Sports

Derrick Lynch He followed in the footsteps of his brothers in representing the Clare senior footballers but the youngest of the Brennan siblings will be the last man standing when Clare take on Westmeath this Sunday. Cillian Brennan has quickly developed into one of Clare’s most solid and assured defenders since making his breakthrough at senior level, but with big brothers Gary and Shane now having departed the panel he finds himself alone in flying the Brennan flag. Having soldiered along with Gary for the last few campaigns, the primary school teacher admits while it will be a change to not have his brother and captain there, he’s confident there is enough talent in the squad to take Clare to the next level. “It is a small bit different without him alright but there is a great group of lads there and we really do have a huge amount of leaders throughout the panel. We are lucky to have that …

To captain a Munster title-winning side must be some feeling but that is a distant memory now for Mairéad Scanlan as the Scariff-Ogonnelloe sharpshooter has her sights firmly focused on taking down the most prolific club team in the country. Slaughtneil of Derry have swept all before them in the last three years and the East Clare side standing in their way have serious intentions of spoiling the party. “They’re going for four-in-a-row, they are a serious, serious team. There has to be unreal hunger there to keep coming back and doing what is required. We have prepared really well, and they are there to be beaten and I think we have a huge chance. “If you are going to be knocked out, you are hoping it is the best team that do it. They are an immense team, but we haven’t even thought of the possibility of losing. We are all approaching this in such a positive frame of …

The player hit with a ban by the Clare Soccer League over comments he made on social media has taken his appeal to the FAI. Jordan Downes received the suspension after he criticised a post by the league on social media which acknowledged the work done by the now former FAI CEO John Delaney. The post, which has since been deleted, came after details of a €100,000 payment to the FAI by Delaney was revealed and was the first of many revelations which would ultimately lead to him leaving his position. The Clare League posted at the time that they acknowledged the contribution made to the Clare League by Delaney during his time as CEO, which included attending many functions and bringing the FAI AGM to the county in 2011. The Clare League say the comments made by Downes overstepped the mark and issued a ban which is due to run until June 2020, while a stipulation was also made …

Derrick Lynch If you are ever curious as to who might have lined out for Clare GAA at any stage over the last 50 years, then Seamus McQuaid is the man to ask. The Monaghan native has come to prominence in the last few months with his social media accounts ‘All Things GAA collection’ which has gathered a huge following from those who enjoy looking back on old programmes and GAA memorabilia. It was his job as a steel worker that first brought him to the county, but it was love that kept him here as he and his wife set up home in Kildysart. That move also led to him finding a new job as the caretaker at St John Bosco Community School so his Banner passport is well stamped at this stage. When he first made the move, the GAA was not something that held much store for him with his first love being motorsport. As his family …

There will be no change to the format of the Clare Senior Football championship for 2020. A motion from the Kilrush Shamrocks club which had proposed to split the championship into two groups of six was withdrawn after O’Curry’s delegate Michael Curtin informed the structures meeting that their amalgamation with neighbours Naomh Eoin would be applying to take part in the senior championship this year. On foot of that, Kilrush delegate David O’Shea withdrew the motion for a new format. It was also decided that the same structures surrounding the relegation process from the senior football championship would remain the same as last year. A motion from Kilmihil called for all teams to be treated the same, but a counter proposal from Cooraclare’s Joe Garry, who managed the Naomh Eoin-O’Curry’s side last year, argued that they should be exempt from relegation as there was nowhere to relegate them to. A vote was taken which ended up deadlocked, and chairman of …

Derrick Lynch The Clare Ladies footballers will have a new captain for the 2020 season. Kilmihil’s Ellie O’Gorman has been chosen by manager James Murrihy to take over the role from Banner Ladies clubwoman Laurie Ryan. Ryan will be missing for the early part of the season due to academic commitments while she is also recently returned from a serious concussion issue. O’Gorman is no stranger to the role, as she captained her club to a first ever senior title last year. Her vice-captain will be Banner Ladies clubwoman Gráinne Nolan. Murrihy has also enlisted the services of an experienced coach, with former Clare senior football selector Ger Keane joining the setup for 2020. He takes over in that position from DJ Collins, while selector Enda O’Halloran remains involved for another term. Murrihy says O’Gorman was an ideal candidate for the captaincy. “With Laurie taking a break for the early part of the year, we had to find a new …

Derrick Lynch Corn Ui Mhuiri Quarter Final: St Brendan’s Killarney 0-14 St Flannan’s 1-10 The easy way to sum this up would be that St Brendan’s made better use of their time with the wind at their backs, but there was more to it than that. It was a second heartbreaking finale on the trot for St Flannan’s in this competition, with their opponents not hitting the front until the clock had hit the 58th minute. At that stage, they had reeled off 0-7 without reply as St Flannan’s struggled to wrest back the momentum that had seen them clear at the break. When this game is reviewed, the harsh reality will be that the destiny of its outcome was really in the hands of the St Flannan’s men for the vast majority of the contest. They may have only managed two Mark McInerney frees in the second period, but it was simple errors when in possession that allowed St …

Colm Collins has named his new captain for the Clare Senior Footballers. St Joseph’s Miltown clubman Eoin Cleary has been chosen to take over the role for the coming season. He succeeds Gary Brennan in the role, with the Clondegad man having decided to sit out this season. Clare’s first National League fixture comes on January 26th when they take on Westmeath in Mullingar. Next week’s Clare Champion will have an extensive league preview while the Champion Chats podcast will return in the lead up to the National Leagues to look ahead to the campaign.