Tag Archives: Corofin

Heading in to this Sunday’s Munster Intermediate Club Final, Corofin manager Douglas Hurley is aware his side need a strong showing around the middle third if they are to cause an upset. Corofin come up against a Na Gaeil outfit who certainly don’t lack in the midfield department with Stefan Okunbor, who impressed in Kerry’s comfortable McGrath Cup win over Limerick last week, Jack Barry and Diarmuid O’Connor all capable of dominating the aerial exchanges. Hurley knows his side face a tough task in this sector as they come up against a fancied Na Gaeil outfit. “They have three potential Kerry midfielders. If we can be 50-50 in that area of the field then we will be doing well. If we can win our own ball and try disrupt theirs then we have a chance. If we come out with any type of parity then we will be doing well.” “There are a lot of areas they can hurt you. …

Munster Intermediate Club Championship Final Na Gaeil (Kerry) v Corofin at Mallow, Sunday 1.30pm (Jonathan Hayes, Limerick) The wheel has come full circle for Corofin who, 15 years after being Clare’s first Munster Intermediate Club Final representatives, are back vying for honours once more against Kerry opposition this Sunday. Only a late Ardfert goal denied the North Clare side of a historic provincial breakthrough in the Gaelic Grounds in 2006, which would prove a major turning point for both sides. Victory that day would have been a crowning achievement for Corofin goalscorer Colm Clancy and his brother player/manager Seamus, the duo that had been instrumental in a similar provincial giant-killing feat for Clare over Kerry at the same venue 14 years earlier. On the flip side, Ardfert went onto capture Kerry’s first All-Ireland Intermediate success for what was the start of an utter dominance of the grade. Since Ardfert’s 2006 trail-blazing feat, Kerry clubs have annexed 12 of the last …

Gearoid Kelly knows that Corofin are heavy underdogs heading in to their Munster Intermediate Final against Na Gaeil this Sunday but remains undaunted, writes Ivan Smyth. While he is aware his side face a tough challenge when taking on the star studded Kerry outfit, he insists that Corofin will not be overawed by the abundance of talent at their opponent’s disposal. “They will be good no doubt but at the end of the day it’s 15 lads against 15. We will give them as much respect as they need but we will be concentrating on ourselves. We shouldn’t fear anyone. We respect them but we are going out to win. Against Newmarket we were not favourites and we managed to turn them over.” Although the 28-year-old insists himself and his teammates are just focused on the task at hand this weekend, he knows there has been large excitement in the village for this game during the Christmas period. “There is …

At a well attended unveiling ceremony held in Corofin on Sunday last Dr Maccon Macnamara, President of Cumann Staire is Dúchais Chora Finne officially launched the Fr. Murphy and 40 Shilling Freeholders Memorial at the Creamery Cross. Dr Macnamara praised the actions of Fr Murphy in seeking to extend equal rights to members of the Catholic Faith and said his actions as one of the leaders in the efforts to elect Daniel O’Connell, in the famous Clare Election of 1828, deserve to be remembered. Fr Murphy, a Newmarket on Fergus native, served as Parish Priest in Corofin from 1818 to 1831 and proved his dynamism by building a church in the village in 1822, opening badly needed schools and standing up to a political system which allowed for discrimination against a very significant proportion of the population. When he suffered an untimely death at the young age of 42 he was attended during his final illness by Dr Michael Macnamara, …

A FACELIFT is on the cards for six Clare towns and villages, three of them in the East and the South East of the county. A pot of €7 million is to be shared among 124 areas across the country under the Streetscape Enhancement Initiative. In Clare, the beneficiaries will be Tulla, Scariff, Clonlara, Kilrush, Corofin and Clarecastle, where property and business owners will be invited to apply for funding. The allocation will support a number of activities to brighten the appearance of towns and villages. These include strategic collaboration between property owners to paint buildings or shopfronts in vibrant colours and the commissioning of murals in towns and villages. The funds also enable the upgrade or restoration of historic and traditional shopfronts; as well as the provision of street planting, shrubbery, trees and flowers boxes. Enhancements through the illumination and lighting of architectural features can also be carried out, as well as the installation of canopies and street furniture …

Half a loaf is considerably better than no bread as following the postponement of last year’s secondary adult club competitions, a condensed county league schedule is set to commence this bank holiday Monday. Four of the seven football leagues begin their campaigns on the first day possible of the government’s Covid-19 guidelines, with all divisions in both football and hurling limited to five matches which are based on last year’s fixtures. With no promotion or relegation at stake, the county leagues are primarily intended as a reintroduction to playing action following a minimum eight month absence. However, while clubs will be without their inter-county contingents, there’s still silverware on offer to retain a competitive edge remains intact as following the completion of the group stages, the top team in each division will be crowned champions. Cusack Cup – Division 1 Football League Round 1 Kilmurry Ibrickane v St Joseph’s Miltown at Quilty, Monday, 3.30pm (Referee: C Maguire) It’s a post-lockdown …

COROFIN’S Kenneth O’Halloran was among the winners at the recent Press Photographers Association of Ireland awards. Kenneth took second place in the Reportage category for a series of images of men working in their gardens just after lockdown hit. The Judges report said, “We really loved this picture story, shot in a very direct documentary style, the photographer pounded the pavements of suburbia, hunting lockdown man in his garden managing to connect the visual threads with humour and a touch of the surreal. Wonderful idea and an absolutely delightful set of images.” Speaking about the work, Kenneth said that while he had started off taking pictures of deserted streets, he soon tried to get something a little different. “With Instagram you can see that what you think is a really interesting idea has been photographed by most people. So I was looking for something else, I hit the suburbs and spent three or four weeks walking around the housing estates …

THE story of a Catholic priest who was brutally murdered during the War of Independence has been compiled in a new book by a Kilfenora native with a passion for history. Retired teacher Pat O’Looney, who lives in Loughrea, has painstakingly researched the history of Fr Michael Griffin, a man who himself had strong Clare links. The cleric’s death is one of the most notorious incidents of the dark year of 1920 and send shock waves around the world. Pat’s book A Zealous Priest tells the story of the young junior curate. As the war was reaching its height, Fr Griffin was a junior the parishes of Bushypark and Barna. A known IRA sympathiser, he was just 28 when he was taken from his home in Galway city and murdered by crown forces. “He had a number of Clare connections, though he was born in Ballinasloe,” explained Pat. “His grandfather was from Corofin and when Fr Griffin was ordained, his …