Sports

Following league wins over Dublin and Kilkenny, selector Ken Ralph told Ronan Judge the Clare camp is in a good position ahead of their Munster Championship opener with Waterford on Sunday. CLARE selector Ken Ralph is in upbeat mood as he assesses Clare’s prospects against Waterford in Sunday’s Munster Hurling Championship opener. And the Clarecastle club man says the form among players and management is of a similar vein after Clare closed out their league campaign with high scoring victories over Dublin and Kilkenny. The winning end to what was a sprint of a league came after early defeats to Antrim and Wexford. Ralph says there was never a sense of panic in those early weeks. Rather, management were happy with what they were seeing. Performance levels and effort were going in the right direction. The feeling was the results would follow. “I suppose looking back at the league, we’re happy enough at how things went. You’re never totally happy. …

Clare will be looking to build upon their recent momentum when they face Waterford in the Munster SHC this Sunday at Semple Stadium (throw-in 3.15pm). Munster Championship games are notoriously full blooded and intense with this Sunday’s battle expected to be no different as Clare come up against last year’s All-Ireland finalists. John Conlon will certainly be relishing this weekend’s battle as he looks set to taste Championship action for the first time since 2019, due to a cruciate ligament injury that kept him on the sidelines for Clare’s run to the All-Ireland quarter final in 2020. The Clonlara man believes the injury was a “blessing in disguise” as he was able to rehab other knocks and learn more about looking after his own body. “It was a tough injury. I was over a year out with it. It was a blessing in disguise in ways. It gave me the opportunity to grow and work on other injuries. I did …

Munster Senior Football Championship Quarter-Final (Extra-Time if Necessary) Kerry v Clare @ Fitzgerald Stadium Killarney, Saturday 7pm (Jerome Henry, Mayo) For all the warranted plaudits earned by the Clare footballers incremental development that brought them to the brink of a potential Division 1 adventure, the cold reality of a paltry record against Kerry cannot be ignored ahead of Saturday’s ultimate showdown. The fact that of the previous 49 championship meetings between the pair, Clare have only recorded two victories over the Kingdom in 1949 and 1992 is not even the worst statistic either. Actually, the one figure that really should be read between your fingers is Clare’s record in Fitzgerald Stadium. During Colm Collins’ tenure, Clare’s average losing championship margin in Ennis has been five points but in Killarney, it’s a whopping 17 which tells its own stark story about the value of home advantage. Of course, Clare won’t be thinking that way heading down to the Kingdom this Saturday …

It is a familiar match up that never gets easier. Clare travel to Fitzgerald Stadium this Saturday as they come up against a fancied Kerry side this Saturday (throw in 7pm). Clare are monitoring the fitness of Jamie Malone while Kevin Harnett looks set to miss out with an achilles injury. Colm Collins’ men face an extremely difficult task when they go head to head with arguably the most in form side in Ireland. Clare have no second chances with this year’s championship run on a straight knockout basis and any hopes of Kerry taking their opponents lightly appear slim due to their own exit at the hands of Cork in last year’s Championship. However, Clare will enter this game with some confidence after a courageous display against Mayo, where they lost by four points after trailing by 2-13 to 0-8 at the break. Colm Collins was encouraged by Clare’s second half display but he is aware that if his …

Former Clare footballer Kieran Considine believes Clare are “going into the lion’s den” when they travel to Fitzgerald Stadium to take on Kerry this Saturday. “It is going into the lion’s den, particularly when you saw what Kerry did to Tyrone. Colm (Collins) will put all that to one side, and he’ll treat it as a one-off game. The bar he will set to the players is to max out on their own ability on the day. That’s all you can ask from any team: play to your max and try to limit the other team. “Kerry are much talked-about as main rivals to Dublin, so it’s always going to be a daunting task. Colm will want to see a performance and players will want that chance to test themselves, and that’s the opportunity they will get.”  However, he believes Clare can take a lot of positives from their four point league defeat to Mayo as they outscored their opponents …

After enduring heartbreak and injury agony, Cratloe’s own Naomi Carroll has been named in the Irish women’s hockey squad for the upcoming Olympic Games. She spoke with Ivan Smyth. WHEN The Clare Champion spoke to Carroll on Tuesday, she was still trying to process the news that she will be the first person from Cratloe to represent Ireland at an Olympic Games. “I’m over the moon. It hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m absolutely thrilled to have made the final squad. I didn’t know myself before yesterday (Monday) so when I got the email to say I was in it was amazing.” The road to Tokyo has been a bumpy one, filled with twists and turns as Carroll has dealt with injury setbacks and missing out on representing her country at a World Cup. After suffering from a wretched run of luck in 2018, she suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury that threatened to end her hockey career before it …

THE Clare side to face Kerry in the Munster football championship on Saturday has been named. The Clare side is; 1. Stephen Ryan, Kilrush Shamrocks 2. Ciaran Russell, Eire-og, Inis 3. Cillian Brennan, Clondegad 4. Eoghan Collins, Ballyhaunis 5. Cian O Dea, Kilfenora 6. Sean Collins, Cratloe 7. Daniel Walsh, Kilmurry Ibrickane 8. Darren O Neill, Eire-Og, Inis 9. Cathal O Connor, Coolmeen 10. Pearse Lillis, Cooraclare 11. Eoin Cleary, St Josephs Miltown Malbay (Capt) 12. Darragh Bohannan, Shannon Gaels 13. Gavin Cooney, Eire-Og, Inis 14. Joe McGann, St Breckans, 15. David Tubridy, Doonbeg Substitutes 16. Tom O Brien, St Josephs Doora Barefield 17. Padraic Collins, Cratloe 18. Ciaran Downes, Kilmihil 19. Aaron Griffin, Lissycasey 20. Conal O hAinifein, Ruan 21. Conor Jordan, Austin Stacks, 22. Kevin Harnett Cratloe 23. Emmet McMahon, Kildysart 24. Cillian Rouine, Ennistymon 25. Keelan Sexton, Kilmurry Ibrickane 26. Alan Sweeney, St Breckan’s.

Under 13 Hurling Academy A Round 1 Newmarket-on-Fergus 4-4 Clarecastle 2-7 Newmarket and Clarecastle derbies have never been dull affairs no matter what the age grade and this opening Under 13 battle of the neighbours’ second strings proved no different in Clarecastle on Saturday morning. With a strong wind blowing towards the national school, both sides took full advantage but in the end Ryan O’Leary’s electric 11 minute first half hat-trick proved sufficient for the Blues to prevail. Opting to have the conditions at their backs, Newmarket had to recover from an early set-back when chief threat Cathal Murphy raided for a Magpie goal after only five minutes. Points from Donal O’Callaghan (2), John Burke and the lively Dylan Routley eventually nudged the Blues back in front before stopping their authority on the tie with a goal either side of the water break for powerful poacher O’Leary at 2-4 to 1-0. Clarecastle responded with inspirational points from influential pair Eoghan …