Ballyea in pole position as Clare hurling championship begins

Ballyea begin the defence of their crown as favourites to retain the Canon Hamilton Cup. Eoin Brennan breaks down the senior groupings ahead of the opening weekend

Group 1 – Newmarket-on-Fergus, Feakle, Whitegate, Clonlara, Sixmilebridge

Considering that four of these teams have contested at least the last four stage in the past six years along with a Whitegate side off the back of their most encouraging senior championship campaign to date, it’s a pool made all the more perilous by the fact that only two will emerge unscathed to the knock-out stages.

All five will legitimately feel that they can negotiate their passage to the last eight. However, the frontrunners will undoubtedly be Sixmilebridge who have consistently appeared in the business end in six of the last seven seasons with a little matter of four Canon Hamilton titles emanating from that rich period.

Their neighbours Newmarket-on-Fergus, meanwhile, who are the seeded team after soaring to last year’s semi-finals, seemed to have bulked up further as they prepare for the new campaign.

Feakle, last year’s Clare Cup champions, can’t afford any injuries if they are to progress, something that appears to have already curtailed Clonlara as they bid to finally graduate from Senior B to the A equivalent.

Whitegate have already had a difficult start to 2022 but it will only unite them further to test their group rivals to their optimum as for the second successive season; they have a bye in the opening round.

That could be a blessing in disguise as the juicy derby between Sixmilebridge and Newmarket along with Feakle’s bout with Clonlara will reveal a lot about the make-up of the group.

Group 2 – Ballyea, Clarecastle, Broadford, Cratloe, O’Callaghan’s Mills

County champions Ballyea remain the team to beat in the championship and consequently are red hot favourites to top a group that only had 2021 group rivals Cratloe alongside them in the knock-out stages of last year’s campaign.

Cratloe are not the only familiar foe though for Robbie Hogan’s side as Broadford are also back for the second successive championship.

A first parish derby with Clarecastle since 2014, meanwhile, and a repeat of the mixed fortunes of the 2016 and ’18 semi-finals with the Mills are also in prospect for the holders.

2018 and ’19 finalists Cratloe’s vast experience puts them firmly in the frame to join Ballyea once more but that is far from a foregone conclusion as their array of quality leaders arguably have a lot of miles on the clock.

Their relegation from the top flight of the Clare Cup should have provided the reality check required so it will be interesting to see how they fare against the Magpies this Saturday.

Similarly interesting will be Ballyea’s bout with O’Callaghan’s Mills, having been extremely troubled in the corresponding fixture against Broadford last year.

O’Callaghan’s Mills and Clarecastle who contested last year’s anxious yet ultimately ill-fated relegation series simply have to be better to avoid a similar fate while it’s also a make-or-break group for Broadford who are embarking on their third season back in the top flight.

Group 3 – Éire Óg, Kilmaley, Scariff, Clooney-Quin

No shortage of ambition in Group 3 but seeing is believing as all four sides have points to prove to themselves as much as anyone this season.

Éire Óg have been the most consistent team of this pack and have been inching incrementally closer with every passing season.

However, despite contesting the last six quarter-finals and the penultimate stage in 2020 and ’21, a first final appearance in 22 years still eludes the Townies.

That said, while they would have been devastated to have passed up a glorious chance against Inagh-Kilnamona in last year’s semi-final, their footballers subsequent Jack Daly triumph could be the catalyst to unearth a similar breakthrough in the Canon Hamilton race.

It’s a similar story for Kilmaley who, fresh from their second Clare Cup crown in three years, along with an agonising championship semi-final reverse in 2019, have left them frustrated in their efforts for championship alchemy.

Initially, they will be delighted just to have avoided Ballyea and Cratloe who have knocked them out of the last four championships.

Ironically, considering their brush with relegation in 2021, Clooney-Quin are the only side in the group to have contested a senior final recently, thanks to their 2017 epic final series with Sixmilebridge.

Those memories have been rapidly fading but a first round victory over Scariff could irrevocably alter their mood.

Indeed, a lot will depend on the opening round battles as along with an assimilated Scariff’s crucial showdown with Tommy Corbett’s Clooney-Quin, group favourites Éire Óg and Kilmaley also lock horns in a fortnight’s time.

Group 4 – Inagh-Kilnamona, Crusheen, Smith O’Brien’s, Wolfe Tones

As history has repeatedly informed us, a breakthrough to a county final doesn’t automatically dictate that it will be a common occurrence.

Following one-hit wonders Clooney-Quin and O’Callaghan’s Mills, Inagh-Kilnamona will be determined to break that unwanted sequence after last November’s first decider appearance.

While heartbreaking in its conclusion, that experience should have whetted their appetite to come back even stronger in 2022.

They should be able to navigate their way out of the choppy waters of this group at least but it’s unlikely to be straight-forward as the remaining three sides are all primarily fighting to avoid any hint of demotion.

That extra motivation will make the progression and regression sides of the table extremely cut-throat as Crusheen were actually relegated last year until a provincial reprieve.

Wolfe Tones were extremely fortunate to end up in a quarter-final on score difference having suffered back-to-back group defeat while Smith O’Brien’s are only back in senior hurling for the first time in nine years.

Momentum could be a pivotal factor for the Killaloe-Bridgetown side who couldn’t have asked for a more ideal opening round than facing Wolfe Tones.

The Shannon side will be licking their lips as having only won two championship matches in the past two seasons, both have come in the first round.