Clare gun clubs gathered at Kilfenora shooting ground at the weekend to see who will represent Clare at the National Association of Regional Game Councils (NARGC) All-Ireland shoot.
The finals will be held in Adree, County Louth on the 8th and 9th of July.
Six clubs from around the county – Crossmore, Doonass, Cratloe, Kilfenora along with two team from Tullassa – took part in the shoot-out. Each team consisted of 6 members shooting in a a 50-bird sporting format.
Tullassa club fielded two teams with the A Team shooting very consistently throughout the day, finishing with a score of 208, 17 clear birds ahead of Doonass who were aiming for a 5-in-a-row. Meanwhile, Tullassa’s B Team finished in third place.
Tullassa shooting range owner Michael Haren said: “This is a great achievement for an up-and-coming shooting range and it was an outstanding performance from the members. I’m delighted to have such a great team representing Clare and I wish them the very best of luck.”
One of Tullassa’s youngest sporting shooters, 15-year-old Keith O’Loughlin from Ennistymon, has qualified to represent Clare senior shooting team on July 8th at the Ardee event.
After qualifying over 4 county shoots, Keith will also shoot the following day with the Tullassa club team.
The teenager retained his title for a second consecutive year of the Clare junior championships (under 21) on Sunday. Keith will shoot alongside his father Raymond O’Loughlin on both days with county and club.
Keith is a very talented young man with a great love for shooting and has worked hard in practice to earn his spots. This will be his second All-Ireland outing and last year shot for Clare finishing 4th overall in his trainee category.