Sports

Despite knocking out Wexford in three of the last four All-Ireland Senior campaigns, there is unlikely to be any shred of complacency on Clare’s part this afternoon. While Clare have had the Indian sign over Wexford in recent seasons, it was largely due to Wexford’s predictability along with the fact that the Leinster side repeatedly failed to curb Tony Kelly’s influence in any great way. It’s no coincidence that the back-to-back All-Star has been most prolific against Limerick and Wexford as they choose to zonally mark rather than employ a specific man-marker. Kelly has raided for an average of 15 points in his three championship outings against Limerick who by holding their positions, are able to snuff out most other Clare threats. Kelly’s average record against Wexford is slightly less at 0-11 in three outings since 2018 but what Darragh Egan does to counteract that could well be critical to the outcome. The conundrum for opposition managers is that by …

All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship Semi-Final Clare 0-18 Offaly 2-16 OFFALY advance into the All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship Final after overcoming Clare, 2-16 to 0-18 at Semple Stadium, Thurles on Friday evening, writes Jamesy McConigley. Adam Screeney and Conor Doyle’s goals proved pivotal for the Faithful, ending Clare’s involvement at the grade. The opening exchanges were a scrappy affair with neither side able to register a shot on target until Jack O’Neill broke the deadlock for the Banner with seven minutes of action played. Brian O’Connell’s outfit hit a purple patch, adding on three further scores. Points from Oisin Whelan (2) either side of one from James Organ propelled Clare into a four point lead, however, Offaly would have a profitable few minutes, tallying 1-3 in reply. Clare were penalised on two separate occasions for illegitimate handpasses which handed the opportunity for Adam Screeney and Dan Ravenhill to point for Leo O’Connor’s team. Donal Shirley landed a long range point before …

CLARE can look forward to tomorrow’s All-Ireland championship quarter-final with Wexford secure in the knowledge they have a full deck from which to deal. Wedensday evening saw proposed one-match suspensions of Rory Hayes and Peter Duggan overturned on a technicality and the Banner can face the Model county at full strength in Thurles. Meanwhile, the resurgence of Shane O’Donnell has been one of the stories of this year’s Championship to date. The Éire Óg man has suffered with concussion and missed the 2021 inter- county campaign as a result. His return to action has been slow but well managed as he has slotted in seamlessly, scoring nine points in the Championship to date while lining out at wing forward. O’Donnell scooped the GAA/GPA Player of the Month award for May with manager Brian Lohan hailing the work that the star forward has put in. “There was never a doubt over Shane’s quality. He’s a really exceptional individual with exceptional skill. …

Clare manager Brian Lohan has expressed his delight that Peter Duggan and Rory Hayes have been cleared to play in this weekend’s All Ireland SHC quarter finals. Lohan admits having the in form duo to call upon is a boost for this Saturday’s showdown as he believes his side need the strongest panel possible to overcome Wexford. “Sure look we are delighted that we are getting the opportunity to pick from a full panel. We are delighted that everyone is available.” The former All Ireland winning full back admits that the talk surrounding the proposed suspensions and the effort needed to overturn them was tiring. “It’s very draining for any of these appeals. Between getting legal advice and the Board Officers putting in a lot of effort, it is a tough process. For the guys themselves (Duggan and Hayes) it puts a strain on them. There is a mental toll. Social media is something that we didn’t have to deal …

Leo O’Connor has certainly become accustomed to rolling with the punches these past few weeks as Clare’s hurling re-emergence at all levels began to build momentum. Working as a Business Development Manager for The Clare Champion, the Limerick native, and former player as well as former minor and U-21 manager has faced his fair share of banter as the Shannonside derby that extended to four competitive clashes in 2022 reached fever pitch with the recent Munster Final clash. With that rivalry put on hold (temporarily at least), there is no let-up for O’Connor though as having been Offaly minor manager for the past three seasons, there was almost a sense of inevitability when Clare were the ones to come through the quarter-final qualifiers to face the Leinster champions at the All-Ireland Minor Semi-Final stage in Thurles this evening (7.30pm). Before matters get serious on Friday though, the Claughan clubman, who actually played against Offaly in Limerick’s ill-fated 1994 All-Ireland senior …

Nine weeks after tentatively embarking on their Munster campaign under lights in Semple Stadium, it’s fitting that the wheel has turned full circle for Clare who prepare for their eighth championship tie this evening. That experience has already proven invaluable as Clare’s rollercoaster ride has gone from the pinnacle of dethroning All-Ireland champions Cork in their own patch to the flooring deflation of an agonising penalty shoot-out in the Munster Final against Tipperary. It understandably took time for the players to fully purge themselves of the residual scars of that battle but there were encouraging signs that the Banner’s swagger was on the way back against Laois last time out. Offaly also dealt comfortably with Laois in their first provincial victory since 2000 so while Clare have the momentum of eight matches in nine weeks, the Faithful County’s five week break since the Leinster Final is offset by a confidence of five successive victories that will be difficult for Clare …

With Clare appearing in their first All-Ireland Minor semi-final since 2012 against Offaly this Friday night in Semple Stadium (throw-in 7.30pm), manager Brian O’Connell believes unity is a key ingredient to his side’s success. With a renewed focus towards developing and improving underage structures within the county, the work is starting to bear fruit as Clare are now just 60 minutes away from a first All Ireland final appearance at this grade since 2010. O’Connell has worked with this group of players at U-15 and U-16 level as he believes the continuity that this group have enjoyed has helped them gather results this year. “We have a good few people in the development squad structure that have put in a lot of work. Kieran McDermott and Donal Moloney are two that have invested a lot of time. This is the first group where we’ve had that S+C and continuity between coaches. Maybe we just got lucky with this group but …

FIFTEEN athletes from Clare are among the 74 students who received sports scholarships from the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) this academic year. The fifteen recipients from Clare are Callum McNamara, Gearoid McMahon, Meg Brennan, Eoin Guerin, Norah O’Dwyer, Patrick Doherty, Cian Broderick, Páraic Donnellan, Aisling Morrissey, Chloe Towey, Gavin Cooney, Robin Mounsey, Seán Rouine, Emily Murphy, and Oran O’Reilly. The 74 recipients announced represent a variety of sports including GAA, boxing, soccer, basketball, athletics, rowing, swimming and rugby. The TUS Sports Scholarship programme which is sponsored by PMI supports students who are at the forefront of their chosen sport from intercounty to international level, encouraging them to reach both their sporting and academic potential during their time at TUS. President of TUS Professor Vincent Cunnane said, “We are committed to supporting young athletic talent here at TUS and it is fantastic to see such a variety of disciplines among our scholarship recipients which is something we very much …