Sports

With Cooraclare having shaded the verdict over Kilrush by a point on Friday evening, Eoin Brennan previews the rest of the Cusack and Garry Cup action which takes place tomorrow Cusack Cup Round 4 Ennistymon v Kilmurry Ibrickane at Ennistymon, Monday 11.30am (Jim Hickey, Cratloe) Fresh from Monday’s, sorry Tuesday’s senior football championship draw, Group 3 comes into sharp focus on Monday when first Ennistymon host last year’s finalists Kilmurry Ibrickane while Clondegad travel to Doonbeg. Of course, without their county contingents, it’s not a true barometer but it’s still adds bite to an already significant fixture as Ennistymon require a third victory to keep in touch for the knock-out places while the ‘Bricks, eight-in-a-row Cusack Cup champions as recently as 2018, are scrambling to avoid relegation alongside county champions Éire Óg. Doonbeg v Clondegad at Shanahan McNamara Memorial Park Doonbeg, Monday 2pm (John O’Connell, Cooraclare) Another Group 3 sighter for the summer but hopefully these next two clashes surpass …

Munster Senior Football Championship Quarter-Final Limerick 2-16 Clare 1-19 (Limerick won by 4-1 on penalties) BEING part of a first ever senior championship penalty shoot-out will be of little consolation to a Clare side that were agonisingly edged out of the provincial race at the first hurdle following a titanic derby battle with Limerick in Cusack Park Ennis on Saturday evening, reports Eoin Brennan. In front of an enthralled 2,980 attendance, the neighbours left everything on the field in 100 plus minute marathon that could have easily gone either way. However, unable to separate the sides after extra-time, there wasn’t a shred of doubt about the eventual victors in a historic penalty finale as Limerick were unerring with four successive spot kicks to tee up a semi-final showdown with Tipperary in a fortnight’s time. Not only was it Clare’s fourth successive Munster reverse but their most regretful to boot as when the dust settles, they will be kicking themselves over …

Eoin Brennan previews Clare’s crunch encounter with Cork in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship Round 2 at FBD Semple Stadium There was a major brainstorming session going on in the Ó Riain Stand between Cork’s management team of Kieran Kingston, Diarmuid O’Sullivan, Noel Furlong and Pat Mulcahy at half-time in last Sunday’s Clare and Tipperary in Semple Stadium. It’s unlikely that they were discussing Ed Sheeran’s back catalogue, it’s much more likely by their animated gestures that their focus was on Clare who at that point had laid waste to their hosts Tipperary to lead by 13 points. Having witnessed Tipperary’s rousing display against Waterford, Kingston and Co. probably came to Semple Stadium to further analyse Colm Bonnar’s side but they left early with only the Banner in their thoughts. The thing is that Cork, particularly under Kingston, have invariably had the Indian sign over Clare in recent seasons. After all, following Clare’s 2013 All-Ireland triumph, the Rebels have edged …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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. …