Under 21
In a game of honest endeavour, which rarely sparkled, a better balanced Nenagh side deservedly booked their place in the semi-final with a 2-13 to 1-13 victory. Nenagh lacked the services of Barry Heffernan while for Kilruane MacDonaghs the Peters brothers, Jack and Darragh, were visibly hampered by injury. Kieran Cahill opened the scoring with a point and James Mackey cancelled this out with a similar effort for Nenagh. A point from Philip Hickey put Nenagh ahead and subsequently they were never led. At halftime it was still all to play for as Nenagh were just ahead by four points, with the score 1-7 to 0-6 in their favour. Mark Tuite had scored the crucial goal when he fastened on to a breaking ball and whipped the sliotar to the net. In the third quarter Nenagh took a firm grip on proceedings. Their halfback line of Darragh Walsh, Sean Geaney and Andrew Coffey were in the ascendancy and supplied the ammunition to their forwards. They opened up a ten point gap and looked set for a comfortable victory, despite wasting numerous scoring chances. With the score 2-12 to 0-8 in favour of Nenagh, Kilruane refused to throw in the towel. A brace of points from play by Kieran Cahill sparked the MacDonaghs revival. Conor Cleary crashed the sliotar to the net and it was game on. Kilruane struck 1-5 in the final ten minutes while Nenagh could only reply with point. The momentum was with the champions in the closing minutes but the clock was their enemy. The deficit was cut to three points but Nenagh held out for a deserved victory. Team: Niall Shinners, Stephen Cleary, Brendan McAdams, Jack Peters, Caoilainn Conroy, Tomás Hogan, Conor Austin, Darragh Peters, Alan Darcy, Conor Cleary (1-2), Kieran Cahill (0-9), David Williams, James Cleary (0-1), Paddy Ryan and Bob Dooley. Subs: Aidan Boyle (0-1), Finnian Mannion and Tom Dooley. In the losers’ group MacDonaghs will take on Toomevara in Moneygall on this Sunday, November 2nd at 11.30pm.
Billy O’Meara Tournament
Kilruane MacDonaghs overcame Shannon Rovers by 4-7 to 3-8 in the final of the Billy O’Meara U14 hurling tournament in MacDonagh Park. After the game Phyllis O’Meara presented the trophy to Mark O’Neill.
Under 8
The U8 hurlers wound up their season with a presentation ceremony in MacDonagh Park. Players, mentors, club officials and a large cohort of parents gathered for the last coaching session. Chairman Sean Ward thanked the players, coaches and parents for their commitment throughout the long season. Tipperary minor hurler Darragh Peters made a special presentation to each player to mark their completion of the coaching programme. Refreshments were served to all.
Ardcroney Training
The weekly Wednesday training sessions conducted by Len Gaynor in Ardcroney have just concluded. Thanks to Len and his helpers for their dedication during the year.
Golden Jubilee
Len Gaynor and his colleagues from the Tipperary 1964/’65 All-Ireland winning teams were honoured at the county semi-finals in Semple Stadium last Sunday.
Lotto
Congratulations to Bridget Peters, Kilruane who won €2,700 in the Kilruane MacDonaghs Lotto. Thanks to our subscribers and promoters whose unswerving loyalty helps make the Lotto such an outstanding success. It is our primary source of income and we look forward to your continued support. The jackpot stands at a very attractive €2,100. Tickets, costing €2 each or three for €5, are available from our extensive network of promoters. Next draw is in Patsy’s Bar.
Meeting
The monthly meeting of the club committee has been deferred to Wednesday, November 5th at 8.00pm. There are a number of very important items on the agenda so all committee members are requested to attend.
Tipperary Club NY
Congratulations to former Kilruane MacDonaghs player Stephen Carty who is being honoured by the Tipperary hurling club in New York at the annual banquet in the Fountainhead on Saturday, December, 6th. Special guests on the night will be Mark O’Leary, Jim ‘Breeze’ O’Meara, Tipperary captain Brendan Maher and the Tipperary senior management. Stephen won a North U12 football medal with MacDonaghs in 1982 and a divisional U14 hurling medal in 1985. On his arrival in the Big Apple in 1998, he joined the Tipperary club. Stephen won a New York junior medal in 2000 and was also part of the successful senior panel the same season. In 2003 he managed the Tipperary team to win the New York hurling title. He has served the Tipperary club as secretary, treasurer, PRO and board delegate. This year his son Sean captained NY Celtics to win the North American U8 championship, scoring 2-2 in the final and receiving the cup from GAA President Liam O'Neill. Stephen maintains very close contact with the Kilruane MacDonaghs club. He sponsored the much coveted New York student prize fundraiser in 2014 and the good news is that Stephen is sponsoring a job for two students in 2015.
Handball
The colleges All-Ireland handball semi-finals and finals were played on last Saturday in Roscommon and Galway. Borrisokane Community College were represented in the junior competition by Sean McAdams and Daire Madden. They had a good win in the semi-final against Castlecomer C.S. and in the final they lost out to Omagh CBS. Jerome Cahill overcame his Mullingar opponent in the semi-final. In the decider he saw off the challenge of his rival from Claremorris. Jerome hit top form and won in two straight games to bring the U17 title back to Nenagh CBS.
