Tag Archives: Cavan

Clare 1-12 Cavan 2-9 SIX points up, nine minutes into the second half, Clare were both relieved and disappointed to pick up a point from their first NFL division 2 league game of the new season in Ennis on Saturday. As the three minute of injury time ticked by, Clare led by a point after Keelan Sexton had kicked them 1-12 to 2-8 in front. However, Cavan equalised from a Bryan Magee free on a day when 16 players started their first league game. Clare had six players starting in the league for the first time, including four forwards. Following a very rocky started, during which Caoimhin O’Reilly goaled for Cavan after just 49 seconds, Clare went on to dominate the first half. They led 1-7 to 1-2 at half-time on a day when five of Clare’s six forwards scored from play. Éire Óg’s Eimihin Courtney goaled for Clare in the 12th minute, when full forward Sexton cleverly intercepted an …

WHILE Clare used the McGrath Cup to give younger players a run, there is no ignoring the fact that they will start the 2018 league without several experienced defenders. Goalkeeper Joe Hayes has retired, while Liam Markham has opted out for work reasons. Dean Ryan is in Australia, while Kevin Harnett is recovering from a shoulder operation. Martin McMahon and John Hayes have yet to return to the panel and it is unclear as to whether they will. Liscannor’s Darren Nagle is now in Australia. However, Éire Óg’s Ciaran Russell is back training, having recovered from a hamstring injury. Clare manager Colm Collins, who is starting his fifth season in the post, says that the absence of those players is a “natural progression” and that it will afford opportunities to younger defenders on Saturday against Cavan. “It’s the natural progression of things. A team develops for one reason or another and you’re going to be without some players. Certain players …

HUNDREDS of businesses will be waiting anxiously this Saturday for a final decision on whether or not Clare will be tuning up for a €30 million Fleadh Cheoil windfall in 2016. Securing what is regarded as the largest traditional music festival in the world, which would attract an estimated 350,000 visitors to Ennis and neighbouring towns in August 2016, would provide a major boost in the coffers of local traders. Efforts to host the lucrative 2016 Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann competition got a significant shot in the arm recently after a submission from a local branch defeated Cork City by 11 votes to nine in a new regional final. For the first time ever, counties had to submit their plans for hosting this money-spinning event against other competing counties in some provinces and Clare’s bid, which was in the name of the Abbey branch in Ennis, triumphed with two votes to spare. Ennis is now in a three-horse race involving …