Sports
GCH teams prove class apart at Irish relay finals in Tullamore
GALWAY City Harriers relay teams enjoyed great success at the National Track and Field championships held in Tullamore last weekend. The talented squad secured four golds, a silver and bronze medal across the events.
GCH secured the National U19 4 x 400m gold with the team consisting of Eoghan Dobey, Luke O’Shaughnessy, Dylan Neary and Cillin Greene, coached by Frank McGuire. The boys U19 4 x100m squad also took gold, with a National record of 42.80 thanks to the storming efforts of Eoghan Dobey, Jack Dempsey, Sean Kilmartin and Cillin Greene.
The U15 girls 4 x 100m squad of Fezi Angelo Johnny, Seren O’Toole, Zoe Moore, Mairead Flynn and Colma Keady also made the winners’ enclosure, while the GCH girls U18 4 x 400m also came up trumps in setting a new Irish record of 4.08, with the team consisting of Aoife Sheehy, Laura Nally, Naomi Whyte and Roisin Flynn
Craughwell’s U18 girls 4 x 100m team also won the National title in style as the team of Michelle Duggan, Caoilin Milton, Aisling Keady and Laura Cunningham put in a powerful display of sprinting to take gold on the line from a spirited GCH team of Laura Nally, Sallyann O’Malley, Roisin Flynn and Aoife Sheehy and Donore Harriers in third.
There was silver for the GCH U14 girls squad of Sarah Agboola, Joanna Healy, Sinead Duggan, Hannah King and Eimear Rowe and bronze for the GCH 4 x 100m sprint squad of Zino Johnny, Tyrone Ezeogu, Calvin Taye and Jonathan McGrath at U16 level.
Ballinasloe’s U13 boys were just pipped for a medal in the 4 x 100 m relay, placing fourth, while South Galway’s U12 boys team were sixth in their final.
At individual level, Emma Moore of GCH won the U13 600m at the National Championships in a fast time of 1.37, while Lydia Doyle took the U17 100m hurdles title and now travels to the UK this weekend representing Ireland at the Schools International event in Kent. Seren O’Toole, also of GCH, took bronze in the U15 girls 80m hurdles.
There was success across many of the clubs in the county, including for Dearbhaile Walsh of Craughwell and Shannen Lee of Athenry AC who secured silver and bronze respectively in the U18 girls steeplechase.
Conor Hoade of Craughwell took silver in the 60m hurdles at U13 level, while Patrick Woleniuk of Athenry AC captured bronze in the U18 high hurdles. In the field events, Matthew McKiernan of Craughwell took silver in the U19 long jump, as did his club mate Daniel Callanan Forde at U17 level in the same event. Jade Moorhead, also of Craughwell, won a silver in the high jump final, also held on Saturday.
Round two of the National Track and Field League takes place on Sunday next with Galway ladies and GCH mens’ teams competing at Cork IT where they will look to reach the final in August, with both teams in strong positions after round one.
Team managers Sarah Finnegan and Brendan Glynn will look to field some of Galway’s top athletics talent at the Cork venue, including Maebh Brannigan over 1500m, Emma O’Hara in the hammer, and sprinters Laura Ann Costello and Nicole King in the Galway ladies squad.
Glynn will have the likes of National champion Sean Breathnach in the field, and internationals Gary Thornton and Keith Fallon among others at his disposal for GCH.
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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