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Tag Archives: Canon Hamilton Cup

‘It’s a moment I’ll never forget’

Another hero from 2010, Gearóid O’Donnell, feels that maiden title was a moment that will stay with him forever. “It’s truly a moment I’ll never forget, walking under the bridge with the Canon Hamilton for the first time in the history of the club. We had lost a final in 2007, a semi-final replay in 2008. 2009 was all about soul searching. It was a hurtful campaign after not getting out of the group. Like this current group we used that hurt and 2010 was our deliverance day. We had been coming but to finally get over the line was an unreal feeling, one I’ve told the young lads about, one that will live forever.” His successful side were on a path to the title for a couple of campaigns but this current crop have been transformed in literally a matter of weeks. It really has been Roy of the Rovers stuff. “Let’s be honest this was definitely out of …

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Hurt has been the driving factor

Michael Browne has had huge success over a distinguished coaching and managerial career. He was at the helm when his beloved Crusheen made their historic breakthrough in 2010 and retained the Canon Hamilton in 2011. After having been on a rollercoaster of a journey this time around he finds himself once more only sixty minutes away from glory but is very reluctant to take little or any credit for this remarkable run. “I have very little to do with it. The guys I got involved with our set up this year have been there and done that. They know what it takes to win, the sacrifices one has to make but more importantly they know what joy winning brings. At the start it was very difficult to sort things out. I’ll be honest and say we struggled to get everyone to buy into what we were doing. Aidan Harte though has been a massive addition. He is a really top …

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Back to the future for Clonlara boys

If you ever wanted to know what Clonlara means to Dónal Madden just default to that time when he was part of the side that made the big breakthrough by bringing Clare hurling’s greatest prize back to the home parish of Canon Hamilton. This week 15 years ago — October 18, 2008, and the black and amber had just dished out a 0-13 to 0-5 drubbing to Crusheen in the county semi-final, after which they’d go on to win the final against Newmarket-on-Fergus. Dónal made the biggest impact on the scoreboard in that semi-final played in Clarecastle, with 0-7 on his scorecard. Here was the Tulla man abroad in Clonlara, but very much at home there. A year after Tulla had beaten Crusheen in the county final to bridge a 74-year gap to their last county championship success — now Clonlara were 60 winning minutes away from bridging an even longer gap of 89 years. A penny for Dónal’s thought …

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From sitting in the cup to potentially lifting it

Clonlara captain Jathan McMahon has got his hands on the Canon Hamilton trophy before. And not just his hands either as being related to Clonlara’s 2008 winning captain Paul Collins, his first memories of watching his club were celebratory ones. “There’s a photo at home of me sitting in the cup. “I was only eight and obviously small so there’s plenty of photos of me and my uncle-in-law Paul and the family. “I was in my element and really looked up to the players that won it. I also distinctly remember going into school the following week, it was an just unreal atmosphere. “It’s mad now to think that I’m playing alongside John [Conlon] and now preparing for a senior final of our own.” Much like Conlon and the Class of 2008, their momentum-fuelled charge stemmed from a strong core of of exciting young players who soared to the club’s first ever Minor A title five years ago, led by …

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Ballyea in pole position as Clare hurling championship begins

Ballyea begin the defence of their crown as favourites to retain the Canon Hamilton Cup. Eoin Brennan breaks down the senior groupings ahead of the opening weekend   Group 1 – Newmarket-on-Fergus, Feakle, Whitegate, Clonlara, Sixmilebridge Considering that four of these teams have contested at least the last four stage in the past six years along with a Whitegate side off the back of their most encouraging senior championship campaign to date, it’s a pool made all the more perilous by the fact that only two will emerge unscathed to the knock-out stages. All five will legitimately feel that they can negotiate their passage to the last eight. However, the frontrunners will undoubtedly be Sixmilebridge who have consistently appeared in the business end in six of the last seven seasons with a little matter of four Canon Hamilton titles emanating from that rich period. Their neighbours Newmarket-on-Fergus, meanwhile, who are the seeded team after soaring to last year’s semi-finals, seemed …

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McInerney eager to avoid another hard luck story

At aged 22, Cian McInerney has accomplished more than most on the hurling field. However, he isn’t satisfied to just add a county final appearance to his ever expanding CV with the talented hurler hoping to be part of history by helping Inagh-Kilnamona lift the Canon Hamilton Cup on Sunday afternoon. He wants to atone for previous defeats, most notably his side’s 2019 semi final defeat to Sixmilebridge. The secondary school teacher believes his side took plenty of lessons from that loss but he does not want a repeat result when coming up against an experienced Ballyea outfit. The former Clare minor insists his side have developed a greater mental toughness since that loss, highlighted by their gritty win against Éire Óg in the semi finals a fortnight ago. “Two years ago in that semi final we led for most of it but the ‘bridge used their experience to get over the line. We lost that game and it was …

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Final experience no substitute for leadership

From the outside looking in, Ballyea have the experience while Inagh-Kilnamona have the momentum ahead of Sunday’s novel showdown for the Canon Hamilton Cup in Cusack Park. Having been down this road twice before and managed to prevail on both occasions, Ballyea’s senior triumphs in 2016 and ’18 will still be fresh in the memory while the heightened county final build-up, occasion and understandable nerves will be a completely new experience to an Inagh-Kilnamona side competing in their first senior decider. There is one obvious flaw in that theory however as Ballyea’s Jack Browne quickly pointed out. “We happened to win the first county final we were in too so there is no secret formula. Look, you’d hope that having played in finals before that it helps but there’s no guarantees. “Take us for example, it’s fair to say that every year you play in championship, you don’t want to lose any game and we’d love to be in a …

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Recalling a golden era for Newmarket GAA

Newmarket’s dominance of Clare hurling in the late 1960s was recalled this week, when the members of the club’s three in-a-row championship-winning teams of 1967, 1968 and 1969 were feted at a function at The Inn in Dromoland. It was a particularly successful period for the club as, in addition to the three championship titles, they won four Clare Champion Cups from 1966 to 1969, while they became the first in Clare to win the Munster club title, when they defeated Carrick Davins from Tipperary on October 6, 1968 on a scoreline of 3-9 to 2-7. Many of the players in those teams were household names, including Jim Cullinan, Michael Considine, Gus Lohan, Liam Danagher, Paddy McNamara, Pat Cronin, Hubbie McCabe, two time All-Star Johnnie McMahon and Wexford man, Liam Griffin, who managed his native county to the All-Ireland title in 1996. In those three finals, Newmarket defeated neighbours and arch rivals Clarecastle. The 1967 final was played on November …

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