It’s the start of another week for KCLR and Scoreline HQ so let’s see what’s been making the headlines for Monday morning.
In Gaelic Games, Kilkenny and Clare will meet for the second time in consecutive seasons at the semi-final stages of the All-Ireland senior hurling championship.
Tony Kelly scored 3-4 on Saturday evening on the way to a 5-26 to 2-17 win over a flat Dublin side to set up a repeat encounter with the Cats. After last year’s semi-final disappointment, you can be sure Clare will be out to make amends but we heard from manager Brian Lohan who’s relishing the test against Derek Lyng’s side.
“It’s massive for us”, Lohan says. “Kilkenny are kind of there every year and they’re the standard. They always have been the standard, they’ve really good players and are in great shape this year having won the Leinster championship again. It’s a big challenge for us.”
On the other side of the bracket it’s also the same as last year, Henry Shefflin’s Galway taking on Limerick again. An exit to Tipperary at the weekend could have raised questions about Shefflin’s term in charge of Galway but a second straight All-Ireland semi-final, taking the longer road both years, and he’ll have to be relishing taking on Limerick. You can hear more from Shefflin on air over the day.
Limerick and Galway set to meet at 6pm on Saturday 8 July while Kilkenny and Clare will meet at 4pm on Sunday 9 July.
All-Ireland boost
In Camogie, Kilkenny’s All-Ireland title defence got a boost on Saturday with a goal-heavy win over Dublin in Parnell Park.
It finished out 3-14 to 11 points with Denise Gaule claiming 1-9 of Kilkenny’s tally. With Tipperary making it two wins from two with a victory over Wexford, Kilkenny will be hoping to finish with maximum points in UPMC Nowlan Park this coming Saturday. Only two qualify from the group and should Tipperary beat Kilkenny, a win for Wexford over Dublin would send Kilkenny out. Nothing is set in stone but we’ll be dissecting it on Full Time later with Martin Quilty and giving it a good breakdown on this week’s Camán Caint.
Should Kilkenny land in the quarter-finals, there’s every possibility they’ll be the curtain raiser to Kilkenny and Clare’s All-Ireland hurling semi-final with this year’s championship quarter-finals heading to Croke Park next month while UPMC Nowlan Park will host the semi-finals.
Carlow’s hopes of hitting the All-Ireland intermediate camogie championship quarter-finals for the first time in the county’s history were ended with defeat to Wexford instead sending them to a relegation semi-final in just under a fortnight’s time. Kilkenny’s intermediates will finish top of group 1.
Tailtean Cup, Sam Maguire latest
This year’s Tailteann Cup final will be a repeat of the 1991 All-Ireland football final. Meath are set to face Down, after their respective wins in the semi-finals yesterday. The Royals beat Antrim by 2-16 to 2-14, while Down hammered Laois 8-16 to 2-12.
Meanwhile, the draw for the senior football championship quarter-finals has thrown up some serious games. Kerry will take on Tyrone, Monaghan meet Armagh, Cork face Derry while the big draw will be the meeting of Dublin and Mayo next weekend.
Handball latest
Kilfane handball clubs Willie Holden was crowned All-Ireland Golden Masters A singles’ champion on Sunday. Clogh’s Amy Brennan was also named Ladies Junior Singles All-Ireland champions on Sunday, winning by 2 games in her final.
In the 2023 Men’s minor softball All-Ireland final, Kilkenny’s Noah Manogue (KK) lost out to Fiachra O Duill (Armagh) while in the intermediate final, Kyle Jordan (Kilkenny) was beaten by Shane Murphy (Limerick).
Taitleann Games
On the athletics front, the Tailteann Games were held in Carlow over the weekend, bringing together athletes from all over the country.
Among the medal winners in Kilkenny were Kilkenny City Harriers’ Pia Langton who claimed gold in the 800m with Gowran’s Andrew Cooper taking gold in the shot while in Carlow, St. Laurence O’Toole’s Reuben McCarthy claimed bronze in the 100m hurdles with Chloe Ryan topping the Girls Discus.
Harrington wins again
Lastly in gold, Padraig Harrington is celebrating another victory on the Champions Tour. The Dubliner carded a back nine of 28 on his way to retaining the title at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open in New York. Harrington finished on 18-under-par, one shot clear of Joe Durant in second.
There was disappointment for Stephanie Meadow and Leona Maguire on the PGA front, Meadow finishing in a tie for third last night while Leona’s final day got away from her, finishing four shots off the lead in what was being billed as the Cavan native’s best chance of a first major title to date.
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