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Russell keen to draw on home comforts with Clare

Ciarán Russell can never be accused of not being committed to the cause. Due to work commitments, the Garda had been commuting up and down from Dublin for training and games since rejoining the Clare panel in 2020. However, in February, Russell has been relocated and now works out of Mayorstone Park Garda Station in Limerick. The 30-year-old admits the move is a major help to his inter-county career as he no longer needs to endure the arduous road trips from the capital down to Clare. “I’m spending less time travelling and less time in a car so that’s better for the body. I’m able to train a lot more. I’d try travel up and down as much as I could but sometimes it might not have been possible. “Balancing everything is probably getting harder from when I started out. At the end of the day you make room for what you like doing. If you enjoy it you will …

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Brennan keeping up the family honour with Clare footballers

With Championship season now in full swing, players from across the land are desperately trying to find that extra one per cent that can be the difference between victory and defeat. As more counties encounter the heat of Championship battle, the focus needed to compete and ensure a player is ready for peak performance has never been more important. With Cillian Brennan trying to recover from a hamstring injury sustained in his side’s league defeat to Meath, he has had enough to keep him occupied. However, throw in the fact that he is in the final stages of completing his PhD at Mary Immaculate College and it is easy to see why when initially questioned about his studies, Brennan admits the past few weeks have been hectic and the next few will be even more so. With his research exploring the experiences of PE specialism graduates as PE teachers and leaders in Irish primary schools, Brennan is passionate about the …

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Plenty to play for in Clare Cup matches

Eoin Brennan looks ahead to the latest round of the Clare Cup with some tasty duels in store Clare Cup Division 1A Round 5 Sixmilebridge v Cratloe at O’Garney Park Sixmilebridge, Friday 7pm (Rory McGann, Newmarket-on-Fergus) While their last Garneyside derby clash saw Sixmilebridge do their best to prevent Cratloe from winning the Clare Cup last July, this time the shoe is on the other foot as it’s Sixmilebridge that possess the only chance of making a late push for the knock-out stages. Ironically, a home victory would also send their neighbours deeper into relegation peril so it’s the perfect test for both and let’s not forget a repeat of the county final less than three years ago. Ballyea v Crusheen at Ballyea, Saturday 1.30pm (Niall Malone, Éire Óg) With honours even so far in Crusheen manager Kevin Sheehan’s duel with his native Ballyea in 2021, a new season inevitably brings renewed hope. A ten point Clare Cup victory is …

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McGowan not afraid to put in hard yards for Clare

Gerry McGowan is not afraid of putting in the long hours. The Strandhill native faces more than a four hour round journey from his native Sligo to Clare in his role as coach with this Banner team. McGowan, who works from home with Amazon Web Services, believes the travel is actually beneficial as the commitment from players and management teams continues to increase. “Anyone involved in any set-up knows the time involved is phenomenal. I’m probably down at training in max two hours 10 minutes. It’s about using the time in the car to be productive and making sure I plan stuff ahead. Sometimes you mightn’t have enough time in the car. It can be very productive.” The former Tourlestrane joint manager admits when Colm Collins made contact with him at the start of last year, he was intrigued by the prospect of working with this Clare outfit. The coach admits it was “refreshing” to get behind the wheel and …

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Full draws and formats for Clare county championships

IT may have taken two bites of the cherry to complete the county senior football draw but the way is now finally clear for the 2022 adult club championships to commence in early July (weekend of July 9/10). On Monday evening in Clareabbey, six adult draws took place but the county senior football version was conducted contrary to agreed regulations as the seeded semi-finalists from 2021 were distributed into the wrong groups. With three teams to emerge from the only group of five, there was supposed to be two seeds in that group but instead, Éire Óg and St Breckan’s were placed in Group 3 alongside newcomers Corofin and Cratloe. The redraw in O’Garney Park in Sixmilebridge 24 hours later failed to separate these rivals either as St Breckan’s, Éire Óg and Corofin were all pooled together once more this time alongside 2018 and ’19 champions St Joseph’s Miltown as well as the new amalgamation of Naomh Eoin/O’Curry’s and Kilkee. …

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National showjumpers league kicks off at Newmarket Show

The National Amateur Showjumpers league will be launched at Newmarket-On-Fergus Show this Sunday. Two local companies have come together to sponsor the National Amateur Showjumpers league for 2022.  Joint sponsors Orchard Equestrian and Newmarket Architectural and Planning Services (NAPS), have come together in a sponsorship package worth over €4,000.   This new league will be run at selected shows in the 32 counties throughout the summer, with horse and rider combinations gaining points towards the overall prize giving ceremony.  Along with the national title, the leading rider on points will be crowned an Orchard Equestrian ambassador – a package that includes a €1,000 voucher, jacket and 15% discount code for 12 months.   The runner-up prize is a  €750 voucher, with further prizes on offer for the top 10 riders.    The league kicks off at Newmarket-On-Fergus show, the local show of keen amateur rider Derrick Burke who is also joint sponsor of the competition. Derrick was at the launch with his long term equine …

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Clare out of minor championship after Tipp power surge

A Munster Minor football campaign that began so triumphantly for Clare in Shannon a fortnight previously disappointedly ended with a whimper at the same venue on Thursday evening when overpowered by Tipperary on a score of 1-8 to 3-12 With Clare, Tipperary and Limerick all vying for the Phase 1 Final places entering the final group round, Clare’s early promise was clinically crushed by the Premier County’s 2-6 to 0-1 second quarter surge to compete a remarkable ten point turnaround by the break. All that after Clare captain Sean McMahon set the pace with an early free followed by points for Cathal Talty and Darren Keane to carve out a 0-3 to 0-0 advantage by the 11th minute. Indeed, it would take the visitors 14 minutes to register their first score through a Conall Grogan free. However, it was as if the floodgates opened as from the resulting kick-out, Ben Carey’s interception led to an immediate goal and from there, …

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‘Dissatisfied’ Brohan resigns Clare county board position

ÉÍRE Óg’s Tony Brohan has resigned as assistant treasurer of Clare GAA. When contacted by the Clare Champion on Tuesday Brohan confirmed he had resigned, but said he didn’t not wish to go into his reasons, beyond acknowledging he was dissatisfied. “I left quietly, I didn’t say too much leaving but I think people around me would know I wasn’t too happy with the way things are going at executive level. “I don’t want it to be about me, Clare GAA is busy at the moment on the playing fields and I want the emphasis to be on that and not on myself.” In December Brohan was re-elected as assistant treasurer, seeing off the challenge of Niomh Madigan of Kilrush. While the last few weeks have seen some good displays by Clare teams, particularly last Sunday’s defeat of Tipperary, the county has also been beleaguered by numerous off-field controversies in recent times. A five-year strategic plan for the county was …

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