Hurling champions
The excitement in Croke Park on Sunday last following Tipperary's win over Wexford was nothing compared to that witnessed at Monroe when Fethard won the under12 South Tipperary B hurling championship.
They beat Davins in a thrill-a-minute game played at a pace and skill that truly belied their tender years and kept the large number of spectators present on tenterhooks throughout.
When one considers that some of these boys were just nine years old and that some of the Fethard players have never held a hurley up to ten months ago, it makes their display deserving of the highest praise. Well done to both teams!
This was Fethard's first win in this grade for nine years. Congrats also to their mentors. Fethard team - Paul Kenrick, James Smyth, Brian O'Connell, Daniel Lonergan, Shane Walsh, William Doyle 0-1, Keith Lawrence 0-I, Alan Bourke captain 0-1, Darren O'Meara, Kieran Allen, Jamie McCormack 0-3, Ronan O'Meara, Paul Kenny, P. J. Morrissey, William O'Brien.
Subs - Owen Doyle, James d'Arcy, James Curran, John Leahy, Shane Aylward, Darragh Corbett, Michael Barrett. -
Final score Fethard 0-6, Davins 1-2.

Pilgrimage
Augustinian pilgrimage to Knock takes plae on Sunday September 140. A special bus will' leave Fethard at 7.45am; fare £8, children £4. Tickets from Whyte's, Main Street; McManus, Burke Street; and The Abbey.

Fethard/Cloneen wedding
The wedding. took place at Fethard Parish Church on Friday August 15th of Margaret, daughter of Mr Michael and the late Mrs Joan Quinlan, Tullamaine, to Mr David Hogan, Peafield, Cloneen.

Death
The death has occurred of Mr Paddy Murphy, Congress Terrace. Interment took place at Calvary Cemetery.

Fishing
Fethard / Killusty anglers promote their autumn cup competition for the John O'Donnell Trophy on this Sunday August 24th. Competing anglers meet at Kyleavalla Bridge at 1 1am.

Fethard AC
Sunday last saw Fethard AC travel to Morton Stadium, Dublin, for the all-Ireland B championships 8 to 14 years age group.Young Stephanie Lawrence was first out on the track in the girls' under-8 80m. A brilliant pace resulted in her taking the gold medal. Shortly afterwards she took centre stage on the podiuim to collect her second gold medal of the championship in the long jump event. James 0. Williams then had a brilliant run taking third in the under-9 80m. Tracey Burke won her heat of the under-9 girls' 60m, but did not qualify on time for her final. Jamie McCormack ran the race of his life to take third place in the boys' under-12 300m. John Noonan and, Damian Cannon had a tussle in the boys' under-14 300m with Noonan third and Cannon a short head behind. Shortly afterwards Damian Cannon made amends when he took the bronze in the boys' under-l4 800m final. The club's under-l2 boys' relay team took first place in the A league section and are favourites to win the relay championships later in the months in Tullamore. Team - Darren O'Mea-, ra, Killian Cannon, Jamie McCormack and David Sullivan. Eoin Maher took second in the A league shot under-l3. The boys' under-14 relay team took second in the A league under- 15. Kirsty McCarthy and Helena McCormack had two good runs in the girls' under-l3 300m, but did not qualify.Sabrina O'Dwyer gave a very good account of herself in the girls' under-l2 300m, but was out of the medals, as was Aoife O'Keeffe in the under-13 300m.
Eoin Sullivan showed his class when taking the A league under-14 800m in style.

Outing
Fethard Historical Society are organising a bus trip to Birr Castle on this Sunday August 23rd. Bus leaves town hall at 9am. Tickets £15 and full details from Joe Kenny, Rocklow Road. Open to non-members.

Ancestors: 1997 seems to be the year of the emigrants tracing Fethard ancestors. A granddaughter of Margaret O'Brien, born in Fethard c. 1889, is seeking relatives.
Margaret O'Brien, married name Margaret Anderson, returned to Fethard 1926 with four daughters: Helen, Ethel, Ruby and?. She died three years later in 1929. The four girls subsequently emigrated to England. The only other information her granddaughter has is that her mother often spoke of a lady named "Bridie," whom, she said, would know her Fethard connections. Unfortunately she does not recall her surname.

Fundraiser for sick child
Barbecues, a balloon race and fly casting are among the host of fun events organised in the Fethard/ Cloneen area this weekend to raise funds for a little Fethard boy suffering from cancer.
All proceeds raised from the two days of family entertainment at Tipperary Flycraft will go towards a trust fund set up to help three-year-old Eoin Trehy in his fight against cancer.

The fund will assist little Eoin's parents, Paul and Rosanne Trehy to take care of him. Paul Trehy has given up his job to help care for Eoin, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy.
Tim Masters of Tipperary Flycraft has appealed to the public to support their family days on Saturday and Sunday. They will take place in Tipperary Flycraft's grounds located at Raheenroe, Fethard, on the second Killusty turn-off between

Fethard and Cloneen.
Barbecues as well as free fly casting lessons and fly casting competitions will be held on both days.
The barbecues will begin at 11 am each' day and continue until 7 pm. Admission will be £3 for adults and children will be free. All food and drink will be supplied free by Tipperary Flycraft.
One of the highlights of the charity fun days will be a balloon race on Sunday. A mass of Helium balloons will be released and the one that is found the furthest distance away seven days later will be declared the winner.
Another highlight will be a dog show on Sunday afternoon. Categories include best gundog, best working dog, best fancy dressed dog and the dog who looks most like its owner! The show begins at 2 pm.

Fethard seek quick return to the top
Winning South titles is nothing new to Fethard, one of the great football nurseries in the county. They were putting silverware in the cupboard before many other big names on the county scene made their first breakthrough.
The Blues have won twenty-five South titles, nine of them since Ardfinnan collected their last championship in 1974. In 1978, '79 and '80 they recorded their second ever three-in-a-row.
In that time they have also won five county crowns, the most recent in 1993.
There is no doubting their pedigree and neither is there any doubting their hunger for their 26th title on Sunday. They wouldn't begrudge Ardfmnan a return to the glory days after their twenty-three year famine but not this year!
After winning back to back titles in '92 and '93, they surrendered their crown to arch rivals Commercials the following year and have seen neighbours Moyle Rovers rule the roost for the past two years.
Coincidentally, the demise in Fethard's fortunes followed their enforced departure from their home at the Barrack Field. The ground was closed for major development and the cdi seemed to go from Fethard's football.
Now they are home again and the mood is more upbeat. Selector Jimmy O'Shea believes that the return made a significant difference and it's a view shared by the players.
One of the players Fethard will be looking to for a big game on Sunday is county man Brian Burke, not only one of the top players in the county but a man many county sides would like to have in their line-up.
Bourke has been an ever present in the Fethard side for many years now and his contribution has always been immense. He was the difference between victory and defeat in the semi-final against Commercials and his direct and forceful play reaped better results than the Clonmel side's more laboured build up.
If the big man repeats that form on Sunday it will provide a huge boost to Fethard.
Brian himself is expecting a great final and knows the threat to his own side's aspirations that wig be posed by fellow county men such as Brendan Cummins, Sean Maher, Gerry Ryan and Peter Lambert if he plays.
He knows that Cummins, fresh from reaching the AllIreland final with Tipp hurlers, will pose a huge treat and will be very difficult to mark. "But a team cannot rely on just one player as Kilkenny found out with D.J. Carey" he states.

He feels that two to three years out of the limelight is long enough for a club of Fethard's tradition and emphasises thehunaeramonQ the team for victory. Jimmy O'Shea - who picks the team along with trainer Walty Moloney, Danny Kane, Michael Healy and Noel Byrne - is expecting a great tussle with Ardfinnan to match what the two clubs have produced in the past. "We have had great games with them in the past but there was always great sportsmanship as well" he says looking ahead to Sunday.
Walty Moloney is delighted with the response he is getting from the players and reports that training has gone very well.
He predicts a tight game and discounts the league encounter with Ardfinnan when Fethard recovered from a disasterous start to claim the two points.
When assessing Ardfinnan he would put more weight on their semi-final win over South and county champions Moyle Rovers than the league game last May.
Fethard went through the league with just one defeat, that to Moyle Rovers in their second game in early April. They won their other fiveto finish joint top with Rovers and Commercials, two ahead of Ardfinnan.
Then in the semi-final Fethard put on a display against Commercials that will have earned them the favourites tag on Sunday. They won 0-19 to 0-9, scoring eleven points without reply in the last twentythree minutes.
It was an awesome display that they'll hope to reproduce against Ardfinnan. Their half-back line of Morrissey, O'Meara and Quinlan was rock solid, ML Spillane and Chris Coen did well in the centre and Brian Burke led an attack in which Tommy Sheehan, Jimmy O'Meara and Thomas Keane also shone.
It's to those players, and others like Michael Ryan who may have the unenviable task of marking Brendan Cummins, that Fethard fans will be looking to for big performances.
Four years out of the limelight might seem insignificant when compared to Ardfinnan's long wait but Fethard are hungry for a return to the pinnacle where a club dedicated to flowing and attractive football believe they should be.
On Sunday they hope to record their 26th title win and at the same time deny Ardfinnan their tenth for another year at least.