Sports

The Clare team that won the 1997 All-Ireland final will be celebrated in Croke Park this Sunday. Joe Ó Muircheartaigh recalls a success that came at the height of hurling’s Revolution Years when the Banner County shook up the world, on and off the field.   IT’S a cliché to say that hindsight is 20/20 vision, but looking back on things from a remove of 20 years it’s true to say that 1997 was the apex of the Revolution Years – the title of the book written by celebrated hurling commentator Denis Walsh that captured a remarkable decade of change in the game. For a host of reasons, it was always going to be a huge hurling year. For the bluebloods like Tipperary, Cork and Kilkenny who agitated against change because they considered All- Irelands to be their birthright. They wanted to restore the old order. For the new order of Offaly, Clare and Wexford who had won the three …

CLARE 6-10 OFFALY 1-13 Clare easily secured Senior status for 2023 with a clinical devastating performance full of skill guile and no little determination. A first half that showed everything that is good about this Clare team, first to every ball, ravenous in the tackle, recycling possession to optimum effect and showing a killer instinct to boot. Two goals inside the opening few minutes was the start managers Conor Dolan and John Carmody would have only dreamed of. Eimear Kelly assisting the first with a lovely handpass to Chloe Morey who blasted home before Kelly scored a goal of immense quality. Picking up possession 30 yards from goal with a beautiful first touch she beat her marker on the outside before cutting in and batting to the bottom corner in Shane O’Donnell style. A long range attempt at a point by Chloe Morey deceived Offaly Keeper Eleanor Clendennnan dropping into the net and by the end of the opening quarter …

As Imogen Cotter talks to The Clare Champion from sunny Spain, the Ruan cyclist should be in the midst of a seminal year of her career. The struggle and the sacrifices for her to earn a professional contract were rewarded when Belgian based team Plantur Pura asked the 29-year-old to compete for them this year after a rapid upturn in the Clare cyclist’s form towards the latter half of 2021. Cotter should be living the dream. Although the Ruan woman tries to maintain a positive attitude, it is fair to say that the past few months have saw her endure her fair share of nightmares. As she was warming to the task of riding professionally for the first time in her career, a routine cycle around the Catalonian region almost saw her lose her life. A van overtook another cyclist on the opposite side of the road and collided head on with her. The Clare cyclist suffered a broken radius, …

‘A time of change for Clare GAA’ provided equal measures of excitement and trepidation amongst delegates at the July County Board meeting in Caherlohan, Tulla this week. With outgoing full-time secretary Pat Fitzgerald opting to sidestep the ‘fuss’ and fanfare of his final county board meeting following his departure after 32 consecutive years, a new chapter for Clare GAA has consequently been accelerated much faster than originally anticipated. Based upon the Saffron & Blue Strategic Plan, a full-time COO (Chief Operating Officer) will supersede Fitzgerald’s role while the complimentary position of secretary will revert to being a voluntary appointment. With the deadline for applications exhausted last Friday, Clare GAA Chairman Kieran Keating revealed that 16 people have applied for the prestigious post, with the process now in the hands of Croke Park to sift through the eligibility of the candidates and produce a shortlist for interview. The interview process will be carried out by a committee comprised of two from …

In what is a hectic period for cycling within the county, a huge event which will see over two thousand cyclists take part will return this Saturday. The return of ŠKODA Ring of Clare Cycle will see 2,500 cyclists visit Ennis this weekend. The event is one of the largest mass participation events in Ireland bringing visitors from all over Ireland with international participants from 10 countries also signed up. With the Junior Tour of Ireland underway after stages in Barefield on Tuesday and Ennis on Wednesday, the ŠKODA Ring of Clare Cycle will continue to showcase the best of what Clare has to offer. This sportive returns for the first time since 2019 as a result of Covid-19 restrictions and is estimated to be worth €1 million to the Clare tourism economy. The ŠKODA Ring of Clare Cycle is part of the international ŠKODA Celtic Cycling Series, starting and finishing in Ennis. Cyclists have the option of 160km and …

How exactly Clare find themselves in the unenviable situation of a relegation play-off considering their provincial championship promise that got them within a whisker of a Munster Senior title is a head-scratcher for another day. After all, as anyone that has spiralled into any relegation play-off can testify to, it doesn’t matter what happened before or how big your reputation is, it’s all about getting a result by whatever means possible. You see, on paper Clare should have too much for an Offaly side that have really struggled this season. Susan Earner’s squad began with four successive National League Division 1 reverses to Tipperary, Dublin, Down and Galway by an average of 14 points and their fortunes didn’t improve for the championship as a 17 point opening round pummelling at the hands of newcomers Antrim in their own home patch set the tone for a forgettable campaign. Losing former All-Star Michaela Morkan to retirement before a ball was pucked certainly …

CLARE showjumper Rhys Williams and his Irish U18 team-mates have won a bronze medal at the 2022 FEI European Championships. Competing in 39 degree heat, in Oliva Spain, Rhys and Co won the bronze out of 18 nations with team manager James Kernan singling out the Clareman’s effort as the ride of the day. Rhys was adding the bronze to previous gold and silver medals he won at European level in 2018. The Irish Junior Showjumping team comprises Francis Derwin, Rhys Williams, Tom Wachman, Niamh McEvoy and Conor McLaughlin and are managed by James Kernan and sponsored by GAIN Equine Nutrition. They took the team bronze medal following an excellent final round performance which included an impressive clear from Rhys Williams aboard Cowboy Balou. Manager Kernan said, “Coming here I was very hopeful that we could win a medal and possibly even gold considering the quality of horses and riders that we have. We had a great start in the …

HAVING achieved all he could in kickboxing, David Ryan has now secured a pro boxing licence and will make his debut within a few months. The 27-year-old, who works as a butcher at Morrissey’s in the Town Centre, comes to the sport having enjoyed huge success as a kickboxer. “Basically there was nothing else I could win in kickboxing. I’ve won everything, Irish, European, pro world titles, so I thought I’d move on and give it a go.” Ryan got involved in combat sport with Howie Vincent at the Shannon Kickboxing Club, while still a child in national school. While he won numerous titles there, his last kickboxing fight was before the pandemic and he plans to have his first outing in the boxing ring in September. He already trains all the time, but the intensity will be increasing now. “I’ll be training six days a week, I’ll get 11 sessions in a week. Sunday is a total rest day …