SPORT ROUND-UP
Second-half comeback is not rewarded
Sligo RFC’s Boys U-14 team lost 14-12 to Galway Corinthians ‘Blue’ at Hamilton Park, Strandhill, last Sunday. The hosts trailed 14-0 at the break following a brace of converted tries from Corinthians.
But Sligo rallied in the second-half of this Connacht Boys U-14 League Division
One fixture and this admirable recovery yielded two tries. Sligo’s second try, which was converted, came with two minutes left. The home side’s tries came from Sean Cashell and James Whelan. Jamie Boland kicked a conversion.
This was a first defeat in four games for this Sligo team, who face Galway’s Loughrea at home on the weekend after next.
Arrow Harps record a big win in Meath
Arrow Harps have progressed to the last 16 of the
FAI Youth (Boys U-18) Cup. Last Sunday they won 3-1 away to Meath side Stamullen FC. Niall Kenny scored twice for Arrow Harps and George Collins was also on target. The fourth round is scheduled for the last weekend of January next.
Rovers teen Walsh plays for ROI U-18s
Sligo Rovers’ teenage goalkeeper Conor Walsh was in the Republic of Ireland men’s U-18 squad for three friendlies against Sweden, Denmark and Croatia.
Walsh, who hails from Westport, played in the 3-1 win over Sweden on Tuesday last in Porec, Croatia, and he was again between the sticks for last Friday’s joust with Denmark – a game that the Danes won 5-3. The Bit O’Red shot-stopper, who has made one competititve first team appearance for Rovers’ first team, was unlucky with one of the Denmark goals as a 48th minute long-range shot from Ole Jakobsen looped over him – that made it 3-3.
For the third friendly against hosts Croatia, a game played on Monday, Walsh was an unused substitute as the squad’s other goalkeeper, Fintan Doherty, was deployed by head coach Colin O’Brien.
Sligo RFC are selling tickets for annual draw
With less than a week remaining in the annual IRFU’s ‘Your Club, Your Country’ fundraiser, Sligo RFC is encouraging its members to get involved.
The club aims to sell its full allocation of 1,000 tickets and they get to keep the €10,000 raised. The 10 prizes for this national draw are supplied by IRFU’s partners.
Last year Sligo RFC generated €8,400 (840 tickets sold) through the ‘Your Club, Your Country’ initiative. Monies raised will go towards the ongoing development of the club’s facilities at Hamilton Park in Strandhill.
The current project is an extension to the clubhouse, that will include additional dressing-rooms.
Students play for Connacht in FAIS event
There were five Sligo players on the Connacht Girls U-15 squad for the FAI Schools Girls U-15 Interprovincial series that took place at the AUL Complex, Clonshaugh, Dublin, last weekend. Sligo town’s
RUNNERS: Grace Foley and Aoife Cullinan, both members of Sligo AC, competed in the Girls U-11 race at the Connacht Cross Country Uneven Ages Championships at Roscommon racecourse on the Sunday before last.
FINALISTS: The Tubbercurry-Cloonacool squad for last Saturday’s Sligo U-21 ‘B’ Football Championship decider against Curry at Bunninadden Community Park. Curry won this final by four points.
Ursuline College were represented by Mairead McIntyre, McKenzie Reynolds and Kya McKenna, with Mercy College student Lucy Gavin also selected. Lesley Ann Sweeney, from Ballymote’s Cólaiste Muire, was the fifth Sligo player in the 17-strong panel. Connacht won one of their three games, beating Leinster 4-1, but they lost 2-0 to Munster and drew 1-1 with Ulster. Munster retained their title and were presented again with the Dr Fionnuala Quigley Memorial Trophy. Connacht were last winners of this tournament in 2017.
Bit O’Red get a licence for 2023 season
Sligo Rovers are one of 20 clubs issued with licences for the 2023 League of Ireland season. This follows work by the FAI’s Independent Club Licensing Committee.
Rovers were among 14 clubs given an SSE Airtricity Premier Division licence – also getting this level of licence were Bohemians, Cork City, Derry City, Drogheda United, Dundalk, Finn Harps, Galway United, Longford Town, Shamrock Rovers, Shelbourne, St Patrick’s Athletic, UCD and Waterford FC.
Six clubs were awarded an SSE Airtricity First Division licence – Athlone Town, Bray Wanderers, Cobh Ramblers, Kerry FC, Treaty United and Wexford FC. Kerry FC are newcomers to next year’s League of Ireland First Division.
Massive game is in store for Strand Celtic
Strand Celtic are flying the flag for the Sligo-Leitrim & District Soccer League this Sunday when they compete in the last 64 of this season’s FAI Junior Cup. The Strandhill outfit have home advantage for their fourth round meeting with Tipperary’s Clodiagh Rangers (kick-off 2pm).
Strand reached the national stage by progressing through the regional qualifiers – earlier this month they were 3-0 winners away to St John’s Athletic (Roscommon). That result earned them a shot at glory in the competition’s national stage.
BORST awards for a trio that impressed
The Bit O’Red Supporters Trust (BORST) have presented awards to the following three Sligo Rovers players: Aidan Keena (Men’s Player of the Year), Emma Doherty (Women’s Player of the Year) and Kailin Barlow (Young Player of the Year).
Mullingar’s Keena was the club’s top scorer this season – netting 21 times – and he was also the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division’s leading scorer (18 goals). Local midfielder Barlow, 19, made his League of Ireland breakthrough with Rovers’ first team.
Emma Doherty, a Donegal native, top-scored for Rovers in their inaugural season in the SSE Airtricity Women’s National League.
Provincial tests for clubs in January
Eighteen teams from the Sligo-Leitrim & District Soccer League will be involved in provincial competitions this coming January. Arrow Harps, Cartron United, St John’s
FC, MCR FC, Carbury FC, Manor Rangers, Strand Celtic, Ballisodare United, Coolaney United, Real Tubber, Aughanagh Celtic, Cliffoney Celtic and Calry Bohs are in the third round of the Connacht FA Junior Men’s Cup. Five Sligo-Leitrim teams, Calry Bohs ‘B’, Glenview Stars, Ballymote Celtic, Ballygawley Celtic and Benbulben FC, will play in the first round of the Connacht FA Junior Men’s Shield.
Two of the fixtures are all-local ties – Aughanagh Celtic’s home clash with Cliffoney Celtic in the Connacht Junior
Cup and Glenview Stars’ hosting of Ballymote Celtic in the Connacht Shield.
These Connacht FA games will take place on Sunday, January 15, 2023.
Colm McFadden joins Sligo as a forwards coach
Sligo GAA have added another All-Ireland winner to the county senior Gaelic football management team. Colm McFadden, who won a GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship with Donegal in 2012, will work alongside manager Tony McEntee as the team’s forwards coach.
McFadden was one of the country’s outstanding forwards throughout his intercounty career – he won an AllStar and was also shortlisted for the Footballer of the Year prize (2012).
A winner of three Ulster Senior titles, McFadden, whose club is St Michael’s, also won a National Football League title with Donegal. He played for the Ulster county at senior level for 15 years (20022016).
McFadden, who’ll commence his Sligo duties in January, becomes the second ex-Donegal star in Tony McEntee’s backroom team. Already there is McFadden’s former team-mate, Paul Durcan, who is the team’s goal
keeping coach and a selector. Sligo manager Tony McEntee has won All-Ireland titles with both Armagh and Crossmaglen Rangers.
Shamrock Gaels to hold an AGM this Sunday
Shamrock Gaels GAA Club are holding their annual general meeting this coming Sunday, November 27, at the clubhouse in Shamrock Gaels Park. This AGM has a 4pm start. Club members, including parents and players, as well as anyone interested in getting involved in the club are encouraged to be there. Meanwhile, the club is doing another clothes recycling campaign. Suitable clean items can be dropped off at the clubhouse on Sunday week, December 3 (11am to 12 noon). To arrange an alternative drop-off time, if this time doesn’t suit, please contact Michelle McMorrow on 087 6157455. The collection will end on Saturday, December 10.
Local rivals met in two fixtures at Strandhill
On Thursday last Sligo Grammar School and Summerhill College faced each other in two schools rugby fixtures. Sligo Grammar, the reigning Connacht Schools Senior ‘A’ League champions, were 22-13 winners over Summerhill
College at Hamilton Park. The winners scored four tries.
There was also a Connacht Schools Junior ‘A’ League fixture between the two Sligo town secondary schools played at the Strandhill venue – this was a much closer affair, however, with just one-point seperating the teams. Sligo Grammar won by a point, 10-9.
Team from 1982 will be honoured
This coming Saturday, Sligo Rugby Football Club will honour the club’s squad that reached the 1982 Connacht Senior Cup final. Players from that team 40 years ago will be guests of the club for lunch prior to the Energia All-Ireland League Division 2B fixture between Sligo RFC’s first XV and Enniscorthy (2.30pm start).
Sligo’s meeting with Enniscorthy will revive memories of when the clubs met in an All-Ireland League Division 2C promotion-relegation play-off in April of 2016 – Sligo won that game by two points. A try from Jamie Bowes in the sixth minute of time added on – followed by Jack Keegan’s cool conversion a minute later – gave Sligo a dramatic victory and kept them in the All-Ireland League.
In the current season, Sligo have had mixed results – two wins, three losses and a draw – but bottom of the table Enniscorthy haven’t won yet,
CUP HOLDERS: Curry joint-captains Oisin Murphy and Keith Feeley with the Sligo U-21 ‘B’ Football Championship Cup following their side’s defeat of south Sligo rivals Tubbercurry-Cloonacool in last Saturday’s final that took place at Bunninadden Community Park.
with one draw and five defeats so far.
Busy training for lifesaving in stillwater
Sligo Surf Lifesaving Club – the sports section of Water Safety Ireland Sligo – have been busy in the pool over the last few weeks. Junior members (ages 13-18) and master members (ages 30+) have been learning lifesaving skills on a weekly basis at the Sligo Regional Sports Centre pool. These lifesaving skills are taught during the winter months. Participants are
currently preparing for the national stillwater competitions which take place in February 2023. This event will test the speed and lifesaving skills of all participants.
The stillwater training for the nipper age group begins at the Sligo Regional Sports Centre in February 2023. The youngest members of the club will learn many lifesaving techniques and swimming skills over these training weeks.
Lisa Dunne, PRO of Water Safety Ireland Sligo, said: “Thanks to the lifesaving skills gained during the winter months in the pool and during the summer months on the beach, many members have gone on to complete pool and beach lifeguarding awards which are internationally recognised by the International Life Saving Federation (ILSF).”
Roisin Molloy re-signs with Athlone Town
Gurteen’s Roisin Molloy has re-signed for Athlone Town’s senior women’s squad for another season. The attacking midfielder played a crucial part for the midlands club this year – they were SSE Airtricity Women’s National League runners-up and also Evoke.ie FAI Women’s Cup runners-up. Athlone finished behind champions Shelbourne in the WNL standings and also lost to the Dublin club in the FAI Women’s Cup final at Tallaght Stadium. Talented Molloy, who played for Sligo Rovers at U-17 level, is also a Ladies Footballer with Eastern Harps and Sligo.
DRP praise for hurling’s Reynolds
Drumcliffe-Rosses Point GAA Club have congratulated one of their members, Sean Reynolds, who has completed three years as chairman of
Sligo GAA Hurling Board.
The initiative of Reynolds, who is stepping down from this role, was acknowledged by his club.
In a statement, the club said: “Sean has invested a lot of time and energy in promoting Sligo hurling over the past few seasons.”
Meanwhile, this Saturday night, Drumcliffe-Rosses Point GAA Club hold an awards event for its Juvenile members. The club’s successful underage teams, in both hurling and Gaelic football, will be honoured. The event at Rathcormac Hall begins at 8pm. The club is holding its annual general meeting on Sunday week, December 4.
Motorsport fans welcome rally return
The Sligo Stages Rally returns to Motorsport Ireland’s calendar for 2023. The event, organised and hosted by Connacht Motor Club, is scheduled for Sunday, July 16, and is one of eight events
in the 2023 Triton Showers National Rally Championship. Next year’s national series consists of the following: Midland Rally (March 5); Circuit of Kerry (April 2); Cavan Rally (May 28); Raven’s Rock, Waterford (July 2); Sligo Stages Rally (July 16); ALMC Rally, Oldcastle (August 13); Clare Rally (September 24); Fastnet Rally (October 29).
Rugby women have a Plate final in Ballina
The Sligo RFC senior women’s team face Westport RFC this Sunday in the Plate final of the Connacht Women’s Invitational Cup at Heffernan Park, Ballina (12 noon). Sligo finished second in Pool ‘B’, with Westport placed second in Pool ‘A’.
Also on Sunday, Sligo RFC’s second XV are away to Ballyhaunis (first XV) this Sunday in a Connacht Junior League Division 1B fixture (2.30pm start). In Sligo’s previous Division 1B game, they were 19-7 winners at home to Ballina.
FOCUS: MCR FC striker Donagh Crowne gets to the ball ahead of his marker, Daire O’Boyle of Calry Bohs, during last Sunday’s Sligo Southern Hotel Super League fixture at Sean Fallon Park.