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Brennan Looking Forward To Banner Battle

Derrick Lynch As a player or a manager, Eddie Brennan is no stranger to facing Clare, and he still recalls his days trying to get the better of the man he will face on the sideline this weekend. “Brian tried a few chunks out of me on different days alright” he laughed. “We had some great battles with Clare over the years and it is something you would look forward to. As players, we loved going to Ennis because at the time we were around, Ennis was the litmus test because it was Clare team who played the game with high intensity and had a real manly style of hurling that we loved challenging. Brian Cody often told us it was a great measure of us to go on the road to places like Ennis and see how we got on. Brian Lohan is a passionate Clare hurling man and that is reflected in the way he wants his team …

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“We Silenced Some Critics With That Performance”

Clare manager Ger O’Connell was understandably full of praise for his side after they secured a place in the quarter-finals of the All-Ireland senior camogie championship. It came down to a winner takes all battle with Dublin to do it, and the Banner were more than ready for the task with a dominant showing to reach the last eight. Having lost the opening round to Tipperary, the Clonlara man felt it was vital to bounce back. “There was a lot of negative talk after our game against Tipperary and rightly so because we did not perform. The performance in the second half today is what we expect from the group. The girls put in so much effort and work and we can see that on the training field. We are trying to tell the group that you believe in them and trust in them so to see that second half was really good so hopefully the confidence will build from …

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Clare Soccer League Ready For Action Once Covid-19 Restrictions End

Derrick Lynch The incoming chairman of the Clare District Soccer League has outlined that the new committee are ready to get the season up and running as soon as possible once Covid-19 restrictions have been eased. Kilrush Rangers clubman Jason Ryan is poised to take over the chairman’s position after his was the only name nominated for the role by the closing date. In a communication to clubs, he outlined that training would remain suspended for the duration of the Level 5 restrictions, with hopes of some form of resumption if restrictions were eased to Level 3 in the coming weeks. “The committee has been working on getting things ready for the restart and when we are able to do so we will have a full list of fixtures ready to go. We are fully committed to starting the league at the earliest stage possible. We were all hoping that we would be up and running by now but it …

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“We Just Did Not Do Ourselves Justice”

Derrick Lynch The crowds may have been missing from Thurles last weekend but the roar from the Tipperary management and squad at the full time whistle almost made up for it. For Clare, it was a stony grey silence which mirrored the skies overhead while the heavy rain which started to fall did little to improve the mood. For a brief moment, Clare boss Colm Collins stood still with his hands in his coat pockets as he tried to make sense of the near 80 minutes of action which had just unfolded. By any standards, it was one of the most abject performances of his seven year tenure but yet in a manner befitting the strange world we live in, by his own admission, it was a game Clare almost stole at the death. “The ironic thing at the end of it all was that the game could have been stolen and stolen would have been the correct word for …

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Clare GAA Expecting To Announce Deficit In 2020 Accounts

Derrick Lynch Chairman of Clare GAA Joe Cooney has confirmed that the 2020 Annual Convention will be held online on December 15 in order to comply with Covid-19 guidelines. The O’Callaghan’s Mills clubman is one of the officers who will not be seeking reelection to his position, having completed five years in the role. He outlined to the virtual November meeting of delegates that nominations for positions would be submitted prior to Convention, with a postal or delivery vote taking place once candidates have been finalised. The results of those votes will be announced on the evening of December 15. It is unlikely that a large volume of motions from clubs will be submitted, with a circular from Croke Park to each county stating that “it is advised that any matters that can wait to make them wait and remain conservative – 2020 is not the year to consider contentious motions”. Treasurer Michael Gallagher also outlined to the meeting that …

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Clare Will Need Goals To Come Through Tough Thurles Test – Garry

Joe Garry Colm Collins has had a few anxious moments, awaiting results from elsewhere over the course of the seven National Football League campaigns he has presided over. Thankfully the news has always been positive and the Banner have preserved their status, and in the 2016 instance, been promoted, on the back of same. A sprinkling of luck is always a welcome, and indeed necessary, ingredient along all journeys of note. I have never gone along with the line that we are better off in Division 2. We have, in this present squad and management, the ambition and talent to mix it with the big boys, but will only get to the top echelon when we are consistently good enough. In 2020, we weren’t and ultimately the final table cannot be argued with. In this year’s programme, the two best teams Clare met, were promoted, and both teams relegated, lost to the Banner. Of the three remaining sides, Clare lost …

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Carson Confident Banner Are Ready For Trip To Tipp

Derrick Lynch Clare’s recommenced 2020 season continues unabated this weekend where a trip to Semple Stadium for a Munster SFC semi-final against Tipperary awaits. Colm Collins’s side come into the game off the back of retaining their status in Division Two of the National Football league, albeit after defeat to Armagh. With that goal now parked, all eyes are firmly fixed on the first step on the potential road to a provincial decider. Victory on Sunday afternoon would tee up a home semi-final against either Limerick or Waterford, but there is no one in the Clare camp looking past the challenge of the Premier. That includes Clare coach Brian Carson who is in his second year involved with the Banner’s backroom team. The UL Exercise Physiology lecturer feels that the competitive nature of their last two games leaves them well placed to take on the challenge that lies ahead. “Both those games were perfect preparation for Tipperary in many ways. …

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Clare Gear Up For Winner Takes All Showdown With Dublin In All Ireland Camogie Series

After the decision to remove all second string teams from the All-Ireland Intermediate and Premier Junior camogie championships, it means that Clare’s hopes of silverware at adult level this year rest on Ger O’Connell’s senior side. They take on Dublin this weekend in a winner takes all showdown for a place in the quarter-finals of the championship, with Tipperary already safely through as group winners. Joint Clare junior manager Ann-Marie McGann looks ahead to that game along with giving her thoughts on the decision to bring their championship campaign to a premature end. It was a disappointing end for management because we had worked very hard but it was even more so for the girls because we really had a good chance. They put incredible work all year and we were training for nearly 12 months because that is how seriously we were taking the championship this year. There have been some rumblings from other counties about moves to try …

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