Great Support for Co. Development Draw
Nearly 200 tickets were sold under club auspices for the Co.Development Draw. We thank all our ticket purchasers for their wonderful support which is valued so highly by the club committee for financing our football activities and facilities. The first 2 Draws in the current round were held in front of a packed house at Grealishs, Carnmore on October 31st last with Michael Monaghan, member of Connacht GAA Council as Master of Ceremonies. Local winners were: Alan Thompson, Carnmore (2nd Prize £1,000), Martin and Ann Lally, Ruanemore (8th Prize Weekend for Two).
FÉ 21
Claregalway 2–12
St.Michaels 1–8
Holding a 2 point lead in a close match with 5 minutes remaining, a long ball from Paul Higgins in mid-field that found Adrian Moran in full flight to shoot a fine goal, sealed the result in our championship game against St.Michaels at Renmore on October 26. The win puts us into the county semi-final against Clonbur on November 9th . St.Michaels opened the scoring with a point after 8 minutes to which Enda Devitt replied with a well taken goal after good work by Padraig O’Connell, Brian Day and Kevin McNamara. But St.Michaels re-asserted themselves and although P. Higgins, K. McNamara from play, and Damien Fahy, Anthony Monaghan from frees all found the target, St.Michaels traded scores with us to lead at half-time by 1–5 to 1–4.
An early second half surge with 2 points by D. Fahy and another from K. McNamara all within 3 minutes put us into the lead. Our fifth point of the half by K. McNamara was probably the best score of the game. Some missed chances prevented us from taking a more commanding lead until that second goal, after which we added on 3 more points from A. Monaghan and D. Fahy (2). Kenny Watson, Padraig Walsh and Sean Campbell formed a steady full back line while Padraig O’Connell and Patrick Stephens came to the fore in the second half.
Team: Barry Donovan, Kenny Watson, Padraig Walsh, Sean Campbell, Brian Holland, Padraig O’Connell, Patrick Stephens, Anthony Monaghan (0–3, 2 from frees), Paul Higgins (0–1), Adrian Moran (0–1), Brian Day, Damien Fahy (0–5, 3 from frees), Kevin McNamara (0–3), Enda Devitt (1–0), Ronnie Walsh. Sub: Niall McGovern for E.Devitt.
FÉ 17 City League fixtures
- November 16th Claregalway V St.Michaels at Leisure Centre
- November 23rd Claregalway V Salthill at Leisure Centre
- November 30th Barna V Claregalway at Barna
- December 6th Oranmore/Maree V Claregalway at Oranmore
This is a new league for this age group which in 1998 will play in the Co. Minor championship and league.
FÉ 15
We collected full points from our last two games in the City league against Ml.Breathnach and Barna. Both games were played at the Leisure Centre on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th. These results put us into the semi final against Oranmore/Maree at The Prairie on Saturday, November 1. Although never giving up, Claregalway lost decisively to a stronger and sharper team that took their chances well. It was a good achievement to finish third in the ‘A’ league beaten only by 2 very strong teams Oranmore and St.Michaels. Michael Barry’s spirited displays at full-back deserve special mention.
Team: Ciaran Moran, Andrew Flanagan, Michael Barry, Robert Raftery, Aidan Kearney, David Raftery, Thomas Moran, Gary Dillon, Anthony Watson, Dara O’Malley, Vincent Gavin, Martin Kelly, Colin Deeny, Paul Kilgannon, Stephen Cunniffe. Subs who played: Barry McGrath, Damien Foy, Michael Maguire.
FÉ 13
Many of the Claregalway team are U12. In Group 1 of the U13 City League they came up against stronger teams from Salthill, Mervue, St.Michaels and, although losing, have played at the top level with much credit in never giving up until the final whistle. In the backs Kevin Kitt, Michael O’Connor, Joe Garret and Anthony Hughes performed with distinction while up front the spirited Paul Loughlin was always to the fore and was well supported by Michael Kelly, Jimmy Noone and Paddy Moran.
Seán O Flannagáin
