Tag Archives: Podge Collins

(Peter O’Connell) Cratloe 2-12 Éire óg 0-11 NOT alone did Cratloe retain their Clare senior football championship title in front of 7,100 people in Cusack Park on Sunday, they became the first club to complete the double on the field since 1914. Sublime first half finishes from Conor McGrath and man of the match Podge Collins were the key scores. McGrath’s goal was set up by a quickly taken Collins free and with Éire óg switched off, McGrath finished calmly to the Colin Smyth’s net. Exactly half way through the first half Podge Collins jinked beyond the Ennis mens full back line and finished an exquisite goal. That put the double champions 2-4 to 0-2 ahead and in control. Earlier Collins had put over the games opening point, while Liam Markham and Cathal McInerney, from a free, added to their tally in the opening minutes. Come half time a brace of excellent Davy O’Halloran points helped Éire óg to claw their …

Little did Irish international boxer Jerome De Loughrey think when he moved to Cratloe 22 years ago that he would now be playing such a prominent part in the successes of the GAA club. A native of Kennedy Park in Limerick City, boxing and soccer were his sports back then. “Boxing was my game and I also played soccer,” the 13-time capped Irish boxer told The Clare Champion. “When I moved to live here, I started a soccer team. There was no juvenile football in the parish at the time and the lads asked me to enter a football team. I said I knew nothing about it. Nearly everyone that played soccer also played football. One of the first wins was in the U-16 C football and Sean Collins was part of that team. Colm (Collins) joined soon after that and football developed from there,” according to Jerome, who is a selector with the senior side. He has the added …

The Clare senior hurling management team tried to accommodate the dual player in 2014 but it did not work for either part, player or management, according to Davy Fitzgerald. “This was not the reason why we did not win a Munster or All-Ireland championship; we are well aware of that. However, it was one of many factors”, the manager said on Wednesday evening, when revealing some details of the management structure for the coming season. “Podge Collins informed us a while back that in 2015 he will be playing football only. We have no issue with that except, of course, that we’d love to have him with us. For the coming year we want players on our panel fully committed to Clare hurling. Our goal is to get Clare hurling back to Croke Park in September,” Fitzgerald said. The Clare manager went on to say that the management team had spoken to Podge and explained their position. “We felt Clare …

FORMER Clare hurling manager, Ger Loughnane has claimed that Podge Collins was not “half the player” in 2014 that he was in 2013. Speaking on RTE’s The Sunday Game last weekend, he attributed this to the 2013 All-Star playing football for his county in 2014. “You cannot maximise your potential. If you take even one of the stars of last year for Clare, Podge Collins; now why was he so good for Clare last year? Because any time he wasn’t training with the team, he was out on his own practising hurling, with maybe a hundred balls on his own hitting them from all over the field. Look at the way he played,” Loughnane said. “Now, this year, he does half and half and he ends up with nothing. He isn’t half the hurler he was last year. You can do it but how could you possibly be as effective if you just concentrate on one? Remember, all of the …

WEXFORD manager Liam Dunne went home from Ennis  content that his gear bag contained a particular jersey. A combative half-back in his own day, Dunne headed for Ennis last Saturday intent on winning and heading home with Brendan Bugler’s jersey. He half succeeded on the first count and followed that up by getting his hands on the Whitegate man’s number five jersey. “I asked him for his jersey. I got to him last year but he was after swapping his jersey. He’s a man that I have admired for a long, long time. I think he’s a great bit of stuff and a great hurler. He gave me his jersey and I’m delighted going home with that,” Dunne revealed. He feels Wexford will benefit from the game. “To score 2-25 apiece, would any team deserve to lose a game? Clare are not All-Ireland champions for nothing and they proved it today. We put them under pressure in the first half …

All-Ireland hurling medal winner,  Podge Collins, visited Gaelscoil Mhíchíl Cíosóg in Ennis  to raise the school’s new Yellow Flag. The Yellow Flag programme recognises a school’s work in promoting interculturalism, equality, diversity and inclusion in both the school and wider community. The programme works through an eight-step model, which allows schools to apply those steps to the day-to-day running of the school in order to promote and support an environment for interculturalism. According to teacher Aoife Ní Conchúir, the whole school was involved in achieving the flag, and all classes were involved in the sports day held to mark raising the Yellow Flag. “It was a great day. We have about 11 different countries represented in the school community, between children and parents. To achieve the Yellow Flag, we held a series of events in the school celebrating diversity and involving the wider community. We made contact with different groups from different countries and held events. We had African drummers, …

THE Clare senior footballers starting team and subs were named after training in Cusack Park on Thursday evening ahead of Saturday’s provincial quarter-final meeting with Waterford in Cusack Park. Four players will make their Munster championship debuts while Joe Hayes returns in goals at the expense of Pierce Deloughrey, who was in goals for the league campaign. Jamie Malone, Ciaran Russell and Martin O’Leary are pencilled in to make their championship debuts at midfield, wing back and in the full forward line respectively. Podge Collins will also make his Munster senior football championship debut. His brother Seán, who played championship in 2009, has been named at wing forward while his younger brother will wear number 15. Joe Hayes (Lissycasey); Dean Ryan (Éire Óg), Kevin Hartnett (Meelick), Martin McMahon (Kilmurry Ibrickane); Shane Hickey (Kilmurry Ibrickane), Gordon Kelly (Miltown), Ciaran Russell (Éire Óg); Gary Brennan (Clondegad – captain), Jamie Malone (Corofin); Shane McGrath (Thomas Davis), Enda Coughlan (Kilmurry Ibrickane), Seán Collins (Cratloe); …

INTRODUCED at half time, Podge Collins made an invaluable contribution to Clare’s promotion winning second half display in Creggan. The All-Ireland winning All-Star hurler kicked two crucial points from play and along with players like Shane McGrath, his brother Seán, Ciaran Russell and Dean Ryan, the UL student worked exceptionally hard on and off the ball. Speaking afterwards Podge said that the passion evident in the dressing room inspires him. “You can tell by the way lads talk in the dressing room, before games and at half time, how passionate they are about it. I know it doesn’t sound too glamorous after winning the All-Ireland hurling but it’s absolutely huge, especially in my house. It’ll be a happy house for the night,” he laughed. Collins acknowledged that it took him a few minutes to get up to the pace of the game after his introduction for Jamie Malone. “Coming up to Antrim we didn’t really know what to expect. I’d …