1+ hour, 1+ min ago (447+ words) There were two first-time champions at the Irish 4-Wall Nationals in Kilkenny, the first Major of the handball season, with Peter Funchion and Fiona Tully taking top honours. And it was Funchion who rose to the occasion. The local hero, a member of the Kells club, brought the prestigious All-Ireland Senior Doubles crown back to Noreside earlier this year for the first time since 1998 and backed that up with a superb success here, seeing off Cork's Walsh 15-3, 15-13. "I do a good bit of training here (at O'Loughlin's), it's a lovely court and such a great facility, it has a great viewing gallery and to see it packed, it really brings back great memories from when I was young. "There are pictures of great players up on the wall, including Ducksy Walsh. Halfway through the second game, I had a look…...

1+ week, 5+ day ago (1378+ words) Commercials Hurling and Camogie Club's grounds in Rathcoole surely has the distinction of being the most driven past in Ireland. As you approach Dublin on the N7 they're just on your left shortly after you pass the Poit'n Still on your right. Back when this stretch of road was a dual carriageway in the 1980s it was literally a gauntlet that a generation of Rathcoole children had to run if they wanted to get from the village on one side of the road to the club on the other side. There was no pedestrian crossing in those days. You looked left and right and if the coast was clear you sprinted for your life. "In the early 80s as kids we used to meet at the shopping centre in Rathcoole and we'd all march down to the carriageway," recalls Se'n Power, who manages…...

1+ week, 5+ day ago (1378+ words) Commercials Hurling and Camogie Club's grounds in Rathcoole surely has the distinction of being the most driven past in Ireland. As you approach Dublin on the N7 they're just on your left shortly after you pass the Poit'n Still on your right. Back when this stretch of road was a dual carriageway in the 1980s it was literally a gauntlet that a generation of Rathcoole children had to run if they wanted to get from the village on one side of the road to the club on the other side. There was no pedestrian crossing in those days. You looked left and right and if the coast was clear you sprinted for your life. "In the early 80s as kids we used to meet at the shopping centre in Rathcoole and we'd all march down to the carriageway," recalls Se'n Power, who manages…...

2+ week, 2+ hour ago (176+ words) Gerald Bradley struck the decisive goal for Slaughtneil in their AIB Ulster Club SHC semi-final victory over Portaferry." AIB Ulster Club SHC semi-final SLAUGHTNEIL 1-23 PORTAFERRY 1-18 Just like they did in last year's provincial final, Slaughtneil finished strongly to get the better of Portaferry in today's AIB Ulster Club SHC semi-final. It had been a game of very fine margins until a goal from substitute Gerald Bradley gave the defending champions a winning momentum in the second-half. Until then Down champions Portaferry had given as good as they'd gotten, with a first-half goal by Daithi Sands a highlight of the first-half. Slaughtenil led by a single point at the break, 0-12 to 1-8, and the second half continued in the same evenly contested vein. Two Cathal Coleman frees looked like giving Portaferry some real momentum coming down the home stretch, but then Bradley…...

2+ week, 3+ hour ago (569+ words) AIB Munster Club SHC semi-final BALLYGUNNER 4-18 SARSFIELDS 2-17 Ballygunner roared into an eighth straight AIB Munster Club SHC final as they led from trap to line against Sarsfields at Azzurri Walsh Park on Sunday afternoon. A proud unbeaten record at the Waterford city venue now stretches to 47 championship games, back to a 2015 loss to De La Salle, and there was only the slightest smidgin of it coming into question here. An imperious first-half display put the Gunners 14 ahead at one stage but a spirited Sars response coming up to half-time, under-pinned by a marvellous Daniel Hogan goal, had the gap down to eight points by the break. When Hogan was in the right place to touch a loose ball to the net less than a minute into the second half, it was 2-11 to 2-6 but Ballygunner's composure never wavered and they capitalised…...

2+ week, 1+ day ago (686+ words) AIB Munster Club SFC quarter-final St Finbarr's 1-17 Clonmel Commercials 2-11 By Stephen Barry at Clonmel Sportsfield St Finbarr's kicked the final four points of a dramatic Munster Club quarter-final to get out with a narrow victory over Clonmel Commercials. Despite nine points from Steven Sherlock, Se'n O'Connor's goal looked to have given the hosts the edge down the stretch in front of 1,805 fans at Clonmel Sportsfield. However, William Buckley and Ian Maguire led their charge in the final five minutes to secure a semi-final against Clare champions "ire "g Ennis. Both sides showed one change from their county-final triumphs. Commercials were without former Tipp senior Kevin Fahey, while John Wigginton-Barrett didn't feature for the Barrs. The visitors did most of the early front-running through Sherlock, William Buckley, Brian Hayes, and Ethan Twomey points. Commercials responded each time with Se'n O'Connor (0-2) and…...

2+ week, 5+ day ago (1630+ words) Young Melbourne's" footballers celebrate after winning the 2025 Australian Regional Games in Tasmania." Young Melbourne GAA Club President, Carl Walsh, is woken on Sunday mornings by his alarm at 6.30am. He'll make his way to a self-storage facility in south Melbourne where he'll meet the club's coaching officer, Barry Walsh. There, they'll load up Barry's "ute' and Carl's car with everything they need for the club's weekly kids coaching session. There's the usual equipment like hurleys, helmets, footballs, sliotars, and cones, but also three gazebos and a barbecue because Young Melbourne's Sunday mornings are a social as well as sporting occasion. Carl and Barry will make their way to Albert Park where children and their parents will start arriving from 9.30am and it'll be 12.30 by the time they pack everything back up again and drop it back to self-storage facility. If it had…...

3+ week, 1+ day ago (89+ words) Clonmel Commercials cruised to a convincing Tipperart SFC Final win at FBD Semple Stadium. Kilsheelan-Kilcash started brightly with Jamie Roche netting a ninth minute goal for the underdogs. Shane Garland added a point to put Kilsheelan-Kilcash 1-2 to 0-2 ahead, but Commercials responded. Peter McGarry was prominent for Commercials, who departed armed with a 0-10 to 1-4 advantage at the interval. After the restart Commercials controlled matters with Michael Quinlivan netting a goal, while Jack Kennedy also landed fine points for the victors....

3+ week, 3+ day ago (476+ words) All-Ireland champions Tipperary lead the way with a magnificent seven places on the PwC All-Stars for Hurling 2025. It is a team full of firsts with 10 All-Star debutants in all, the highest number since the 2013 selection. Rhys Shelly was the unanimous choice for goalkeeper after a season where he proved himself invaluable to the Premier County and also capable of scoring from long range. Kilkenny's high-fielding Huw Lawlor claims a third all-star at full-back and is flanked by Tipp starlet Robert Doyle and Cork's tenacious Se'n O'Donoghue. After patrolling all over the defence in the Liam MacCarthy Cup winning campaign, Tipperary stalwart Ronan Maher is the anchor of this team, winning a third award, and is joined by teammate Eoghan Connolly and Cork's Ciaran Joyce after prolific performances. Darragh Fitzgibbon scored 0-16 in the championship and was hugely influential for the Munster…...

4+ week, 21+ hour ago (169+ words) Loughrea 1-15 St Thomas' 1-14 Loughrea retained the Galway SHC title at Pearse Stadium on Saturday evening. A solid opening period performance was key for Loughrea, who accumulated a 0-11 to 0-6 advantage at the break. After the restart St Thomas', who had never previously been beaten in a western senior decider, narrowed the deficit. A goal from Darren Shaughnessy following an Anthony Burns assist was vital for Loughrea. Thomas' thundered back as Conor Cooney crashed home a goal from a free, but Loughrea survived. Initially, Loughrea spurned plenty of scoring chances, but a burst of points before the break was key as Tiernan Killeen, Shaughnessy, Burns, and Vince Morgan were prominent. It meant that Loughrea went in five clear at the turnaround, but Thomas' displayed trademark battling qualities. Burns, who finished with a five point haul from play, was a significant influence, while…...