Sports

This is a game with several interesting side angles, but it will be ultimately what happens between the four white lines which will be the main concern for both. It will pit Clare senior football manager Colm Collins against his county selector in Declan O’Keefe with the former All-Ireland winner forming a crucial part of Donie Garrihy’s backroom team. Collins will also will come up against a number of players who form part of the Clare senior football squad with the likes of Alan Sweeney, Dale Masterson and Joe McGann all being central players for last year’s intermediate champions. The North Clare men have been foot perfect in terms of results so far this year with an opening round win over Cooraclare being followed up by an impressive victory over neighbours Ennistymon to seal their last four spot. No one will be more aware than Garrihy that the level of opposition they face this weekend will be the toughest of …

Newmarket manager Brian Enright is no stranger to working out how to prepare for big games, but he is the first to admit that 2020 has provided unique challenges. His cryotherapy business is among those that has taken a hit with the pause button that was pressed on sport during the Covid-19 lockdown meaning the rush for recovery in the traditional busy intercounty summer was absent this year. It also meant that teams had to face into their club championship campaigns without any league form behind them, and Enright outlined that not having those games to try out new players was not ideal. “It was tough because the plan at the start of the year would have been to blood in a few players. We have been in the last few finals and the team probably needed a bit of a shake up. We have not had the opportunity to do much of that so we are relying on a …

Inagh-Kilnamona captain Clare Hehir knows plenty about the big occasions, having played a key role for club and county over the last few years. 2019 was the first year since 2014 that Inagh-Kilnamona did not feature in the showpiece event of Clare camogie, with defeat to Scariff Ogonnelloe at the semi-final stage seeing them miss out on the big day. Hehir, a former Ashbourne winning captain with UL, admits that disappointment is something they tapped into this year. “It is great to be back here again because when you miss out on one, you realise how special it is to be in a county final. There is a real buzz around it so it is great to be back there again. What happened last year was all our motivation for 2020. We felt ourselves that watching Scariff-Ogonnelloe going on to win the county final and then conquering Munster that we began to start thinking about all the things we probably …

Derrick Lynch “A life that touches others goes on forever” When Síle Callinan passed away in March 2017, this mantra was one which brought a form of solace to her wide circle of family and friends. The Cooraclare native lost her battle with CF at 26 years old, and since her passing her legacy has been ingrained in sport and CF campaigning with the establishment of the Síle Callinan Memorial Ladies Football 7’s tournament. Síle’s fiancé Michéal Talty along with the Callinan family have been the driving force behind the hugely popular event, with GAA celebrities like Cora Staunton and Joe Brolly among the names who have visited the tournament since its inception. Covid-19 restrictions meant that the tournament could not be held in its usual format in 2020, but Michéal was determined that the core values of the event could still be maintained, albeit in a much different way. The Change Your Colours for CF initative has seen sporting …

Clare Ladies Football Semi Final Previews The line up for the 2020 Clare Senior Ladies football final will be known this weekend with both last four ties down for decision. Reigning champions Kilmihil take on a Banner Ladies outfit who will be bidding to avenge their final defeat last year, while championship newcomers Cooraclare meet West Clare Gaels. Clare ladies football manager James Murrihy cast his eye over the championship to date and looked ahead to both semi final ties. Cooraclare have made a really positive start to their first year back at senior level in not only beating Doora Barefield but also toppling the champions Kilmihil. The Banner’s group has been quite one sided and they have not really had to come out of second or third gear in overcoming West Clare Gaels and Cúil Gaels. The game between the other two was competitive enough with West Clare Gaels winning by six or seven points. In that side of …

Clare SHC Quarter-Final Preview Eire Óg v Feakle The last available spot in this year’s Clare senior hurling championship semi-finals is the prize on offer this weekend when these two square off in Cusack Park. Both sides carry winning momentum into the game, but the time between Sunday’s showdown and when those victories came is the big difference. Eire Óg were impressive in seeing off last year’s beaten finalists Cratloe a fortnight ago where a powerful closing quarter saw them pull away for a merited six point win. Feakle were equally impressive by the manner in which they saw off the challenge of Clarecastle where Shane McGrath’s 4-10 haul was the highlight of a 5-20 to 2-12 victory. That win came four weeks ago, so managing the gap between games will have been a challenge for the Mike Guilfoyle led outfit. That dynamic will be a factor in the game, and it remains to be seen who it will fall …

It was Groundhog Day in Doora last Sunday. For some if not most within Clare Soccer circles, the repetitive nature associated with seeing Newmarket Celtic lift another Clare Cup has now become monotonous. At this stage it has become an annual pilgrimage that doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. So should Newmarket Celtic offer up apologies? Absolutely not. This is supposed to be an aging Newmarket team, yet they have just put the finishing touches to an unbeaten double consecutively for the last three years. Five players collected their ninth medal in a row with Daithi O Connell claiming his tenth having previously won one with former rivals Rineanna Rovers. The question should be asked in reflection of Sunday is what are Newmarket Celtic are doing that others aren’t? They say nothing lasts forever and this stretch of league and cup wins in particular will have to end soon but who will end it? If Bridge United can …

Clare IHC Semi-Final Preview: Tubber v St Joseph’s Doora Barefield Two sides that have hit the crossbar in their promotion bids over recent years clash here for a spot in the 2020 decider. If this year’s game produces even half as much drama as was witnessed when these two clashed 12 months ago, then it will be titanic battle on Friday evening. The quarter-final stage was where they met in 2019, in a game that produced a total of 9-41 after a dramatic extra-time showdown which St Joseph’s edged 5-20 to 4-21. It came after Tubber had reeled in a nine point deficit down the home straight of normal time, with St Joseph’s eventually coming through in the added period. Both sides have arguably struggled for form early in this year’s championship but Tubber will have the bit between their teeth after racking up 5-14 in their quarter-final win over Sixmilebridge’s second outfit. St Joseph’s have been laboured in a …