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Clare camogie champions aim to quell Rebels

Eoin Brennan previews Scariff Ogonnelloe’s Munster Camogie Championship battle with Iniscarra With the last three Munster winners vying for honours, the 2021 Munster Senior Camogie Club Championship is set to be the ultimate battle of the champions over the next fortnight. With Drom & Inch pipping Inagh-Kilnamona to the post to eventually claim the 2020 version only six weeks earlier, the Tipperary champions will understandably be favourites to complete a unique back-to-back in such an unprecedentedly short period. The Mid-Tipp side commence their title defence with a semi-final showdown against Limerick champions Newscastle West on home soil this Saturday at 1pm. Equally as significant however is the penultimate stage clash of the 2018 and ’19 provincial victors Inniscarra and Scariff-Ogonnelloe at the same time in Ballyanly, a historic occasion as it’s the first time that the East Clare combo have faced Cork opposition competitively. Far from being an unknown entity though, Inniscarra also overcame Inagh-Kilnamona in a Munster Final in …

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St Joseph’s Tulla carry Clare hopes into Harty quarters

Eoin Brennan speaks to St Joseph’s Tulla manager Terence Fahy ahead of his side’s historic clash with Cork side CBC in the Harty Cup CARRYING the Clare torch in the knock-out stages of the Dr Harty Cup for the very first time, St Joseph’s Tulla are eager to maintain their pioneering ways when meeting new Cork superpower CBC at the last eight stage in Kilmallock on Saturday at 1pm. The East Clare school have incrementally risen through the ranks over the past decade, with this team touted as providing their greatest hopes of a prestigious Munster Senior A Post-Primary Schools Hurling Championship title. Lofty ambitions that are matched off the field as well according to joint-manager Terence Fahy who presides over the side with Tomás Kelly (Inagh-Kilnamona) and Aidan Harte (Gort), “We’ve a new and very progressive school and we’d be ambitious in all aspects. The school would be very invested in the students’ academic and extra-curricular activities. “When you’re …

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Clear road ahead for Clare footballers as Rebels loom

Eoin Cleary tells Ivan Smyth Clare are keen to kick on in 2022, beginning with the McGrath Cup LAST year, Eoin Cleary became the first man from St Joseph’s Miltown to be shortlisted for an All Star as he followed in the footsteps of Gary Brennan and Jamie Malone who received nominations in 2016 and 2019 respectively. The 27-year-old is quick to spread the praise for his performances after a 2021 campaign in which he scored 0-35 across Clare’s five games last year. A memorable point from a sideline ball which he shot in to the town goal in Cusack Park against Laois highlighted Cleary’s form. Before Brennan in 2016, Clare had last received nominations in 1997 when Frankie Griffin and Martin Daly were nominated. Cleary believes the recent All-Star nominations show the talent that exists within the county. “It was very nice for my family, my club (Miltown) and for the county. Gary got one (an All Star nomination) …

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Ennis rugby players on bench for Ireland U20 game

ENNIS rugby players Tony Butler and Conor Moloney have been named among the replacements for the Ireland U20s Match Day squad for Friday’s Challenge Match against Leinster Development at Energia Park. Head Coach Richie Murphy has selected an extended squad of 26 players for the clash against Simon Broughton’s side in Dublin, as preparations continue for the opening game of the U20 Six Nations against Wales at Musgrave Park on Friday, February 4. Coming off the back of Christmas hit-outs against Italy and Munster Development, Murphy will further expose his extended squad to valuable minutes, as he makes seven changes in personnel to his starting XV from last week’s win over Munster in Cork. Ulster back row Reuben Crothers will once again captain the side, while Munster full-back Patrick Campbell and Leinster duo Fionn Gibbons and Charlie Tector are retained in the backline. Oisin Michel, Rory McGuire, Mark Morrissey, Crothers and James Culhane are also named to start in the …

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Ennis school bridges 42-year gap with Munster success

Rice College Ennis 1-15 Our Lady’s Secondary School Templemore 1-09 RICE College, Ennis, captured the Corn Shéamais Uí Dhonnchú in ideal hurling conditions at the LIT grounds, Limerick before Christmas. 1979 was the one and only time that Rice College won the Munster U16½ B Munster PPS, formerly known as Corn an Chuinneánaigh. On their way to this year’s final, Rice College defeated Castletroy College, St Joseph’s Tulla, JTBCS Hospital and Charleville C.B.S. In front of a big crowd, they defeated Our Lady’s Secondary School, Templemore in glorious December sunshine to finally bridge a 42-year gap and claim the U16½B Munster hurling title. Joint captain, Jack O’Neill, got Rice Colleges scoring underway within the first minute with a fantastic score from the half way line, before Eoin Lahiffe and Tom Curran chipped in with a point apiece either side of a Templemore free leaving the score 3 points to 1 at the first water break. Another point from Templemore was …

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Great stories from super festive racing action

The Grade 1 BoyleSports Faugheen Novice Chase was the highlight at Limerick on Sunday with the prestigious St Stephen’s Day feature going to 10/1 shot Master McShee, writes Michael Duggan. One of just two horses his Dungarvan, County Waterford owner/trainer Paddy Corkery has on the go at the moment, Master McShee was ridden by Ian Power. Some of the top novices in the country lined-up for this two-mile, three-furlong contest worth almost €60,000 to the winner. Gordon Elliott’s Farouk D’alene went off 11/10 favourite under Jordan Gainford. The ground was heavy at the Patrickswell venue, with Joseph O’Brien’s Fire Attack taking them along in the early stages. Heading across the track for the final time, the early leader began to wane with the patiently-ridden favourite taking over up front. Master McShee was also creeping into contention, however, and rising to the final fence there was little separating the duo. The pair settled down to scrap it out on the run …

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Ennis RFC U16s just denied in Munster league semi-final

ENNIS RFC 10 BRUFF 14 ENNIS RFC’s under 16s came up just short in their North Munster League semi-final against a physical Bruff outfit, writes Ivan Smyth. The Clare side enjoyed home advantage but it was they who were forced to absorb some early pressure as the Limerick lads laid siege to their 22. However, Ennis kept their discipline and managed to wrestle momentum before enjoying a dominant period of their own. An Odhran Flynn penalty helped them gain the lead. The game was very physical with both of these sides aware of the prize on offer, a place in the final against Shannon. Neither side were able to trouble the scoreboard again as Ennis led 3-0 at half time. Both of these outfits had shown before this game that they were capable of troubling the opposition tryline. Ennis beat Newcastle West 30-5 in their quarter final while Bruff secured a 31-17 win against Garryowen. The Limerick side crossed the …

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Deise double to begin the 2022 GAA season

The 2022 Inter-County season will commence on Sunday, January 2, when the Clare senior footballers travel to Dungarvan to take on Waterford in the opening round of the McGrath Cup (Munster Senior Football League) at 2pm. In a hectic first week of Colm Collins’ historic ninth season in charge, the Banner welcome Group 1 rivals Cork, under new manager Keith Ricken, to Hennessy Memorial Park in Miltown Malbay four days later for the first time since winning the McGrath Cup on home soil in 2019. The Group 1 winners will subsequently face their Group 2 equivalents (Kerry, Limerick or Tipperary) in the final on Sunday, January 15. In contrast, it’s winner-takes-all for Brian Lohan’s Clare senior hurlers who also face Waterford, this time in the more familiar setting of O’Garney Park in Sixmilebridge for their Munster Hurling Cup Semi-Final on Friday, January 14 (7pm). With the championship spoils evenly split between the counties over the past two years, it marks …

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