Sports Roundup from South Laois

Canoe Polo Irish Open: With teams coming from across the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and Namibia, the LKCC canoe polo team faced strong competition at the Irish Open in Enniskillen last weekend. After some close games and hard fought wins, Laois ended up taking third place in division 3, well done to all of the team!
Level 2 Kayaking Course: Well done to everyone who passed their level 2 assessment on August 22nd, a huge achievement for all and we are looking forward to seeing you all on the river soon.
Interested in Kayaking: Check our website and Facebook page for details on kayaking lessons and also for details on upcoming trips and competitions. Please see website and Facebook for more details at www.laoiskayak.com online.

JACK’S GOLF SOCIETY: Congratulations to Leo Dunne, Captain of Jack’s Golf Society on his lovely   Captain’s Day in Powerscourt Golf Club, Co Wicklow, on 20th August. A great day was had by all. The prize winners on the day were: 1st Peter Dunne, 2nd Liam Delahunty, 3rd Kieran McEvoy, 4th Dick   Brennan, 5th Seamus Duggan. Front nine: Cathal Phelan, Back nine: Leo Dunne, Middle six: Pat Alley. Nearest to the pin: Declan Phelan. Visitors prize: Donal O Gorman. The final outing for 2015 will be to  Esker Hills Golf Club, home of Shane Lowry, on31st October.

CULLOHILL HANDBALL CLUB: Clothes collection point – Any old or unwanted clothes or fabric can be left in the porch of Cullohill Community Centre. All in aid of Cullohill Handball Club. Please support.

U-14s reach two Finals: The Harps U14s recently qualified for two finals – the ‘A’ Hurling and ‘B’ Football deciders. In the hurling semi final they overcame a stiff challenge from Rathdowney/Errill – eventually winning by a single point 1-08 to 3-01. The final is provisionally fixed for next Saturday, September 5th, with Abbeyleix favourites to come through in their semi final against Na Fianna. On Monday evening last they played St. Josephs in the football semi-final and again after a very tight game came through by a narrow margin. The football final is provisionally scheduled for September 12th with Clonaslee providing the opposition in this final. We wish the team well in both finals and hope they can add to the Feile Hurling title won earlier in the year and football league honours won in late June.

Intermediate Hurlers: The Harps Intermediate hurlers finished level with Portlaoise in the second round of the IHC, played last Saturday in Shanahoe. Leading for nearly the entire game and playing much of the better hurling throughout, The Harps will be disappointed not to have held on for the win, but they can also be thankful they did not lose in the end. Some good early scores from Niall Brophy, David      Doheny and Conor Deegan got The Harps off to a great start. Portlaoise were relying on free’s to keep them in the game but further points from Brophy, Doheny, Brian Farrell and an excellent long range point by Dan Delahunty had The Harps cruising. Portlaoise to their credit dug in and two goals kept them in the hunt at half time with the score at The Harps 0-09 Portlaoise 2-02.

The second half took on a similar scoring pattern to the first, with The Harps again surging ahead with good points from play and free’s. Midway through the half The Harps struck for what looked to be a vital score when huge pressure around the Portlaoise goal mouth resulted in the ball being scrambled to the net by on of their own players to open up a 5 point lead. The remaining 15 minutes produced some   frantic hurling as Portlaoise threw everything at The Harps and began to reduce the deficit point by point.  The Harps will rue wasted possession and some bad wides during this period, as Portlaoise finally      managed to level the game with time almost up to leave the final score at The Harps 1-13 to Portlaoise 2-10.
This is a performance our Intermediate hurlers will hope to build on when the replay takes place (Sunday 30th Aug @ 12.30 in Shanahoe). As always all support is greatly appreciated.

The Harps: 1.Peter Walsh; 2.Niall Donoghue; 3.Sean Cahill; 4.Shane Brophy; 5.Ciaran Costigan; 6.Dan Delahunty; 7.John Dunne; 8.Rory Moore; 9.Darren Maher; 10.Brian Clancy; 11.Brian Farrell; 12.David Doheny; 13.Eoin O Sullivan; 14.Niall Brophy; 15.Conor Deegan. Subs: Tadgh O Sullivan for Niall Donoghue; Sean Burke for Brian Farrell.

Junior Footballers: The Harps footballers proved far too strong for The Rock in this Junior football championship relegation play off. Played in The Heath GAA grounds, The Harps started against a strong wind but still began to build a steady lead. First half goals from Ger Alley and Mark White, and some steady defending at the other end had The Harps in total control. With Pat Walsh dominant at midfield and Sean Burke marshalling the defence at centre-back, The Harps played some excellent football. Points from Pat Walsh, Jim Campion and Niall Brophy pushed the lead out to 7 points at half time, 2-06 to 0-05.

The second half was all one-way traffic as The Harps dominance was only added to by the strong wind. Points flew over from all angles as Darren Maher, John Finnegan and Pat Walsh all helped to stretch the lead. Darren Maher finished to the net from close range to kill any hope The Rock may have had, and when Jim Campion converted from the penalty spot the game was really over as a contest. The Harps were enjoying themselves now, and some excellent points from Ger Alley, Pat Walsh and Cormac McCann finished out the scoring to leave the score board reading The Harps 4-14 The Rock 0-08.

Great credit must go to Gabby Irwin and Dave Finnegan for the effort they have put in this year. The players will realise an improved effort in training is required next year to push on and win this championship.
The Harps: 1.Kevin Donoghue; 2.Stephen Thomas; 3.James Shortall; 4.John Dunne; 5.Shane Brophy; 6.Sean Burke; 7.Diarmuid Irwin; 8.John Finnegan; 9.Pat Walshe; 10.Darren Maher; 11.Niall Donoghue; 12.Cormac McCann; 13.Jim Campion; 14.Ger Alley; 15.Mark White. Subs: Robert Freeman for Shane Brophy; Donnacha Quinn for Niall Brophy.