Sports briefs: Motorsport and marathons
Knockmore man Jonathan Flynn will compete in the first-ever Red Bull Drift Pursuit event taking place at Limerick Greyhound Stadium.
Motorsport: Knockmore man Jonathan Flynn will compete in the first-ever Red Bull Drift Pursuit event taking place at Limerick Greyhound Stadium on Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19.
Jonathan (30), who has been drifting for six years, will be hoping to build upon a huge achievement in 2022 when he won the Irish Drift Championship Pro 2. He enters the competition behind the wheel of a Nissan S14A and will compete against some of the best drifters from the Irish and European circuit.
The first of action at the Red Bull Drift Pursuit features a series of gruelling head-to-head qualifiers. Drivers are judged on three key criteria; course time, clipping points, and penalties for any infringements.
Day Two then takes on a knockout format as drivers tear through the gearbox-shredding course. Those who impress the judges and score the most points progress, until only one driver is left – the first ever champion of Red Bull Drift Pursuit.
Athletics: Mayo AC had three finishers in Sunday morning’s Limerick Marathon. Darren Flanagan crossed the line in an excellent 12th place in 2:49.55, having reached halfway in 1:21.23. Last month he ran a brilliant 2:45.37pb in Paris.
Gvido Roze came home in 3:44.54 and Andrew Hayes finished in 3:37.55.
In the half-marathon Padraic McVann ran an excellent 1:31.15 for fourth M55, and Angela McVann came home in 2:01.05.
Meanwhile, in the Aran Islands on Saturday, the annual Iron Inis Meáin event took place where there were three races – 5k, cúrsa crua 10k, and cúrsa fíor chrua 12k.
The cúrsa crua 10k race winners were Kyle Roche in 41:16 and Eimear O’Leary in 42:55.
Congratulations to Mayo AC’s Paula Donnellan Walsh who was second woman home in 46:49.
Pool: Sunday was not all doom and gloom for Mayo fans, especially those who travelled to Nerja for the ultimate billiards tournament where Mayo native Matthew Egan surprised everyone and won this year's Spanish Pool Open.
The Bonniconlon native Matthew powered through impressive opposition to claim his first ranking competition since becoming semi-professional.
Matthew spoke proudly about his training and dedication leading up to the competition and while Mayo didn't perform in Costa del Salthill, he was thrilled to succeed on the Spanish equivalent. He also extended congratulations to his friend and ally, Colin Campbell, and his long-term partner, Alanna Ruddy, who married during the same weekend in Nerja.
Davitts GAA: The club’s juniors overcame Ardnaree 0-15 to 0-11 in the first round of the Mayo Junior Championship in Ballindine on Friday.
Davitts got off to a dream start with points from Michael Hett (a superb effort), Darragh McGale, Brian Clarke, Fearghal McGrath, Johnno Clarke, Davey Hennessy and Tommy Waldron in the opening twelve minutes. Ardnaree replied with points in the 13th and 18th minutes before Davitts’ impressive midfielder Cian Naughton kicked over a long-range point in the 20th minute. Two more points from the away side cut Davitts lead to four but McGale and Johnno Clarke fired over two more before the break and Ardnaree finished the half with a point of their own, to leave Davitts 0-10 to 0-5 ahead.
A 34th-minute Davey Hennessy point began the second-half scoring but four on the spin by Ardnaree saw the lead trimmed to three. Fionnan Gallagher pointed for Davitts in the 46th minute but Ardnaree weren’t going away without a fight and they shot another point in the 47th minute. The scores were hard to come by for the remainder of the game but the Clarke brothers Johnno and Brian gave Davitts some breathing space with 52nd and 58th minute scores. Ardnaree tried hard to get the goal they badly needed but couldn’t find a way past Tristan Diskin. All they could manage was an injury-time point as Davitts got their campaign off to a winning start.
Davitts: Tristan Diskin, Patrick Keadin, Charlie Phillips, Brian Birmingham, Tommy Waldron (0-1), Fionnan Gallagher (0-1), Michael Hett (0-1), Cian Naughton (0-1), Stephen Nyland, Johnno Clarke (0-3), Fionn McLoughlin, Brian Clarke (0-2), Darragh McGale (0-2), Fearghal McGrath (0-1), Davey Hennessy (0-3). Subs used: Jack Devane, Thomas Ronayne, Sean Keadin, Mark Birmingham.
Golf: Ballinrobe Golf Club will host a major Golf AM-AM fundraiser this week, from Thursday, May 9 to Sunday, May 12. The cost to take part is €120 per-team or €20 per-person re-entry. There are some fabulous prizes up for grabs, and there are still places available for this eagerly awaited competition. Those wishing to register are asked to contact 094-95-41118.
The main sponsor of this event is The Lodge, at Ashford Castle.
