ONE iconic photograph on the top floor of the national GAA museum illustrates the scenes of sheer jubilation after the 1995 All-Ireland hurling final. Despite being placed in the middle of a line of GAA legends, it is still eye-catching even for non-GAA diehards who are interested in photography. It captures part of Anthony Daly’s hand hoisting the Liam McCarthy Cup aloft in the air with O’Brien’s Tower in the background, the day after the Banner’s thrilling victory over Offaly. Seán McMahon remembers standing behind the Clare captain when this photograph was being taken. He recalls Clare Champion photographer John Kelly also asked Anthony Daly to stand for a photograph on the way back from Shannon Airport to Ennis in an open-topped bus. Speaking to GAA supporters as he conducted the GAA legends tour series in Croke Park recently, the Doora-Barefield clubman estimates 40,000 Clare supporters gave the team a rapturous welcome in Ennis. “It was a brilliant time for …

To celebrate the 30th birthday of the Sport quattro, Audi are unveiling its spiritual successor at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The new concept is a plug-in hybrid, generating a total of 700 bhp in all. Fuel consumption is quoted at 2.5 l/100 km and 0-100 km/h takes just 3.7 seconds. 21” wheels and short overhangs echo the styling of the original Sport quattro. Flat C-pillars and the rectangular double headlights complete the look. The headlights feature new Matrix LED technology, which will also be available later this year in the facelifted A8. Torque of 800 Nm is fed to the road through an eight speed tiptronic into a quattro drivetrain, with a differential on the rear axle. The engine itself is a 4.0 litre twin turbo V8, with the ability to deactivate up to four cylinders under part load. A stop start system also features. An electric motor, producing 150 bhp is mounted between the engine and the transmission. The …

THE lyrics have been composed, the flags unfurled and the Banner bangers have been wheeled out, leaving the county gripped in hurling final fever, ahead of Sunday’s All-Ireland final showdown with Cork. The game has massive global appeal, with Clare’s diaspora going to great efforts to travel home from great distances or gathering with friends in their homes, bars or GAA clubs to see the drama unfold. The frenetic scramble for tickets continues unabated and despite the Clare GAA County Board receiving a second allocation from Croke Park, hundreds of dejected Clare fans are still exploring all avenues in the hope of securing that elusive ticket. However, for those who don’t get to Croker, Ennis Town Council has stepped in to help. Abbey Street car park will be transformed on Sunday afternoon as the town authority hopes to generate an electric atmosphere by broadcasting the game live on a big screen. Entertainment gets underway at 2.30pm and will continue until …

By Nicola Corless LISDOONVARNA was bedecked in livery as usual at the weekend for the opening of its annual matchmaking festival. This year, however, it was more colourful than usual. Rainbow flags are a symbol of diversity, are associated with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community and for The Outing, the flags were flown high in the North Clare village. “One lovely thing was that the owner of another business in the town came running up here on Friday evening asking where he could get some of those colourful flags. Now the rainbow flag is flying over that premises too,” said Eddie McGuinness, one of the festival’s organisers. Television presenter Brendan Courtney attended the festival, returning to the village where he spent many a family holiday as a child. “Locals have been very welcoming. I pulled into Lisdoonvarna and saw the big rainbow flags everywhere and I said ‘oh we are welcome’. This is a very sophisticated part …

KEVIN Haugh, the West Clare-born author of An Imperfect Storm, is a cancer survivor. His book is compelling reading for anyone but particularly those who have had a cancer diagnosis or are close to someone who has suffered from cancer. Kevin’s book is not a medical text book, neither does it proclaim to be a self-help tome or an advisory text on “how to live with cancer”. It is an honest account of Kevin’s life before, during and after he was unexpectedly diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The book portrays the changes that diagnosis imposed on his family, brought to his home and inflicted on his relationships. Kevin was a man at war with cancer. It is this fighting spirit and his inherent will to defeat the disease that stand out most in the book. At his oncologist’s suggestion, he began to keep a diary to help him focus and that diary became his book. A retired principal of Galvone National …

WHILE much of Clare will be heading to Dublin this weekend, 32 clubs from almost 20 counties will decamp to Quilty, Mullagh, Miltown and Kilmihil on Saturday, when Kilmurry Ibrickane Ladies Club will host the inaugural KIB All-Ireland U-16 seven-a-side tournament. Kilmurry Ibrickane, West Clare Gaels, Banner Ladies and Burren Gaels are the four Clare clubs competing. Kilmurry club treasurer, Therese Doohan says the idea to host the tournament dawned on them last year. “We went to the Kilmacud Crokes U-14 tournament. Above there, we met a good few of the other teams and we were talking about how little there was for U-16s and minors. We were asking was there an U-16 or minor seven-a-side and we were told there wasn’t,” she explained. “So Martina [Maloney], myself, Pat McCarthy, Aidan Moloney and my husband, Francis, were talking about it and we decided we’d apply for it. We knew we had good facilities in the area between our own grounds, …

By Seamus Hayes Lissycasey 1-11 St Joseph’s 1-8 Beaten finalists for the last two years, St Joseph’s are out of the 2013 title race after suffering a three-point defeat at Hennessy Park in Miltown on Saturday evening. Extra time was required before Lissycasey emerged as winners on a day when a strong closing 10 minutes in normal time saw the Doora-Barefield outfit wipe out a five-point lead. There were plenty of talking points in a game that produced a penalty for each side and a sending-off for the losers, all of which had a key part in the game, as did the introduction of teenager Oisín Hanrahan by Lissycasey near the end of the third quarter. He kicked two excellent points and was fouled for the penalty, which led to the team’s goal. St Joseph’s were awarded a penalty in the 22nd minute but Joe Hayes produced a fine save from Cathal O’Sullivan. Lissycasey’s penalty came at the mid-point of …

by Seamus Hayes Kilmurry-Ibrickane 0-8 O’Curry’s 0-6 COUNTY champions, Kilmurry-Ibrickane struggled to break down O’Curry’s blanket defensive approach in Doonbeg last Saturday. The 2012 intermediate champions set out to defend in depth and while that approach kept them in the game, the fact that they only kicked one second-half score, from Eoin Troy, cost them the chance of a stunning win. For most of the 60 minutes, O’Curry’s defensive tackling was disciplined and effective. They held up the man in the tackle and when they did concede scoreable frees, Ian McInerney and Mark (Cookie) McCarthy kicked first-half wides, which they would have expected to put over without a second thought. Crucially though, McCarthy kicked a brace of superb long-range second-half points for Kilmurry, while their last point was a 45-yard free from the same player. Those scores underlined that the most effective way to break down O’Curry’s massed defensive numbers was to kick scores from distance. McCarthy and substitute Seamus …