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Semi Final Places Up For Grabs In Clare SHC & Clare IHC

Clare SHC Quarter-Final Preview Eire Óg v Feakle The last available spot in this year’s Clare senior hurling championship semi-finals is the prize on offer this weekend when these two square off in Cusack Park. Both sides carry winning momentum into the game, but the time between Sunday’s showdown and when those victories came is the big difference. Eire Óg were impressive in seeing off last year’s beaten finalists Cratloe a fortnight ago where a powerful closing quarter saw them pull away for a merited six point win. Feakle were equally impressive by the manner in which they saw off the challenge of Clarecastle where Shane McGrath’s 4-10 haul was the highlight of a 5-20 to 2-12 victory. That win came four weeks ago, so managing the gap between games will have been a challenge for the Mike Guilfoyle led outfit. That dynamic will be a factor in the game, and it remains to be seen who it will fall …

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The Final Whistle With Liam Murphy

It was Groundhog Day in Doora last Sunday. For some if not most within Clare Soccer circles, the repetitive nature associated with seeing Newmarket Celtic lift another Clare Cup has now become monotonous. At this stage it has become an annual pilgrimage that doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. So should Newmarket Celtic offer up apologies? Absolutely not. This is supposed to be an aging Newmarket team, yet they have just put the finishing touches to an unbeaten double consecutively for the last three years. Five players collected their ninth medal in a row with Daithi O Connell claiming his tenth having previously won one with former rivals Rineanna Rovers. The question should be asked in reflection of Sunday is what are Newmarket Celtic are doing that others aren’t? They say nothing lasts forever and this stretch of league and cup wins in particular will have to end soon but who will end it? If Bridge United can …

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Clare IHC Semi-Final Preview: Tubber v St Joseph’s Doora Barefield

Clare IHC Semi-Final Preview: Tubber v St Joseph’s Doora Barefield Two sides that have hit the crossbar in their promotion bids over recent years clash here for a spot in the 2020 decider. If this year’s game produces even half as much drama as was witnessed when these two clashed 12 months ago, then it will be titanic battle on Friday evening. The quarter-final stage was where they met in 2019, in a game that produced a total of 9-41 after a dramatic extra-time showdown which St Joseph’s edged 5-20 to 4-21. It came after Tubber had reeled in a nine point deficit down the home straight of normal time, with St Joseph’s eventually coming through in the added period. Both sides have arguably struggled for form early in this year’s championship but Tubber will have the bit between their teeth after racking up 5-14 in their quarter-final win over Sixmilebridge’s second outfit. St Joseph’s have been laboured in a …

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Hehir Looking Forward To Another Shot At McMahon Cup Glory

Inagh-Kilnamona captain Clare Hehir gave an impressive display for her club en route to booking a final spot in a titanic extra-time battle against Kilmaley on Saturday evening. Hehir was elated after the victory and admitted the Kilmaley goals really rocked them to their core. “We are absolutely delighted. We knew it was going to be really tough. Obviously, them being our neighbours, there is that great rivalry there, but they also came through their group very well. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy and the result showed that. They shocked us in the first few minutes with the goal and we were kind of clinging on for most of the game, trying to launch a comeback. It took us 60 minutes just to draw level and 20 more to pull ahead,” Hehir said. While their backs were against wall as they trailed by five points with roughly 20 minutes to go, Hehir said the Combo never panicked. …

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Enright Hails Newmarket Heart After Sealing Spot In Clare Camogie Final

Newmarket manager Brian Enright said his side had to fight extremely hard to book their spot in the final of the Clare Senior Camogie Championship with a win over Scariff-Ogonnelloe. Enright admitted it looked like the tie was slipping away from his side as the minutes ticked on but was proud that his players ground out a result. “We have huge respect for our opponents. They beat us well in the final last year so we were under no illusions as to how tough it would be. We knew we would have to bring our A game and we did. They really had to fight and grind it out and find something in the final few minutes. “I thought it was slipping away from us, but our attitude was that we had to acquit ourselves well today and there is no questioning their character. Thankfully, we got over the line.” Lorraine Bible’s goal in the 54th minute turned the game …

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Double Success For Ennis Track At National Championships

Derrick Lynch It was a weekend to remember for Ennis Track Club at the National Athletics Championships with Clare men taking both gold and silver in the final of the 3000m steeplechase. Rory Chesser continued his outstanding record in the event as he captured a seventh national title to take first place in a time of 9.39.62. The victory was made all the sweeter as his clubmate and debutante Mark Hanrahan powered home to take the silver medal. Hanrahan, who is still in the Junior age category, came home in second spot with a time of 10.04.78. Chesser was understandably in buoyant mood after the race and outlined while he felt his time could have been better, he was just glad to be taking the silverware back to the county. “The plan was to do 10k this year and move on to half marathon in a couple of weeks but training has not been going well. It is nice to …

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Semi-Final Line Ups Completed In Clare Minor Hurling Championships

Clare Minor A Hurling Quarter Finals Clooney-Quin 2-14 Clarecastle 0-19 An early goal blitz ultimatley proved crucial as Clooney-Quin edged out Clarecastle in this entertaining tussle in Gurteen. It was a dramatic start and a dramatic finish, with Dylan Cunningham’s late free eventually settling the contest. Clarecastle had a chance to send the game to extra-time but Cian Galvin saw his free drop just wide of the posts in the dying moments. Clooney-Quin struck for a brace of goals inside the opening quarter through Cunningham and John Conneally to lead 2-5 to 0-4 at the opening water break, and it was that strong start which would give them the cushion to eventually see out the win. Colm Cassidy and Cunningham were in fine scoring form for the winners, who built a 2-14 to 0-11 lead by half-time. Clarecastle regrouped well in the third quarter to cut that gap to four, and Conor Halpins’s trio of points in the final period …

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Miltown maintain grip on Jack Daly to move into playoff final

Miltown moved within one more win of the Clare SFC semi finals with a routine victory over Cooraclare in this playoff tie. The champions were dominant throughout, and no one moreso than Cormac Murray with the county star firing 2-4 from play in an eye-catching showing. His goals came either side of the half time break, with the game played mostly in driving rain in Kilmihil. Miltown led 0-5 to 0-2 at the opening water break, firing the last four scores of the quarter having briefly trailed. The downpour led to a scrappy second quarter, with Murray’s goal and an Eoin Cleary point being the only scores as they built a 1-6 to 0-2 interval lead. A quickfire 1-1 from Murray after the restart quelled any hopes of a contest breaking out as a disappointing Cooraclare struggled for space in a resolute Miltown defence. Jack Morrisey put some semblance of respectability on the scoreline with 1-2 at the end of …

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