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Tag Archives: All-Star

Kelly wins third All Star

TONY Kelly is one of only three hurlers from outside of Limerick to be named on the 2021 All Star team. The Ballyea man was named at corner forward and it is third All Star, with the others having come in 2013 and 2020. Kelly was in outstanding form during the 2021 season and his selection had been widely expected. Limerick won the 2021 All Ireland with some ease, and that has been reflected with an incredible 12 of their team being named All Stars. Other than Kelly, the only other non Limerick inclusions are Kilenny’s Eoin Murphy and Conor Prunty of Waterford. In an interview with the Champion this week, Kelly said he feels Clare can enjoy a good 2022. “We are confident we are moving in the right direction. Clare were a puck of a ball away from beating Cork who got to the All-Ireland final. I know Cork got a trimming in the All-Ireland final but that …

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Tony Kelly Clare’s only All-Star nominee

Tony Kelly is Clare’s sole standard bearer in the nominations for the 2015 All-Star hurling awards . The stylish Ballyea hurler, an U-21 All-Ireland winning captain, was also an influential member of Clare’s 2013 All-Ireland winning team. His exploits that year earned him an All-Star, as well as the Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year accolades, the first time such a double was achieved. All-Ireland champions, Kilkenny and Galway lead the list of nominations with 12 each. Waterford’s strong 2015 showing, which saw them earn league honours before reaching a Munster final and All-Ireland semi-final, sees them land one fewer with a total of 11 nominations. Munster champions, Tipperary claim seven nominations with Cork, Clare and Dublin completing the list of 45 with one each. In all seven counties are represented. On the personal award front, 2015 All-Ireland champions, Kilkenny have received two nominations, with TJ Reid and Richie Hogan, while Tipperary’s Séamus Callanan completes the …

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Fitzgibbon comes full circle for Lohan

TWENTY-one winters after winning a Fitzgibbon Cup medal on the field with UL, Brian Lohan was delighted and relieved to lead his Alma Mater to the 2015 title after a replay win over Waterford IT last week in Cork. Amongst the Clare contingent who played key roles were Tony Kelly, David McInerney, Jack Browne, Cathal McInerney and Gearóid Ryan. The double All-Ireland winning full-back and four-time All-Star felt the Fitzgibbon Cup helped him to develop as a player more than two decades ago and is now aiding his management career. “I played in three Fitzgibbons before eventually winning a fourth one. It was a huge learning curve for me as a player. Even though I wasn’t saying it, I felt that having been involved in the management set-up for three years already, you’d want to be learning in the fourth year. Without saying too much about it, I felt that this year we had to do it,” the 2015 Fitzgibbon …

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Maire is Clare’s third camogie All-star

By Seamus Hayes Maire McGrath became Clare’s third ever camogie All star on Saturday night when she was named at full back on the 2014 team which is dominated by All-Ireland champions Cork who have nine on the team. The Cratloe woman, who plays her club camogie with Sixmilebridge, was named at full back on this year’s team. She follows in the footsteps of Catherine O’Loughlin (Kilnamona), who was the first Clare player to be honoured when she was named at corner forward in the 2005 team. Chloe Morey (Sixmilebridge) was named in the half back line in last year’s team. Maire’s selection means that it’s a second all star for the McGrath household as her brother Conor was one of eight Clare players honoured after Clare had won the All-Ireland senior hurling title. Maire’s selection comes at the end of a season in which Clare reached the National senior camogie final for the first time. they lost to Kilkenny …

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Time to question All-Star system

THE announcement of the All-Star hurling and football teams never fails to provide plenty of discussion. No more than with the selection of any team, there will always be different views as to who should be picked and in what position and this year’s selections have certainly led to plenty of debate. When this scheme was launched back in 1971, it was welcomed by all in the GAA world. While there is still huge support for such a scheme, there appears to be widespread agreement that changes are required to the selection process. The basic principle at the outset, and its still supposed to be the case, is that the scheme honours the best hurlers and footballers over a year’s performance. However, in more recent times, the All-Ireland finalists have dominated the selections and while they, by their progress, get to play the greater number of games and, accordingly, the greater number of chances to impress, its hardly the fairest …

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Deirdre looking forward to Clare’s big day

  By Seamus Hayes   Deirdre Murphy has been ever present in the Clare senior camogie team in recent years. An all star nominee on a couple of occasions, she has represented Munster a number of times in the Gael Linn cup. Indeed the Clooney-Quin woman spent a number of seasons working as a camogie development officer for Munster so there is no denying her love of camogie. While, understandably, delighted with last week’s victory over Cork, being in Sunday’s league final against Kilkenny is where “Clare should be at this stage if we have any ambition”, Deirdre said shortly after helping Clare reach the final for the first time when defeating Cork in Kilmallock Twelve months ago, despite an outstanding performance by Deirdre, Clare lost out in extra time to Cork at the same stage of the league “We have worked hard and nearly every good player in the county is available to us this year. We have been …

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All-Star transplants kidneys for Ennistymon brothers

By Dan Danaher RETIRED Dublin All-Star footballer, David Hickey has the distinction of transplanting new kidneys for two Ennistymon brothers, 10 years apart. Dr Hickey, who is the current director of transplantation in Ireland, performed the surgery to provide Stefan Davis (23) from Ennistymon with a new kidney on November 13 last. He carried out the same operation for his brother, Gary (27), who works in Liscannor as a kitchen porter, 10 years ago in 2004. Meanwhile, their mother, Mary is on haemodialysis for ten years. Stefan was on dialysis for two and a half years and was on the kidney pool a year before he went on dialysis. Mary explains for the first time in 23 years he is not in and out of hospitals. “He is only back to work three weeks but the difference in him is amazing. Stefan was a premature baby and from the day he was born until now he was a regular visitor …

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Inter-county hurling a lifestyle

By Seamus Hayes CLARE went into last year’s National Hurling League campaign under the radar but it’s a different situation this year, according  to  defender Brendan Bugler, winner of All star awards for the past two years at right wing back. Brendan is completely focused on hurling. Acknowledging that there are a lot of demands on inter county hurlers, he  said, “It’s a lifestyle now not just a hobby. We are well used to it. It’s like a full time job. At the end of the day, we are very privileged to be involved. We enjoy it.” Last year Bugler led his club Whitegate back to senior ranks in Clare when he captained the team to the intermediate title, beating Feakle in the final. Sunday’s game has particular interest for the Whitegate man, who is a member of the teaching staff at Callan Community School in Kilkenny. He said “It’s a mouth watering fixture. Kilkenny are sore over the way the …

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