SPORT ROUND-UP
March awards for stars Keena and Boles
The Sligo Rovers Player of the Month winners for March were striker Aidan Keena, who has already scored five times this season for the club’s senior men’s team, and midfielder Lauren Boles, who has starred for the senior women’s team in their inaugural Women’s National League campaign.
Rovers’ Player of the
Month awards are sponsored by Wehrly Bros. Jewellers, O’Connell Street, Sligo. Keena and Boles were presented with their awards by Richard Wehrly at The Showgrounds on Friday night last.
Hurlers are in Ballina for CRC fixture
The Sligo senior hurlers resume their Christy Ring Cup campaign this Saturday with an away fixture against Mayo (James Stephens Park, Ballina, 2pm).
Sligo head to this fourth round fixture – which takes place at the home of Ballina Stephenites – on the back of a round three hammering of bottom of the table Wicklow at Markievicz Park.
With one of the six teams relegated to next year’s Nicky Rackard Cup, Sligo already have an advantage over Wicklow.
Indeed, struggling Wicklow will make the drop of they fail to win their last two games, against group leaders Kildare and London.
Sligo, who are away to Kildare on Saturday week, May 14, already defeated Mayo in this year’s Allianz Hurling League Division 2B – a 4-13 to 0-19 win in Ballina on March 6. Mayo have won their last two Christy Ring Cup games, beating Wicklow (0-26 to 2-10) and London (1-22 to 2-13). Meanwhile, two members of the Sligo senior hurling team, Andrew Kilcullen and Rory McHugh, were in good scoring form for Easkey in their Dermot Molloy Hurling League Group Two fixture at home to Tourlestrane on Bank Holiday Monday. Kilcullen scored
1-8 and McHugh contributed 1-5 in the 4-25 to 2-9 defeat of Tourlestrane.
Sloyan scores in Féile ‘C’ success for west combo
Noah Sloyan was the top scorer for the U-15 Gaelic footballers of Easkey-St Farnan’s as they won the Sligo Féile Peil na nÓg ‘C’ Division on Sunday last at the Sligo GAA Centre of Excellence, Scarden.
In the group stage, Easkey-St Farnan’s defeated Tourlestrane (3-4 to 2-5) and Coolaney-Mullinabreena
(5-7 to 0-1). They received a walkover from Geevagh-St Michael’s. The final saw Easkey-St Farnan’s meet Tourlestrane again and they defeated the south Sligo side for a second time, 4-5 to 2-1. Sloyan, whose dad, Dessie, is the Sligo U-20 Gaelic football team manager, scored 4-6 in three games.
St Attracta’s are beaten in ‘A’ decider
Saint Attracta’s Community School were beaten in the Connacht LGFA Post Primary Schools U-14 ‘A’ Championship decider on Wednesday of last week. The Tubbercurry secondary school lost to Westport’s Sacred Heart School, 1-10 to 1-7, at Swinford Amenity Park. St Attracta’s, who led 1-5 to 0-3 at half-time, were undone by the Mayo secondary school’s excellent second-half comeback.
Mixed results for Bit O’Red academy sides
Four teams from the Sligo Rovers Academy were in action last weekend. In Group ‘B’ of the EA SPORTS U-19 National League of Ireland, Rovers played out a 0-0 draw away to Bohemians last Sunday. Rovers missed out on a chance to climb into fourth, while the result also put a dent in Bohemians’ hopes of topping the group.
The previous day, Saturday, Rovers drew 2-2 away to Cavan-Monaghan in an EA SPORTS U-17 National League of Ireland Group ‘A’ fixture. Michael Clifford scored his third goal of the season while Luke Mavrak found the back of the net for a second consecutive game.
Also on Saturday, this time in the EA SPORTS U-15 National League of Ireland, Rovers were in action against Group ‘A’ leaders Finn Harps, who ground out a 1-0 home win against the Bit O’Red. Meanwhile, the Bit O’Red U-19 women’s team bounced back from a heavy defeat to DLR Waves by drawing 2-2 with Athlone Town in Group ‘B’ of the EA SPORTS Women’s U-19 National League of Ireland. The Rovers goals were scored by Helen Monaghan and Rebecca Doddy.
LGFA U-14s lose to Tipp in ‘Gold’ fixture
The Sligo LGFA U-14 team’s run in the LGFA All-Ireland U-14 Championship Series was ended by Tipperary – the Munster county defeated Sligo by two points, 0-9 to 1-4, in the recent ‘Gold’ quarter-final played at Technological University Shannon, Athlone. In Group ‘A’ of the ‘Gold’ section, Sligo beat Monaghan but lost to Longford and Limerick.
McDermott is in Irish squad for last-gasp win
Riverstown’s Aoife McDermott was an unused substitute in last Saturday’s last-gasp win for the Ireland women’s rugby team against Scotland at Kingspan Stadium, Belfast. Ireland won this TikTok Women’s Six Nations Championship final round fixture thanks to a try in stoppage time from Enya Breen, who then added a conversion – two scores that turned a 14-8 deficit into a 15-14 victory. Ireland led 8-5 at half-time.
McDermott, who started in the second row in the previous round, a 69-0 away loss to England, kept her place in the matchday squad but wasn’t used by head coach Greg McWilliams as Sam Monaghan returned to the starting XV.
The Sligo woman, 31, a former basketball international and Sligo All-Stars player, has made 19 appearances for the Ireland women’s rugby team.
West winner Alan Fahy leads Men’s Tour
Alan Fahy, winner of the recent Connolly’s Audi West of Ireland Amateur Open Golf Championship at Rosses Point, currently leads the Golf Ireland Men’s Bridgestone Tour rankings.
The West of Ireland, held over Easter (April 15-19) at the home of County Sligo
Golf Club, was the only Men’s Bridgestone Tour event in April.
To win the West, Fahy, a member of Bray Golf Club, defeated his international teammate Liam Nolan (Galway GC) in the match play decider. The best of the local competitors at the West of Ireland was County Sligo’s TJ Ford, who led the Sligo interest after three rounds of stroke play but he failed to make the cut.
Teen hurlers take on Leitrim in Feery Cup
Sligo’s U-17 hurlers are in the knockout stages of the GAA Celtic Challenge this Saturday – they are scheduled to take on Connacht neighbours Leitrim in the Celtic Challenge’s Michael Feery Cup quarter-final (Markievicz Park, 12 noon). In the group stages, Sligo finished second in Group 9. They lost to Mayo in the opening round, 1-15 to 2-6, but in the next two rounds they overcame Tyrone (0-17 to 1-12) and Donegal (4-14 to 2-8). Sligo won the Michael Feery Cup section of the Celtic Challenge four years ago, beating Donegal in the decider.
Rowers win in Skibbereen and Portadown
Sligo Rowing Club members performed well – and won medals – at recent regattas in Skibbereen and Portadown. Last Saturday in Skibbereen, Alannah Donohoe and Katie McEnroe teamed up for first place in the ‘A’ final of Women’s Double Sculls Division Two. Both had competed in the event’s Women’s Single Sculls Division One category. In Portadown, meanwhile, Sligo Rowing Club won six categories. The first success was in the Women’s J16 Double Sculls where the crew of Sarah Walsh and Orlaith Kavanagh Beirne took the overall honours.
There was an impressive win for Glenn Patterson in the Men’s Senior Single Scull, with Orlaith Kavanagh Beirne showing her rowing strength when taking first place in the Women’s J16 Single Scull category.
The success continued as Ella Clarke and Claire Walsh combined to win the Women’s J15 Double Sculls, with these
accomplished rowers also winning their respective categories in the Women’s J15 Single Scull section. The Men’s J18 Double Sculls title went to the newly-formed Sligo crew of James Muldoon and Andrew Connell.
Sligo Rowing Club will be competing at the Trinity Regatta, Dublin, on Saturday week, May 14.
Aoife’s goal is nominated for monthy prize
In the SSE Airtricity League Goal of the Month competition for April, a wonderful free-kick goal by Sligo Rovers senior women’s player Aoife Brennan is one of eight goals nominated. This was the May native’s second goal in the 3-1 home defeat of Treaty United on Saturday, April 16. Brennan netted from two free-kicks in that fixture.
Also nominated for the April prize is a goal scored against Rovers – Colm Whelan’s superb strike (set up by Tubbercurry’s Liam Kerrigan) in UCD’s 2-2 draw with the Bit O’Red at The Showgrounds on April 9.
Also shortlisted are outstanding goals by Andy
Lyons (Shamrock Rovers), Erin McLaughlin (Peamount United), Will Patching (Derry City), Aaron Greene (Shamrock Rovers), Darren Craven (Longford Town) and Matt Healy (Cork City).
The Goal of the Month competition caters for all goals scored at senior level in the SSE Airtricity League of Ireland (Premier Division and First Division) and the SSE Airtricity Women’s National League.