Sports
Football legend joins Galway Sports Stars Hall of Fame elite
SOME of the county’s top sporting personalities will be honoured for their achievements over the past 12 months at the 51st annual Galway Sports Stars awards banquet in the Galway Bay Hotel, Salthill on Saturday night, January 23.
They will be joined by Hall of Fame recipient Bosco McDermott, who was ever present on the Galway football team which won the All-Ireland three-in-a-row during the sixties and subsequently guided the county to the Connacht title in 1995 during his term as team manager.
It will also be a big night for the Corofin GAA Club as the exploits of their senior footballers in powering their way to the All-Ireland title last March is being recognised with the Team of the Year award, while a mainstay of that side, Gary Sice, will pick up the Gaelic football accolade for the second consecutive year.
A third award for the parish of Corofin goes to Galway Ladies Football star Tracey Leonard.
History will also be made when Kinvara’s Colm Callanan becomes the first goalkeeper to be honoured as the Hurler of the Year, while Liam Mellows clubman Jeffrey Lynskey, who guided the Galway minors to a terrific All-Ireland triumph, claims the Manager of the Year award.
A striking feature of the 2015 awards is the equine theme to three of them as recipients, Leigh Roche (Horse Racing), Michael Duffy (Showjumping) and Cathal Daniels (Eventing), are horsemen of the highest calibre in their respective sports and are all previous Sports Stars award winners.
Irish indoor and outdoor senior shot putt champion Sean Breathnach is also no stranger to these awards and he will be feted for the third time in athletics, with national single sculls title holder Sinead McCrohan, Tribesmen RC, adding to the rowing award she won in 2010.
Moycullen Basketball Club, national champions at U14, U17 and U20 level, along with their senior team regain promotion to the Irish Superleague, will receive the Club of the Year award to celebrate their impressive list of achievements.
Newcomers to the honours list are Niamh McGrath (Camogie), James Cleary (Boxing), Devin Morley (Golf), Ellie Noone (Hockey), Daryl Horgan (Soccer), Andrew Moore (Swimming), Karen Dolphin (Karate) and John Cleary (Rugby.
Another highlight of the presentation banquet promises to be the honouring of Imelda Brennan as the Special Dedication award winner in recognition of her lifetime’s involvement with hockey between playing, coaching and administrating.
The Special Achievement award for 2015 goes to a talented group of young golfers from Galway GC, the club’s Fred Daly team who were crowned Home Nations Inter-club champions in Malaga, Spain last March.
The Sports Stars awards are the definitive benchmark of sporting achievement in the county and special guest at the presentation banquet – the social highlight of the local sporting year – will be Pat Lam, Head Coach of the Connacht rugby team which is currently enjoying its best ever season.
Galway’s biggest private employers and medical devices company, Medtronic, have come on board as sponsors and the panel of local journalists who adjudicate on the awards are indebted to the US multinational for its support.
The selection panel comprised of: John McIntyre, Connacht Tribune; Billy Coss, Tuam Herald; Mártan Ó Ciadhra, Raidio na Gaeltachta; Frank Farragher, Connacht Tribune; Stephen Glennon, Connacht Tribune; Michael Glynn, Connacht Tribune; Seán Bán Breathnach, Raidio na Gaeltachta; Noel Carney, Tuam Herald; Keith Kelly, Connacht Tribune; and Dara Bradley, Connacht Tribune.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GALWAY United need to guard against any kind of complacency when they make the short hop down the M18 this Friday to take on Treaty United at the Markets Field (7.45pm).
The game is a meeting of the two form teams in the division, and as in previous meetings between the sides, will have an additional edge given the number of former United players in the home side’s ranks, and the pair of Limerick lads playing for United.
There might have been just the eight meetings between the sides since Treaty became the latest iteration to represent Limerick in the League of Ireland in 2021, and while United have yet to lose to the men in the candy-cane strips, there has never been more than a goal in four of their eight wins.
The most recent of those was back in February, when Rob Slevin scored the only goal of the game in Eamonn Deacy Park after a tough battle against a side who made a slow start to the season, before finally finding their groove in the past month.
Having taken just three points from their first six games before finally getting a win against Longford Town, they reverted to type with just one point from their next three games, but are now on a run of four wins on the spin, scoring 12 goals and conceding just one.
Their most recent win was a 3-0 victory away to Longford Town last Saturday, and they could have won by double that against the only side to have beaten United this season. That in itself is a warning.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Soccer Wrap with Mike Rafferty
While the Salthill Devon men’s team might have lost their grip on the Connacht Junior Cup that they held for two seasons, the club’s women’s side have picked up the mantle and on Sunday last in Headford were crowned provincial champions with a 4-3 win over Manulla.
Following midweek wins for Maree/Oranmore and Knocknacarra, the stage is now almost set for the semi-finals of the Michael Byrne Cup with Salthill Devon meeting St Bernard’s on Sunday in an outstanding quarter-final, with the winners advancing to a semi-final against Maree/Oranmore, while Colga will face Knocknacarra in the other last four contest.
Just one league issue remains to be decided, with the Championship runners-up position up for grabs, as Dynamo Blues have to win their two remaining games in order to overtake Colemanstown United who have finished their programme.
WOMEN’S CONNACHT CUP FINAL
Salthill Devon 4
Manulla 3
Ellerose O’Flaherty scored twice as Salthill Devon were crowned provincial champions with a win over a Mayo side who were losing in the final for the second year in succession.
Backboned by a number of players who previously had League of Ireland experience with Galway WFC, Devon suffered an early set back when Jess Nolan put Manulla ahead, before O’Flaherty levelled matters with a cracking finish on 20 minutes, which was quickly followed by a long-range free-kick from Aoife Walsh.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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