Tag Archives: All-Ireland

ONE iconic photograph on the top floor of the national GAA museum illustrates the scenes of sheer jubilation after the 1995 All-Ireland hurling final. Despite being placed in the middle of a line of GAA legends, it is still eye-catching even for non-GAA diehards who are interested in photography. It captures part of Anthony Daly’s hand hoisting the Liam McCarthy Cup aloft in the air with O’Brien’s Tower in the background, the day after the Banner’s thrilling victory over Offaly. Seán McMahon remembers standing behind the Clare captain when this photograph was being taken. He recalls Clare Champion photographer John Kelly also asked Anthony Daly to stand for a photograph on the way back from Shannon Airport to Ennis in an open-topped bus. Speaking to GAA supporters as he conducted the GAA legends tour series in Croke Park recently, the Doora-Barefield clubman estimates 40,000 Clare supporters gave the team a rapturous welcome in Ennis. “It was a brilliant time for …

MC Banner, the singer with MC Banner and the Killaloolas, whose popular song The Banner’s Back Again, is fast becoming a big hit with Clare fans, has taken his devotion to the Clare team and their manager to new levels. For the past two weeks, he has been working on a statue of Clare manager, Davy Fitzgerald. He will erect the statue on his front lawn in time for Sunday week’s All-Ireland Final. MC is a potter by trade and is fusing clay and concrete to create his lifesize Fitzgerald. “I think it’s going to look a lot like Davy but my wife doesn’t think so. She’s not mad about the idea at all at all but she understands my devotion to the Clare team. I checked with all the neighbours and they have no problem with it. One of them is knitting a jumper for it for the winter,” MC Banner revealed. MC will rig an MP3 player to …

A PLAN to show the All-Ireland hurling final on a big screen in Ennis has resulted in mixed reactions. It has been suggested the idea could negatively impact on pubs, hotels and restaurants that would otherwise benefit from the day, although members of the business community do not appear to see this as a material issue, according to town manager Ger Dollard. “The views of all members of Ennis Town Council have also been canvassed and there is unanimous support for such a proposal if it is financially and logistically feasible and would receive public support,” he said. Ennis Chamber CEO Rita McInerney said the overall consensus among members is the benefits of providing a big screen as part of a major event would outweigh any possible negatives. The town council is to make a decision later this week if it will organise a large event at a town centre venue and provide a big screen for supporters who are …

AS the scramble for All-Ireland hurling final tickets continues, 16-year-old, Sean McCaw has no worries about gaining admission to Croke Park for the big game. The Dublin-born teenager will have a special role in the drama of the occasion. A member of the Artane Boys Band, Sean will make his debut as the drum major and will lead the famous band in the traditional parade and playing of the National Anthem. Living in Artane, Sean has been with the band since he was eight and joined the band proper at the age of 12. “Sean usually plays the trumpet but the drum major is on a trip to Lourdes and Sean has been given that role for the All-Ireland final,” his father Jimmy, who hails from Ennistymon, told The Clare Champion. Jimmy is a member of the teaching staff at Brunswick Street in Dublin. The McCaw name is synonymous with Ennistymon where Sean’s grandfather, the late Joe, spent many years …

As the build-up to the All-Ireland final continues, Peter O’Connell spoke to Fergal Lynch on more than just hurling matters. FERGAL Lynch predicts that 2013 will be a seismic year for two of his county hurling colleagues. The Quin National School principal is the only married man on the county panel but is confident that his isolation is approaching end game. “Brendan Buglar and Paddy Donnellan won’t be too far behind me, I’d say. I’m going to give them up to Christmas. Although they’ll hardly last that long,” Lynch laughs. Clare’s starting 1995 All-Ireland winning team featured 15 bachelors and just one married playing substitute. “Someone said to me the other day that none of them were married bar Cyril Lyons, who came on as a sub. I don’t know if I’m playing the Lyons role. He was probably a better hurler than I am but it’s a good omen,” the Clooney-Quin man feels. Although more than a decade older …

Limerick   4-14    Clare    1-4CLARE bowed out of the Minor All-Ireland Championship on Saturday, losing out to neighbours Limerick.