Sports

Clare will look to reach the Munster Intermediate Ladies Football final this weekend when they take on Limerick in Cusack Park on Saturday evening. The game will serve as a curtain raiser to the men’s showdown with Kerry in what will be a unique double header in the home of Clare GAA. Clare come into the game off the back of a 2-15 to 2-11 loss against Tipperary last weekend, with the Premier awaiting in the decider once more if Clare come through against the Shannonsiders. Niamh O’Dea and captain Laurie Ryan missed out on the trip to Tipperary town, but O’Dea is expected to be available for Saturday’s game. It is understood Ryan may miss out as she continues to recover from a concussion issue. Clare management will be hoping the return of O’Dea will add to an already potent forward line, with the inside trio of Catriona Callinan, Grainne Nolan and Fidelma Marrinan contributing 1-10 between them last …

When Colm Collins looks back on his time in charge of the Clare senior footballers, his showdowns with Kerry are sure to provide a large portion of both the championship highlight and lowlight reels. 2014 and 2017 saw Clare put their esteemed neighbours to the pin of their collars before seeing early dominance fade to defeat. By stark contrast, trips across the Shannon Estuary resulted in heavy and chastening losses in 2018 and 2016. The latest chapter in the tale will be written in Cusack Park on Saturday evening with the home side coming into the contest with a full hand to pick from. A one point victory over Waterford came after a nervy closing few minutes, but also came without having the likes of David Tubridy, Cathal O’Connor, Sean O’Donoghue and Keelan Sexton from the start. Sexton has departed for foreign shores as he will spend the summer in the USA, but Tubridy, O’Connor and O’Donoghue are all in …

When Clare host Tipperary on Sunday in the Munster Senior hurling championship, it will be the first time that the Premier will come to Ennis for a provincial showdown since 1986. On that day, the Banner came out top en route to a Munster Final before losing out to eventual All-Ireland champions Cork. While that day might be well in the past, the most recent championship meeting between these two sides is still fresh in the memory of Michael Ryan. The Upperchurch-Drombane clubman stepped down from the role of Tipperary manager after they exited last year’s championship following Ian Galvin’s dramatic late goal in Thurles. Both sides have had positive starts to the 2019 championship, with Tipperary impressing in their two victories over Cork and Waterford. Clare also have a win over the Deise under their belt following a one point victory in Walsh Park on the opening weekend. Despite only two rounds being played so far, Ryan feels it …

When Clare take to the field in Cusack Park on Saturday to face Kerry in the Munster football semi-final, there will be plenty recent history to draw on. The sides are almost annual opponents at this stage but one crucial fact remains and that is the Kingdom’s dominance. While recent fixtures between the sides have been far closer in Ennis than they have been in across the estuary, the Banner have still not managed to break a hoodoo going all the way back to 1949 when Kerry came to the county town and were beaten in the provincial semi-final. In more recent memory, just four points separated the sides in Cusack Park in 2014, while the margin went out to six in 2017. One of the men who was involved that day was Corofin’s Jamie Malone, who was unlucky to rattle the crossbar in the second-half of that contest when the Kingdom were on the ropes. He admits there has …

Newmarket Celtic are on the lookout for new management after Liam Murphy and Davy Ryan announced they are stepping down from the role. The pair have overseen, arguably, the most successful period in the club’s history, with this season seeing Newmarket Celtic clinch an eighth consecutive Clare Cup title along with back-to-back league crowns and the Hugh Kelly Premier Division Cup. They went through the domestic season unbeaten, winning every game in all three competitions that they took part in. This year’s Clare Cup victory was a fourth success for the Murphy/Ryan management combination, while they also won all six league titles that they were in charge for during their two recent spells at the helm. One man who has seen what the duo have achieved at close hand is star striker David McCarthy. The double Oscar Traynor winner has worked with the pair at both club and county level and knows they have brought great glory days to the …

Clare get their U-20 football campaign underway this weekend when they take on Westmeath in the first game of new Inter County U-20 Football Development League. Seamus Clancy’s side take on Westmeath in Hennessey Memorial Park in Miltown on Saturday afternoon with the game set for a 2pm start. The new competition is aimed at giving each county extra games at a competitive level ahead of their provincial campaigns. It is broken down into five separate leagues, with Clare competing along with Westmeath, Offaly, Limerick and Wicklow for the Liam O’Connor Cup. The top ranked team in each division is declared the winner. Clare face Westmeath on Saturday in Miltown before travelling to take on Offaly on Friday June 7. The Banner will have home advantage against Limerick on Wednesday June 12, and round off the campaign with a trip to take on Wicklow on Saturday June 15. Clare are set to open their Munster championship campaign on Tuesday July …

Former Clare and Kilmurry Ibrickane manager John Kennedy feels his native Kerry will not have it all their own way when they come to Cusack Park for the Munster football semi-final on Saturday evening. The Kingdom make the trip as they bid to maintain their stranglehold on the province, with 2018 seeing them claim the title for the eightieth time. Since the turn of the decade Kerry have been in all bar one of the provincial finals, with the only blot on their copybook coming in 2012 when Cork were victors over Clare in the final. Under new manager Peter Keane, Kerry went all the way to this year’s National Football League final before losing out to a Mayo side who were consequently beaten last weekend in the Connacht championship by Roscommon. There are doubts over the likes of David Moran and Paul Murphy for Saturday’s game, while corner-back Peter Crowley, who played in all Kerry’s National League ties, is …

The inevitable announcement that a tiered football championship is on the cards was made this week as GAA President John Horan declared he felt that the appetite was there for it. Speaking on Morning Ireland, Horan said “Our hope would be that at the next Central Council meeting in June to bring forward a proposal to look at the introduction of a Tier Two championship for those teams in Division Three and Four. There is an appetite out there within the organisation for us to go ahead with a Tier Two championship. Now, I feel, is the time to grab that when the appetite is out there. I think we will possibly get it through at Central Council and if we do we will call a Special Congress in September or October time to have a look at putting this forward to have it introduced next year”. So there it is. The long-awaited acceptance that a second-tier competition is badly …