Mercy College reach another All-Ireland final
Riverstown man is staying with Shams
Riverstown’s Johnny Kenny is set to remain on loan at Shamrock Rovers for the 2024 campaign. The former Sligo Rovers striker, who signed for Scottish giants Glasgow Celtic in January two years ago, spent last season on loan with the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division champions, who he helped secure a fourth successive title in 2023.
Kenny, 20, netted five goals in last season’s top flight, including a goal against his former club (a 2-1 win at Tallaght Stadium on April 28), as Shamrock Rovers not only retained their title but secured a fourth successive SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division crown.
The Republic of Ireland
U-21 international, chosen by Shamrock Rovers as their Young Player of the Year for 2023, also scored for the Dublin club in the Leinster Senior Cup.
Ex-Rovers ace is joining Waterford FC
Another ex-Rovers player on the move is striker Padraig Amond. The Carlow native, 35, is joining SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division side Waterford FC as a replacement for Ronan Coughlan, also
GALA SUCCESS:
Sligo’s Izabella Lehany McGoldrick, won seven medals at last weekend’s Gerry Ryan Memorial Gala in Limerick.
First home game of 2024 for All-Stars
EJ Sligo All-Stars play their first home game of
2024 this coming Saturday when they host Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig@MTU in a
Basketball Ireland InsureMyVan.ie Men’s Super League fixture. Saturday’s game takes place at the Mercy College gym (tip-off 7.30pm). EJ Sligo All-Stars are currently fifth in the North Conference – and 11th in the overall standings – with a record of four wins and eight losses.
Their most recent fixture was on the weekend before last when they lost by a point, 98-97, to Belfast Star where three periods of overtime were required. Cork club Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig@MTU are second in the South Conference thanks to nine wins from 12 games.
Hardy and Hedigan sign for Rovers
Two further additions to the Sligo Rovers senior women’s squad for the 2024 season are goalkeeper Amber Hardy and defender Yvonne Hedigan. Teenager Hardy, who has come through the club’s academy, made her senior team debut last October – this followed her involvement in first team training after excelling for Rovers at underage level.
Sligo native Yvonne Hedigan, an FAI Women’s Cup finalist with Mayo club Castlebar Celtic in 2013 (her teammates included Sligo natives Nicole Fowley and Emma Hansberry), has also played for Galway United and Bohemians. But she sustained a broken leg in September of 2021 and has been two years getting over that as the leg had to be re-broken because of a flaw in the initial healing process.
Hedigan wants to make an impact for her local club.
“My passion and drive to get back is massive, it has been very difficult – I’m delighted to be back training,” she told the club’s website, sligorovers.com.
She maintained that recent signings made by manager Tommy Hewitt signals the intent to improve this year. Hedigan added: “He [Hewitt] has brought in some defensive players and I think that’s what Sligo needed to take it up another step.”
Local swimmers excel at a gala in Limerick
Local swimmers Izabella Lehany McGoldrick, Dominic French and Mia French, who all swim with Longford Swimming Club, competed in last weekend’s Gerry Ryan Memorial Gala – a long course event – which took place at the UL Sports Arena, Limerick. The Sligo swimmers were up against the best from Connacht and Munster in a meet hosted by Limerick Swimming Club.
Izabella Lehany McGoldrick, 13, put in some fantastic performances over the course of two days. She achieved medals in all seven of her races, including four gold (50 metres backstroke, 100 metres backstroke, 200 metres backstroke, 200 metres freestyle), two silver (50 metres freestyle, 100 metres freestyle) and one bronze (400 metres freestyle). In addition, Izabella also obtained personal best (PB) times and qualification times for both the Irish Summer Nationals and the McCullagh International Open.
Dominic French, 17, did well in what was his first long course meet of 2024, where he competed in the senior category and took part in five events. He won a silver medal in the 400 metres individual medley and came close to a third place in the 200 metres individual medley. Dominic also met the qualifying standards for Irish Summer Nationals and the McCullagh International Open. Mia French, 14, competed in three events in the 15-16 age group, improving her PB in the 800 metres freestyle.
Holders have a semi-final in Bekan
Defending champions Summerhill College’s Connacht GAA Post Primary Schools Senior ‘A’ Football Championship semi-final is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, night at the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence in Bekan. Summerhill’s
Jesus & Mary are beaten in a ‘D’ semi-final
Jesus & Mary Secondary School Enniscrone exited the Connacht GAA Post Primary Schools Senior ‘D’ Championship at the semi-final stage yesterday, Wednesday, when they lost Roscommon Community College by nine points, 2-13 to 1-7, at the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence, Bekan.
Trailing 2-7 to 0-3 at the break, the west Sligo school were left to rue a disappointing first-half performance in which they enjoyed the majority of possession. Both Roscommon Community College goals came following turnovers in the Enniscrone forward line, with Ryan Dowling the outstanding player for the winners.
Enniscrone’s efforts were also hampered by the loss of last year’s Sligo U-17 captain, Eoin Tuffy, in the early stages
Sligo town’s Mercy College, winners of the Basketball Ireland All-Ireland Schools Girls U-19 ‘C’ Cup on Wednesday of last week, are one victory away from completing a season’s double. On Monday they progressed to the All-Ireland Schools Girls U-19 ‘C’ League decider following two play-off victories at the National Basketball Arena, Tallaght.
The Mercy College were 29-24 winners over Roscommon’s Scoil Mhuire Gan
Smál in the quarter-final and they followed this up with a 49-46 defeat of Largy College (Clones) in the semi-final. They’ll take on St Joseph’s Secondary School (Spanish Point) in the All-Ireland decider next month.