Sports

There’s a turning point in every season that ultimately defines whether a team converges or diverges. In Ballyea’s storied season of 2016, it was arguably their rousing Round 3 fightback to pip a goal hungry Clooney-Quin to the post which placed them on an unforgettable journey of momentum that included historic breakthroughs at county, provincial and almost national level to boot. Upon his return to the helm for the first time since that momentous year, Robbie Hogan didn’t have to wait long for their defining juncture of the championship as it came with an opening dogfight with relative newcomers Broadford that Ballyea were extremely fortunate to survive by the minimum. It was a sobering scare that has kept Ballyea firmly on their toes ever since according to Hogan. “I still have a sliotar in the door of my van with the Broadford crest on it and that’s a reminder of how fine the margins are in the Clare Championship. You …

Eoin Brennan gives his take on the deferred Junior A hurling final, while Ivan Smyth catches up with the managers of Crusheen and Ogonnelloe ahead of Sunday’s clash Junior A Hurling Championship Final Ogonnelloe v Crusheen at Knockalisheen Park, Sunday 12pm In terms of club development, there’s conflicting mentalities entering Sunday’s decider. There’s no question about the buzz surrounding Ogonnelloe which, following their beneficial underage amalgamation with Scariff, has finally started to produce young talent to populate their flagship side after scraping the barrel in terms of numbers in recent seasons. An unblemished ten match league and championship run which included a real scare against Clooney-Quin last time out has armed Ogonnelloe with all the ingredients and confidence to finally bridge a 33 year gap to their last Junior A crown and it would be a major step in the right direction. On the flip, what started as an encouraging sign of the strength of their adult wing for Crusheen …

With Banner Ladies the dominant force in Clare ladies football, the defeats, however few they are can seem easier to recall than the successes. Few gave Kilmihil a chance of upsetting the odds in 2019 when they faced Banner Ladies in the final for the fourth year in a row. However, the East Clare side produced a display filled with courage and grit as they dethroned a Banner Ladies outfit aiming for nine county titles in a row. Banner Ladies manager JJ O’Dea is hoping to avoid the hurt felt by his charges two years ago. “That defeat hurt us badly. It really hurt. The worst thing was we felt we didn’t put in a performance that we would expect of ourselves so that made it hard to take. Our eye is on the ball this year. We hope to have a good day in Doonbeg and play our attacking brad of football. We want to move the ball fast …

Despite Kilmihil playing in their fifth final in six years, manager Kevin Callinan insists his side are focused on producing players for the future. “We would have a small pick but we try and build for the future. This year was a time to rebuild for us so to get to the county final is great and will only improve the players’ development.” Kilmihil won four out of their five round robin games with their only defeat coming to Banner Ladies with both sides already qualified for the knockout stages. They continue to be without the Considine sisters – Eimear and Ailish, who are both forging successful careers in the AFLW and rugby respectively while Edel McMahon (rugby) will not feature. Carol O’Leary and Jenny Kelly are unavailable. Callinan admits it is not easy to produce players in an area as small as Kilmihil but he is happy with the continued progress being made at underage. “There is unbelievable work …

Eoin Brennan speaks to the management teams of Scariff Ogonnelloe and Truagh-Clonlara ahead of this weekend’s senior camogie final Fresh voice aids new look Scariff Ogonnelloe It’s not easy to walk in the shadow of giants but following Jim Minogue’s epic 2019 adventure through Clare and Munster, a new management under David Sullivan have already made their own indelible mark by guiding Scariff-Ogonnelloe back to a county senior decider for only the second time in their short history. The Tipperary native who had previous senior camogie experience in Galway, Tipperary and Offaly actively sought out the job once it became available and has made the transition appear seamless with a perfect five match winning run to Saturday’s decider. “Sometimes when you have the five years of the previous management and they’ve done so well, it’s always going to take something new and different when the next backroom team comes in. “Especially with me being an outsider from Tipperary, they either …

Eoin Brennan takes a look at the Clare camogie finals taking place this weekend Senior Camogie Championship Final Truagh-Clonlara v Scariff-Ogonnelloe at Clarecastle, Saturday 2pm (Andy McMahon, Cratloe) Being only the third final since the turn of the Millennium that Newmarket-on-Fergus or Inagh-Kilnamona (Kilnamona) are not competing in, the sheer magnitude of what Truagh-Clonlara and Scariff-Ogonnelloe have achieved just to even tee up this unique final pairing is not lost on Clare Camogie supporters. Both have rebuilt their flagship sides from the bottom up and have concentrated on developing clear pathways from underage level as central to their revolutionary ways. Indeed, both cubs have had a similar trajectory, becoming almost ever-present in the last four line-up over the past few years. However, while Truagh-Clonlara found it difficult to break their semi-final hood against Newmarket that including back-to-back extra-time heartbreak in 2018 and ’19, Scariff-Ogonnelloe did famously make the breakthrough in 2019 to conquer Clare and Munster in one historic fell …

A MEMORABLE weekend in Meelick was confirmed on Sunday morning when O’Callaghan’s Mills/Bodyke retained their Minor B crown, writes Eoin Brennan. Only 24 hours after O’Callaghan’s Mills’ flagship side had consolidated their senior status by a whisker at the same venue, it would need just as much of a steady hand for the minor amalgamation to overcome their sticky neighbours Scariff/Ogonnelloe. A first half brace of Jamie Howard goals certainly helped as it provided some clear breathing space for the Mills/Bodyke to lead from start to finish. Howard, Sean Boyce, Thomas Wiley, Tadhg Kilkenny, joint-captains Darragh Moroney and Sean Cooney and a formidable half-back unit of Cathal McNamara, Billy Scanlon and Liam Minogue led the O’Callaghan’s Mills/Bodyke challenge superbly while centre-back Scott Cairns, Sean Hartigan, Aaron Collins and Donnacha McNulty provided the greatest resistance throughout. Scariff/Ogonnelloe’s attacking division of Sean Treacy, Rossa Keelan, Liam Madden and Tadhg Minogue had their moments but realistically they required more of a cutting edge …

Two Clare clubs have discovered their opponents in Round Four of the FAI Junior Cup, writes Ivan Smyth. Avenue United and Ennis Town will meet Wexford and Limerick opposition respectively. Avenue United face a tricky trip to Wexford as they take on Courtown Hibs in the fourth round. The Clare side had an impressive 1-0 win against Desmond League side Abbeyfeale United FC as Dylan Casey headed home the only goal of the game to send Avenue United through. The Clare side have impressed since the season started as they are unbeaten in the Premier Division with their only blemish a defeat to rivals Newmarket Celtic in the Premier League Cup final. Abbeyfeale had defeated Newmarket Celtic earlier in the competition. Avenue have struck 17 goals in their three games in the competition to date and will be hoping to add to that tally against Courtown Hibs. Meanwhile, Ennis Town have been drawn away to Limerick side Star Rovers in …