darcy was outstanding at both midfield and later in the second half at centre-back. Martin Grace put in a solid shift in the middle of the field. The attack took time to find their feet, but in the second half they upped their game. Craig Morgan was busy all through and Rory McCarthy burst into life in the second half. Ben Healy, Sean Quinlan, Cormac Mannion, Kevin Shinners all had their moments.

After the game Mike Flynn, chairman of North Tipperary Bord na nÓg, presented the trophy to captain Conor Lillis, who delivered a very fine acceptance speech. On leaving Toomevara, players and selectors adjourned to Lucky Bags for a well deserved meal, before embarking on the customary tour of the village Congratulations to the entire panel and the management team of Christy Morgan, Ned Darcy, Michael Reddan and Justin Cahill.

Team: Mark O’Neill, Liam Hannon, Aaron Conroy, Tommy Dooley, Conor Lillis, Jerome Cahill, Oisín O’Meara, Cian Darcy (0-2), Martin Grace, Sean Quinlan, Rory McCarthy (2-0), Ben Healy, Cormac Mannion, Kevin Shinners and Craig Morgan (0-2). Subs: John Blagdon, Sean McAdams, Eoghan Mulcahy and Luke Dervan. MacDonaghs Abú.

Junior A Hurling

The junior A hurlers chalked up their second successive win in the league when they defeated Toomevara in MacDonagh Park on a 1-17 to 1-15 scoreline. Assisted by the light breeze MacDonaghs played into the village goal in the first half. They dominated the opening thirty minutes and the new electronic scoreboard showed them to be ahead 0-11 to 0-6, when referee Eddie Kennedy signalled the end of the first period. On the restart, Liam Gibson was on target from a 65 to extend the lead to six. Toomevara hit a purple patch, with four unanswered points on the trot, to reduce the deficit to two points after thirty six minutes. Kieran Cahill pointed from a free and Pat Conway, who had been switched to the attack, swung over a point. Toomevara responded with two white flags and there were just two between the teams.

A Kieran Cahill free restored the three point cushion. In the forty seventh minute Declan Barrett ghosted inside the Toome defence and blasted to the net to afford MacDonaghs more breathing space. Pat Conway traded two points with Toome and with normal time up there was still a margin of six. A minute into added time Toomevara were credited with a goal, although the sliotar went wide. After consultation with the two neutral umpires the referee deemed it was a goal. Unfortunately, there was no goal line technology available to show that the ball was wide and hadn’t gone through a hole in the net, as indicated by the umpire who was on the wrong side to offer any accurate assessment. Specsavers can expect two extra customers on Monday morning. Toome tacked on another point to leave Kilruane with two points to spare at the finish. This was another encouraging performance after the first round win against Burgess. The attack moved well in the first half, though the half-forwards struggled in the final quarter. Cian Williams and Liam Gibson were very impressive in defence with Sean Hayes settling well in his new role at full-back Team: David Reddan, Cian Williams, Sean Hayes, Freddie Williams, David Williams, Liam Gibson, Pat Conway, Willie Darcy, Scott Hodgins, Alan Darcy, James Williams, Robert Austin, Kieran Cahill, Niall Murphy and Eoin Williams. Subs: Declan Barrett, Tomás Hogan and Michael Reddan.

 

Junior B Hurling

The junior B hurlers were pipped by a point in the second round of the league in MacDonagh Park on a 1-12 to 2-8 scoreline. They held a three point advantage at the break with the score 1-5 to 0-5 in their favour. Full forward Colin England had rounded the full-back in the eleventh minute to kick the sliotar to the net. He bagged his second after eighteen minutes in the second half. This looked like setting up MacDonaghs for victory looked but they ran out of steam in the final few minutes and Burgess got their noses ahead on the line. Team: Robert Ward, Fergal England, Sean Hayes, Conor Austin, Tomás Hogan, Cian Williams (0-1) David Williams (0-2), Scott Hodgins, Robert Austin (0-2), Conor Cleary (0-2), Niall Murphy, Mark Spain (0-1), Colin England (2-0) and David Mooney.

Premier 12s Football

In Group 4 the second team recorded their first win when they overcame Silvermines in Dolla on a 4-8 to 2-4 scoreline. The home team were first off the mark with a point. MacDonaghs took time to adapt to the drizzly conditions. Sam Darcy put the sides level when he raised a white flag. Silvermines struck for 1-1 to open a four point gap. Sam Darcy slotted over his second point before the Mines restored the four point advantage to leave the score 1-3 to 0-2 at the break.

Kilruane hit the ground running in the second half and Jack Dwan, who was now operating at full forward, swung over three sweet points with the left peg. He was unfortunate to see a rocket of a shot nestle in the side netting. Sam Darcy eventually breached the rearguard when he tucked the ball sweetly in the corner of the Mines net. Jack Dwan added another point and Sam Darcy popped up for his second goal. The home team made little headway against the MacDonaghs defence where Cian Spillane and Kieran Spain were outstanding, with good support from Joseph Donnelly. Eoin England was soundness personified in the number one shirt. At midfield Conor Quinlan and Owen Farrell grew in stature as the game wore on. The Mines kept plugging away and were rewarded with their second goal. This stunned MacDonaghs into a quick riposte and Ben Cahalan, who was very effective in the second half, punched home an opportunist goal. Silvermines struck back with a point before Ben Cahalan lashed home his second from close range. Team: Eoin England (Capt), Cian Spillane, Kieran Spain, Joseph Donnelly, Owen Farrell, Jack Dwan (0-4), Ben Cahalan (2-0), Conor Quinlan and Sam Darcy (2-4). Referee: Mike Hallinan (Nenagh Éire Óg).

In Group 1 the first team met a very useful Kildangan side in Puckane and came up short on a 5-3 to 1-3 scoreline. The home side scored a goal in the first minute and always had the edge in this contest. MacDonaghs battled gamely all through and there were good performances from Sean McAdams, Mark O’Neill and Owen Usman. Team: Jack Dunne, Mark O’Neill, Patrick Hayes, Kian O’Kelly, Louis Kennedy, Sean McAdams (0-2), Owen Usman, Devlin Courtney (0-1), Dylan Moran, Aaron Morgan and Matthew Spain (1-0). Subs: Luke Morkan and Matthew Moyles.

 

 

U-8 Hurling

The U-8 hurlers travelled to Dolla and played two enjoyable games against Silvermines.

Garda Cup

Caolainn Conroy was a member of the North Tipperary U-16 panel which defeated Mid Tipperary to win the Garda Cup. Len Gaynor coached the side. Darragh Peters, James Cleary, Niall Shinners and Brendan McAdams were members of the North Tipperary U-15 hurling panel which participated in the Roger Ryan tournament in Toomevara.

Summer Camp

The annual Kellogs Summer Camp takes place in MacDonagh Park, July 2nd to July 6th. The cost is €55 for first child, €45 for second child and €40 for third and subsequent children. Application forms will be distributed through the local primary schools.

Astro Turf

The laying of the Astro Turf was completed on Saturday. The following assembled to complete the work: Michael Hogan, Johnny Peters, Paddy Williams, Michael O’Neill, Christy Morgan, Justin Cahill, John Cahill, Jim O’Meara, Michael Cahill and Gilbert Williams. Thanks to Carmel Daly who supplied the very welcome refreshments. Thanks to all who helped over the past number of weeks. The club now has a fantastic facility. It’s now up to the various team managers to make maximum use of the hurling wall to raise the standard of hurling in the club. The U-12s have already had two very successful sessions at the wall and the U-14s also had a productive hour there. Perimeter fencing will be erected within the next two weeks. It is hoped that a guest coach will do a session with one of our teams to mark the opening of the wall.

County Draw

The twenty fifth anniversary County Draw has been launched. There is a total prize fund of half a million euro, including twenty five cars. Promoters will be canvassing the parish in an effort to enlist all existing subscribers and to recruit new members for the biggest ever County Draw.

MacDonagh Festival

The annual Thomas MacDonagh festival takes place on the weekend of May 4th to 7th. Cloughjordan Heritage Vol V11 will be launched on Friday May 7th in the clubroom at 8.00pm. This book contains a wealth of historical material, as well as an article on Eamon O’Shea and profiles of the All-Ireland champions of 1986. The All-Ireland minor football trophy will be on display that night. On Monday May 7th the final of the U-14 Billy O’Meara tournament will take place in MacDonagh Park at 7.00pm.