Sports

Both Newmarket Celtic and Avenue United face away trips in the last 16 of the FAI Junior Cup. Newmarket Celtic will travel to Limerick as they come up against Regional United. Avenue United will venture to Galway as they face Colga FC. The game between Newmarket Celtic and Regional promises to be an interesting tie for Robert Shier. The Regional goalkeeper previously represented Newmarket but will now be aiming to knock his former club out of the Cup. Shannon duo Eoin Duff and Brian O’Connor will be aiming to end Newmarket’s interest in the competition with the pair both starting Regional’s 3-2 extra time win over Sligo’s Strand FC in the previous round. The Newmarket outfit overcame Raheny United 3-1 last Sunday with Darragh Leahy, Harvey Cullinan and Aaron Rudd on target. Goalkeeper Shane Cusack was forced off injured with Dermot Gannon stepping up to save a penalty when Newmarket led 2-1. Avenue United secured a comprehensive 8-0 win over …

SHANNON boxer David Ryan will have the second fight of his professional career in Belfast on February 4, when he takes on Marek Laskowski. “They’re moving me up to a six rounder this time, which is great, and it’ll help get my name out there,” he said on Monday. He will be fighting on the Jamie Morrissey-Kevin Cronin undercard, the two fighting for the vacant BUI Celtic Light Heavyweight title. Morrissey is from Limerick and trains with David, while Cronin is a Kerryman, but the bout is still happening north of the border. “It’s hard enough to get venues in the south. The insurance can be very expensive, but up in Belfast it’s a lot cheaper,” says David. Laskowski has nine victories and 17 defeats on his record, and Ryan is expected to win comfortably in February, but this week he admitted knowing relatively little about his opponent. Ryan made his debut in November, and while he won a points …

Sean Meere, like most teenagers his age, is completely sports mad. The 13-year-old loves playing for his native club Clarecastle in both hurling and football while playing in the storied blue of St. Flannan’s is equally special to him. However it is soccer where Sean is currently making big waves. A graduate of the Clare Emerging Talent programme that competed in the 2022 Galway Cup Sean recently signed League of Ireland forms for Limerick side Treaty United and will play in the FAI Under 14 National League of Ireland. A proud moment for his family but as his father Alan informed the Champion, it was a moment he earned through sheer hard work “It’s like a ladder really with all these different steps, firstly participating in the emerging talent programme for Clare which led to a regional programme over a three-month period with numbers being cut constantly. “After completion of the regional programme Sean attended the FAI Centre of Excellence …

Doonbeg scoring machine David Tubridy recently called time on his inter-county career after 16 seasons — a remarkable commitment to the Clare cause that saw him straddle five generations of management in the county from Páidí Ó Sé’s time through to Colm Collins’ stint. He spoke to Joe Ó Muircheartaigh about his treasured time in the saffron and blue.   DECEMBER 30 and Colm Collins was making a few end of year calls — Happy Christmas, Happy New Year and all that, but apart from the festive pleasantries, there was also the business of the call. Manager to player stuff. David Tubridy knew it was coming, but that didn’t make it easier, because with the ring-tone would come the realisation that his ‘make your mind up time’ had landed. Finally. Make his mind up on whether to pull the plug on a way of life since 2007, or make his mind up to go again and turn 16 years into …

One would be forgiven for thinking that Freeman, Hunt and Willis was a high powered law firm but Clare’s new ladies football management have been holding court together for the past six years. Formulated as a backroom team for their native Kildare’s Minor LGFA team back in 2018, the triumvirate have subsequently developed an innate understanding and bond that has seen them incrementally move up the ranks of ladies football. Appointed as Louth’s flagship manager for 2020, under Freeman the Wee County quickly ascended from being a struggling Division 4 side to an established intermediate team and now the next rung of that ladder for the trio is to finally bridge that 14-year gap to Clare’s last All-Ireland Intermediate Championship crown. First thing’s first, Clare’s new-look squad and management team need to construct a well-oiled championship machine which means that the county’s new surroundings in Division 3 of the National Ladies Football League will be predominantly utilised as the ultimate …

With four out of five Clare representatives exiting their respective Munster Senior Post-Primary Championships this week, all eyes are on Ardscoil Rís (Senior A Hurling) and CBS Ennistymon (Senior C Hurling) who are bidding for provincial final places this Saturday. Ardscoil Rís’ 17-strong Clare contingent, along with mentor Paul Flanagan, will be determined to make amends for last year’s Munster Under 19A Final reverse to St Joseph’s Tulla as despite going on to secure All-Ireland honours, it was their only Harty Cup Final reverse in six attempts. Nine Banner natives saw action in their rousing quarter-final finish against Our Lady’s Templemore but they will be wary of a scorned Cashel Community School who suffered their only defeat against the Limerick college by a goal at the group stages only three months ago. Having already secured redemption to win the Dean Ryan honours, Ardscoil will require their best display of the campaign if they are to double the dose against Cashel …

Ennis footballer Barry Cotter has signed with English League One outfit Barnsley FC for a fee in the region of £20,000. The full-back has put pen to paper on a three and a half year deal having spent the second half of last season on loan at St Patrick’s Athletic from Shamrock Rovers. He played underage with Avenue United and Ennis Town before joining Limerick FC in 2015. Cotter joined Limerick FC’s U17 squad for the 2015 season and the following year he stepped up to the U19 set up. In February 2017 he was included in Martin Russell’s match day squad for the opening league game against Sligo Rovers as he made the breakthrough to the first team. The Ennis man was snapped up by Ipswich in January 2018. He was given his debut by Mick McCarthy in a Championship win over the club he has just signed for, Barnsley FC. He represented Ireland at U19 level while he was …

Clare Camogie’s Senior & Intermediate County Finals match programme has scooped the Mick Dunne Memorial Award for Programme of the Year. The 2022 Camogie Association Media Awards and Mick Dunne Memorial Award winners were recently announced with Clare Camogie’s County Board securing gold in the Best Match Programme category. Bríd MacNamara produced the programme for the two finals down for decision on Saturday, October 15th; the senior decider between Scariff/Ogonnelloe and Truagh/Clonlara and the Intermediate final between Clarecastle/Ballyea and Tulla. The programme has now been recognised as the best of its type in the country for the second year running. Clare Camogie also scooped this award last year as MacNamara’s programme for the Senior decider between Scariff/Ogonelloe and Truagh/Clonlara in 2021 was rewarded with the top prize. Bríd Mac has no shortage of experience in relation to winning this award. She has previously designed and edited the Programme of the year on two separate occasions as Munster PRO while her …