Tag Archives: Club

IN 2017, it took 36 weeks to complete the seven-round Cusack Cup campaign. It started on March 11 and concluded on November 29, when Kilmurry-Ibrickane won the competition for the seventh successive season. While a semi-final date has not been fixed for this season’s Division 1 football league, the aim seems to be to finish the league before the first round of the Senior Football Championship. The last round is on May 27 or June 9 and, with only one semi-final to be played, Clare GAA might pull it off. The team that finishes top of the table automatically qualifies for the final, while second and third meet in a semi-final. One of the issues raised last year was the absence of county players for a round played mid-summer. This weekend, with Clare playing Roscommon in their refixed NFL game, club teams will line out without their county players. Clubs are not enamoured about this but it seems likely that …

Players are going to have to choose between club and county. That’s according to Clare senior football and league champions Kilmurry-Ibrickane whose manager Aidan Moloney issued a strong warning after his charges completed the senior double for the second year in a row when beating Miltown St.Josephs in the Clare Champion sponsored Cusack cup final at Cooraclare this afternoon After winning their seventh successive league crown Kilmurry-Ibrickane considered not accepting the cup. Eventually team captain Martin McMahon came forward, accepted the cup but declined to raise the trophy as is traditional having delivered one of the shortest acceptance speeches on record. He thanked the team’s supporters for attending the game and thanked opponents Miltown and then promptly left the podium having led his club to a 0-14 to 0-11 win over their neighbours and great rivals Miltown St. Josephs. According to team manager Aidan Moloney “the main point we would like to make is that we had a full team …

Ballygunner, Waterford 1-18 Sixmilebridge 1-17 Sixmilebridge’s dream of contesting the Munster senior club hurling final ended at Walsh park in Waterford this afternoon when they went under by the minimum margin to a fancied Waterford side, Ballygunner/ It was a heartbreaking defeat for the Clare champions who, when the review the game, will reflect on missed chances and on whether or not they could have made changes which would have benefited the team. As reported last week, the Clare champions went into this game without their injured captain Paidi Fitzpatrick and while he took part in the team pre match warm up on the pitch, he played no part in the game. His absence was a blow to the team’s hopes of progressing to the final. What was mainly a crossfield breeze helped the visitors in the opening half but they finished the half strongly to led by five points, 0-11 to 0-6, when the half time whistle sounded. Their …

Peter O’Connell in Croke Park RESULT: Cuala 2-19 Ballyea 1-10. Cuala are 2017 All-Ireland club hurling champions. They were sharper and took their chances. Darragh O’Connell and David Treacy were outstanding. Ballyea gave it their last drop but the fluency just wasn’t there today. They represented Clare superbly though in Munster and in the All-Ireland series. 58 mins: Darragh O’Connell with Cualas 16th point. Mark Schutte adds to it. Cuala 2-17 Ballyea 1-10 54 mins: Jake Malone plants a Cuala goal. Cuala 2-15 Ballyea 1-10. Cuala have one hand on Tommy Moore. 53: Darragh O’Connell replies with a Cuala point. Five in it. There’s still time if Ballyea can lift it. Cuala 1-15 Ballyea 1-10 50 mins: GOAL. Niall Deasy buries it for Ballyea. Cuala 1-14 Ballyea 1-10. Four point game. 49 mins: Deasy and Treacy trade pointed frees. Cuala 1-13 Ballyea 0-10. Ballyea need a goal. 47 mins: Deasy with his fifth free. A six point game now. Maybe …

Na Piarsaigh, Limerick 3-11 Sixmilebridge 1-15 Sixmilebridge’s dream of progressing to the latter stages of the Munster senior club hurling championship were shattered at their own O’Garney park this Sunday afternoon. Despite being ahead by nine points at half time, the Clare champions suffered their first competitive defeat of the season when going under to their Shannonside neighbours. Playing with the aid of a strong wind in the first half, the home side built up a nine point lead, 1-12 to 1-3 by half time but they struggled throughout the second half. A haul of 1-6 in a nine minute spell at the start of the second quarter saw the Clare champions build up a good lead. The goal scorer was Cathal Malone who was put through by Shane Golden. A storming third quarter from Na Piarsaigh proved decisive in this tie. Kevin Downes goaled two minutes after the resumption and he provided the pass from which Peter Casey found …

MARTIN Sixsmith, the journalist and author, whose book inspired the critically acclaimed and Oscar nominated film Philomena, will appear at the Ennis Book Club Festival just days after the Academy Awards ceremony. He is just one of many well known authors and personalities who will visit the town in March for the popular festival. Ciana Campbell of the Ennis Book Club Festival voluntary committee said they are delighted to welcome Sixsmith to Ennis, along with the other participants. “It’s all taken off for him; it’s been brilliant so we are looking forward to welcoming him. In fact he seems very enthusiastic about coming here. He will be here just after the Oscars ceremony, but Oscar or no Oscar the success has been phenomenal for him,” she outlined. In 2009 Sixsmith wrote The Lost Child of Philomena Lee about the forcible separation of a Limerick mother and child by the nuns of an Irish convent during the 1950s, and the subsequent …

By Seamus Hayes The 2014 Clare senior hurling championship will have to be completed by the third weekend in October at the latest as the winners will be in action in the provincial championship quarter-final on October 26. The county football champions won’t see provincial action until the middle of November as, for the second year in-a- row, Clare have received a bye to the semi-final. The draws for the provincial club championships (senior, intermediate and junior) were made at a meeting of the provincial council on Thursday night when the Waterford and Clare hurling champions were drawn to meet in a quarter- final on October 26. The Waterford representatives will have home advantage for that fixture, the winners of which will face the Tipperary winners in a semi-final tie on November 9. The final will take place on November 23. In intermediate hurling, the Clare champions have a bye into the provincial semi-final where they will play either Tipperary …

A bizarre fixtures wrangle, involving Kilmaley and Tulla GAA Clubs, was resolved on Wednesday afternoon following an emergency meeting of the Clare GAA Fixtures Committee. After their 5-12 to 0-20 defeat to Tulla in Sunday’s Group 1 Senior Hurling Championship fixture, Kilmaley left Clarecastle believing they had finished third in the group, while Tulla were convinced they had finished bottom, on scoring difference. Tubber, Kilmaley and Tulla all finished on two points in the group, which was topped by Newmarket. Tubber qualified for Sunday’s quarter-final against Sixmilebridge on the basis that they had the best scoring difference of the three tied clubs. Based on scoring difference, Kilmaley were third and Tulla fourth. This system has applied for the last number of seasons in both the county hurling and football championships. The Clare Champion learned that the basis for a decision made on Monday was that by virtue of making the last eight on scoring difference, Tubber were removed from the …