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Intermediates and minors in historic success

Clare 2-15   Limerick 2-13 CLARE hurling made history for the second time in three days when the intermediate team captured the provincial title for the first time on Wednesday evening.A strong second-half showing saw them deservingly account for neighbours Limerick before an attendance of 3,168. Playing a huge role in the success was veteran Niall Gilligan, winner of Munster and All-Ireland senior medals with the county in 1997. The Sixmilebridge man was the game’s top scorer, contributing 0-7.Clare made the better start and by the tenth minute had built up a five-point lead. Team captain Tony Carmody opened the scoring in the second minute, Declan O’Rourke quickly following with a like score.A point separated the sides when Daire Keane won possession from an Andrew Fahy puckout and he broke through to fire home the game’s opening goal.Just when it looked like Clare might pull away for a comfortable win, Limerick came into the game strongly. Corner-forward Michael Ryan caused a …

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Minor hurlers crowned Munster champions

Clare 1-20   Waterford 3-9 A particularly superb first half performance laid the foundation for Clare’s historic Munster minor hurling final victory over Waterford at Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Sunday.In winning their fourth provincial crown at this level, Clare repeated last year’s final success over the Déise County, thus retaining the Munster minor title for the first time in the county’s history.It was, by any standards, an outstanding performance and while some followers might have been a little anxious when Waterford hit for their third goal, four minutes from the end, there was never really any danger of defeat.Waterford scored first when Jake Dillon pointed a 40m free in the first minute but Clare responded with five unanswered points and by the tenth minute were in control in most positions.It was 0-7 to 0-3 by the mid-point of the half when a rare slip by the Clare defence made the opening for the game’s first goal. The highly rated Stephen Bennett, …

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Aldo meets his new cousins

John Aldridge represented Ireland 69 times and played 104 games for Liverpool in a professional career that incorporated 889 games. He scored 19 goals at international level and 476 career goals. On the field he has seen it all. Off it Aldridge probably thought that he had seen most of it as well.He must have felt that a bus journey around Clare for a week, as the FAI prepare for this weekend’s AGM, would hardly prove too taxing. That was until the Liverpool-born ex-centre-forward visited Kilrush on Wednesday. Having stepped off the mini bus that was transporting the FAI delegation, ‘Aldo’ headed for Crotty’s bar for lunch. On his way he met Roy ‘Modda’ Danagher, who introduced himself as a distant cousin.This came as quite a surprise to the Scouser, who thought his Irish connections were all on his mother’s side. ‘Modda’ was armed with a detailed family tree, which suggests that John Aldridge’s great-grandparents, Maggie Aldridge (McCarthy) and Walter …

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Davy’s Clare future in Waterford’s hands

Comment OUCH. Hell surely hath no fury equal to that of a Waterford ‘supporter’ 17 points down at half-time in a Munster final. If those clothed in Waterford jerseys leaving Pairc Uí Chaoimh at half-time had their way, Davy Fitzgerald would have been sacked at 4.35pm.The word ‘supporter’ is used advisedly though. Committed ones would not have left during the interval however bad things were. They would have stayed, peered through their fingers perhaps but not abandoned their county. All of that is not of much relevance to Fitzgerald this week though.He is in the middle of the most challenging fortnight of his management career. Can he somehow lift Waterford between now and Sunday week when they play Galway? The answer is yes, as long as he has the belief and trust of the Waterford dressing room. If he doesn’t, Fitzgerald and Waterford are finished with each other and Waterford’s year will be cut short by Galway.Clare hurling people would …

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Clare out of camogie championship

Kilkenny 2-15   Clare 2-8 Clare’s hopes of reaching the concluding stages of the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship were dashed with a loss to Kilkenny in round five at Nowlan Park on Saturday.It was a must-win game for Clare to remain in contention for at least a play-off place and for Kilkenny to secure a semi-final spot. For 58 minutes, the outcome was in doubt but in the end Kilkenny upped the ante and a goal in the 59th minute decided the game.Kilkenny opened the scoring with a point inside the opening minute before Clare were awarded a free following a foul on Chloe Morey by Kilkenny’s Aoife Neary. Morey dropped her shot into the square and Naomi Carroll was on hand to finish to the net.Kilkenny responded with four points to go back in front by two. Then another Morey free dropped dangerously into the Kilkenny square but Clare were guilty of fouling and the resulting shot down the wing …

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Magic minors turn on the style

When Clare hurled at full pelt in Pairc Uí Chaoimh, the ease of their instant touch, smooth striking and flawless free taking was clearly visible. What was perhaps less aesthetically endearing, yet hugely influential, was Clare’s frantic yet co-ordinated work-rate when Waterford had possession.  Any of the 36,654 in attendance in Cork who couldn’t indefinitely put off a visit to the packed Pairc Uí Chaoimh toilets, could identify with the Waterford minors. Neither the Déise minors nor those queuing to use the facilities had much room to manoeuvre. Clare were much more up for it and infinitely more skilful than their opponents. They even looked imposing in their warm-up routine, with every player getting plenty of striking time. For example they played conditioned games with teams split into five groups of six. Waterford were divided into two cumbersome groups, with many of their players not getting a meaningful touch, as they battled with their team-mates caught in the warm-up bottle …

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Waiting on semi-final opponents

The minor hurlers won’t know their semi-final opponents or whether they will be playing on August 7 or August 14 until the quarter-finals are decided.The quarter-final pairings were decided on Monday and Waterford beaten finalists will play the Leinster runners up, Kilkenny with Galway taking on Antrim. Both games will take place on Saturday or Sunday week.Clare and Waterford cannot meet in a semi-final just as Dublin (Leinster champions) and Kilkenny can’t meet at that stage. This means that if Waterford manage to beat Kilkenny, Munster champions Clare will be playing either Galway or Antrim in the semi-final.The semi-final pairings will determine which day the games will take place.Whatever about the pairings, not knowing when the game is to be played is a difficulty not just for the team management in terms of their training plans but also for the county board with regard to domestic fixtures.The senior and intermediate hurling championship is set to resume on the weekend of …

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Five-star performance from Gilli

TOWARDS the end of May there was much talk in hurling circles that Niall Gilligan might be tempted to return to inter-county hurling and join the Clare intermediate team in preparing for the Munster championship semi-final.The vast majority of supporters didn’t believe that it would happen but intermediate team manager Kevin Kennedy got a resounding yes from the Sixmilebridge man, who has been outstanding in the campaign to date.When he hobbled off the pitch in Sixmilebridge last Saturday in a Clare Champion Cup tie against Newmarket, his chances of playing in the Munster final looked slim but he reported fit for action at Cusack Park  on Wednesday and delivered a five-star display“It’s fierce enjoyable and it was a brilliant game of hurling. This year Kevin (Kennedy) asked me to come in and the club was on a break, so I accepted. There is mighty young talent there and fair dues to Kevin and his team, they got a good mix …

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