Galway club shines in basketball event

Community GamesGlorious sunshine and athletics dominated the final day of the Community Games National Finals at Mosney yesterday. Over the course of the final weekend more than 1,800 participants took part in track and field events, which equated to 3,200 miles being run, and a race taking place every four minutes.

Most of the excitement on the track was reserved for the relay races. The under-12 Louth girls from Saint Joseph's were the first team to claim gold, with the under-12 boys from Kiltimagh, Co Mayo, racing home to victory shortly afterwards.

Meanwhile, out of the younger athletes, Donegal's Amber Barrett and Limerick's Shane Costello looked like they could impress at the Community Games for many years to come after they won the under-eight girls and under-eight boys 60-metres, respectively.

Off the track there was still plenty of other action to choose from.

Many spectators attended the boys' under-11 rugby final to see if Peter Clohessy's son, Luke, has inherited his father's talent, and all the indications are that he has, as the "Junior Claw" helped Monaleen, Limerick, beat Sligo's Ballymote in an exciting final.

Arguably the story of the weekend came on the basketball court as the Oranmore-Maree club from Co Galway took three of the four basketball titles up for grabs.

However, they were denied all four gold medals when Castleisland, Kerry, beat them 27-25 in a thrilling under-16 girls' final.

Player of the game, Jennifer O'Connor, who represented Ireland last year, showed amazing nerve under pressure to score two free-shots with only 1.7 seconds remaining to win the game for the Kerry girls.

Coach Denis Crowley was struggling to come to terms with the "mind-boggling" achievement as he tried to take in his team's victory at the end of the game.

Indeed, Kerry jerseys seemed to be everywhere as spectators took advantage of the fine weather, and with the All-Ireland semi-final taking place just down the road, one wonders if there was anybody left in the Kingdom.

Not all Tyrone fans chose Croke Park either, as a noisy crowd cheered the girls from Castlederg/Newtownstewart on to the gold in the final of the under-16 hockey competition.

The games concluded with the traditional closing ceremony, which saw all the participants leave the playing fields singing Auld Lang Syne- an apt song, as a new year of preparations for next year's finals, the last ever at Mosney, begins today.