Tag Archives: Ballyea. St Thomas’

As the Clare and Galway champions gear up for the All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship semi-final at Semple Stadium on Saturday at 5pm, there is huge speculation as to the roles of the inter-county players on either side. Other questions are what effect playing under lights will have, while returning to competitive action after a break of over two months is also up for discussion. While it will be the first time that either side will play a competitive game under lights, both sides have been training under lights since October and have played challenge games, so neither side is making an issue of the throw-in time. On the way to their first county title, Ballyea produced some stunning performances in October and November. Many believe they would have benefitted had the championship continued throghout December. Whatever one’s view on that break, however, the Galway title-holders have had a longer spell without a competitive game. St Thomas’ won their second county …

THE Ballyea panel, winners of the Clare and Munster senior hurling titles for the first time in the club’s history in 2016, are back in full training ahead of their All-Ireland semi-final date with St Thomas’ from Galway. The game is scheduled for Semple Stadium on Saturday, February 4. “We took two weeks off over the Christmas but we have done a bit on the ball wall and a bit on the Astro Turf, just to keep ticking over. The county lads did a bit with the county and it was important for them to re-group,” Ballyea manager Robbie Hogan told The Clare Champion this week. He continued, “We are hoping to play a few college teams in the next few weeks ahead of the All-Ireland semi-final. We are injury free at present but there are a lot of flus and coughs and we are keeping our fingers crossed that we will stay clear of these”. A few of the …