By Seamus Hayes There will be much to play for in round 3 of the Clare senior hurling championship next weekend after the completion of round 2 which leaves eighteen of the twenty teams in the competition still in with a chance of making it to the play offs. Defending champions Newmarket along with Crusheen, Clonlara, Ballyea and O’Callaghans Mills are the only unbeaten sides after two outings. They are in a strong position to advance but nothing is guaranteed and they wll need to get something from the upcoming round if they are to be in the play offs. Clonlara had five points to spare (1-17 to 1-12) over Clarecastle in a lively tie at Sixmilebride where Cathal ‘Tots’ O’Connell was their goalscorer. Crusheen, with Cian Dillon in sparkling form at centre back, were impressive 0-17 to 0-10 winners over a disappointing Inagh-Kilnamona at Cusack Park. At the same venue, Kilmaley got their campaign back on track with a …

By Peter O’Connell TWENTY-EIGHT hours of weekly training has transformed Zoe Kelly. The mother-of-two, who lives in Ennis, is to represent Ireland at the Arnold Classic Europe section of what is the largest amateur bodybuilding championships in the world. The event takes place in Madrid on the weekend of October 11 to 13. Zoe, who is originally from Surrey, will be one of six representatives on the Irish team. It’s hard to comprehend though that she is just 32 and has had corrective heart surgery in recent years. “I had corrective surgery for an underlying heart rhythm disorder. I was in intensive care for several weeks in Ennis. It was diagnosed in 2009. In 2010, I had two procedures in the Mater hospital,” Zoe told The Clare Champion last week. “I just kept having episodes of collapse. It’s important to say it wasn’t life-threatening. It was a quality of life issue. To carry on like that wasn’t feasible,” she added, …

CLARE woman Mary O’Donoghue was the winner of The Irish Times’ Legends of the Fall short story competition and was thrilled with the honour. “First of all, I was excited to read about the series [The Times also published a number of short stories on the same theme] when it started but I wasn’t always able to read all the stories because only some of them were online, so I didn’t know for a good long time who was in there but I kind of suspected that it would be people like Colum McCann, Colm Tobin and Anne Enright. “Towards the end of the summer, I saw they were looking for open submissions and I saw that Donal Ryan was a judge, as well as someone who wrote in the series. I sent it [her winning entry The Sweet Forbearance in the Streets] in at the last minute and I was very excited when I heard from Fintan O’Toole in …

By Seamus Hayes A week after their memorable All-Ireland final victory, many of the Clare senior hurlers returned to competitive action when the domestic championship resumed after a twenty week break. There were no surprises as three games were played in the senior A competition and a further two were decided in the senior B title race. Following his never to be forgotton display in Clare’s victory over Cork, nineteen year old Shane O’Donnell was in the Eire Og team that faced Smith O’Briens from Killaloe. Having lost their opening tie, victory was a must for the Ennis side in this one and they achieved this comfortable, winning on a 3-23 to 0-7 scoreline. O’Donnell, however, failed to get on the scoresheet on this occasion when his fellow inter county panellist, Davy O’Halloran hit some fine scores. O’Callaghans Mills, home club of Clare captain Pat Donnellan, scored their second win of the campaign when accounting for Ruan. Meanwhile in the …

By Peter O’Connell FIGURES released on Tuesday show more than 19,000 people (14,101 adults, 5,082 children) visited Loop Head Lighthouse during the six-month opening period up to Sunday, September 29. Clare County Council, which manages the facility in conjunction with the Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL), said preliminary estimates indicate 75% of the total visitor figure was represented by domestic visitors, of which approximately 55% were holidaymakers and 30% were day trippers. Local visitors accounted for the remainder. Overseas visitors made up 25% of the total figure. The lighthouse was opened on a weekend basis from St Patrick’s weekend until mid-May, after which it was opened daily until the end of September. Opening hours were extended by two hours to 7.30pm during late July and August to accommodate the surge in visitor numbers to the West Clare landmark this summer. The visitor figures represent a jump of 2,000 on the same period in 2012. Last year’s figures showed that 17,423 …

SPEAKING to The Clare Champion after the game, Cork selector Seanie McGrath said his wife, an Ennis native, would torment him later. “She’ll be doing my head in tonight!” he laughed, showing good humour in the face of disappointment. He acknowledged Shane O’Donnell’s three goals in the first 20 minutes had a huge bearing but said the scores had been created further out the field. “I wouldn’t say that we got caught out there. When we knew that Shane O’Donnell was in, we didn’t change our match up because we felt that Shane (O’Neill) was still well capable of handling it. I think that Shane O’Donnell had an outstanding game but a lot of the goals and the creation of those goals came from out the field to be fair. There were overlaps and he was at the end of some great moves. “But, all in all, he had an unbelievable game, 3-3 in an All-Ireland final. I’ve seen him …

by Peter O’Connell PODGE Collins talks with the same passion, clarity and honesty with which he hurls. The Cratloe dynamo peered out of the doorway that led to the Clare dressing room in Croke Park and was instantly corralled by a bevy of dictaphone-wielding reporters. The speed with which he was surrounded was similar to that of the Clare forwards closing down the Cork defenders, as they tried desperately to rid themselves of possession and drive it downfield. “At the start of the year, if you had told me that we’d be up lifting Liam MacCarthy at the top of those steps, I’d have laughed at you,” Podge replied when asked how this MacCarthy Cup winning lark was going down. “Being honest, you just don’t think that you’re going to get there and to get there today, is just absolutely unbelievable. It’s the best feeling I’ve ever experienced in my life. It has worked out lovely. Week-in week-out, it’s been …

One thing is for certain, a Clare hurler will walk away with the accolade of Young Hurler of the Year as the three nominees for this year’s award are Tony Kelly, David McInerney and Podge Collins. In fact, both Kelly and Collins are also short-listed for the Player of the Year award with their only rival being Cork goalie, Anthony Nash. A total of 13 Clare players have been nominated for All-Stars in the 2013 GAA GPA  Awards announced on Wednesday night. The two that didn’t get nominated from the team that started last week-end’s All-Ireland final replay are defenders Cian Dillon and Patrick O’Connor, both of whom were solid all season if not spectacular. There are just 13 survivors from last year’s list of nominees and the final selection will be voted on at a judges’ meeting on Wednesday, November 6, with the awards banquet at Croke Park on Friday, November 8. Hurling All Star nominations Goalkeepers: Anthony Nash …