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All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Quarter-Final Clare 1-24 Wexford 3-14 CLARE may have gotten out of jail but what a breakout it proved to be as they unearthed an almost incredulous ten point turnaround to knock Wexford out of the championship for the fourth time in five seasons in front of 34, 640 in FBD Semple Stadium, writes Eoin Brennan. Having recovered from a stuttering start, Clare looked to be firmly in the ascendency until being struck by a brace of sucker-punch goals that left Lohan’s men trailing by six points with just ten minutes remaining. It was the fortuitous manner of the goals in contrast to Ian Galvin’s luckless effort at the other end that ricocheted back off the crossbar that would have left most sides feeling as if it wasn’t to be their day. Clare’s character ensured that they made it their day as despite not firing on all cylinders for long periods, they never dropped their heads at …

U15A hurling final Clooney-Quin 2-16 Cratloe 2-11 Clooney-Quin relievedly made the perfect start to 2022 when finally holding off an obstinate Cratloe with the last four points to cement a first U-15A Hurling title since 2019 in Cusack Park on Saturday afternoon. Having agonisingly suffered championship final defeats at Under 13B, 14A, 15B and Minor A in 2021, two of which were in Cusack Park, Clooney-Quin deservedly made full amends last Saturday to further enhance their growing underage influence. In essence, Clooney-Quin possessed the better balance and having been the most consistent team in the competition throughout, there were some excellent displays in particular on Saturday from Darragh McNamara, Jerry O’Connor, Sean McNamara, Matthew Corbett, Cathal Leamy, Sean Cassidy and captain Patrick Finneran. Cratloe, U-14B champions from 2021, were greatly reliant on Marc O’Brien and it was easy to see why as the towering centre-forward possessed pace, power and an ever-present threat to favourites Clooney-Quin. Morris Ryan, Tadhg Lohan, Cian …

Brendan Bugler believes Clare’s consistency so far in this year’s Championship bodes well for their aspirations this weekend. With Brian Lohan’s side travelling to FBD Semple Stadium for their quarter final showdown with Wexford, the pressure is on to replicate the performance produced in the epic Munster final a fortnight ago. Bugler feels that although Wexford have been building momentum ever since they managed to defeat Kilkenny on away soil in the final round of group games, Clare’s consistent performances will ensure they are confident of reaching a first All Ireland semi final since 2018. “Clare have really good hurlers. There is a massive desire there and they have given a performance every game. It’s been a really good year so far. This is another test and a big challenge. It’s such a huge occasion but I’m sure Brian will have worked on getting them back up for this game again after the Munster final.” The former All-Ireland winning defender …

Despite knocking out Wexford in three of the last four All-Ireland Senior campaigns, there is unlikely to be any shred of complacency on Clare’s part this afternoon. While Clare have had the Indian sign over Wexford in recent seasons, it was largely due to Wexford’s predictability along with the fact that the Leinster side repeatedly failed to curb Tony Kelly’s influence in any great way. It’s no coincidence that the back-to-back All-Star has been most prolific against Limerick and Wexford as they choose to zonally mark rather than employ a specific man-marker. Kelly has raided for an average of 15 points in his three championship outings against Limerick who by holding their positions, are able to snuff out most other Clare threats. Kelly’s average record against Wexford is slightly less at 0-11 in three outings since 2018 but what Darragh Egan does to counteract that could well be critical to the outcome. The conundrum for opposition managers is that by …

All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship Semi-Final Clare 0-18 Offaly 2-16 OFFALY advance into the All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship Final after overcoming Clare, 2-16 to 0-18 at Semple Stadium, Thurles on Friday evening, writes Jamesy McConigley. Adam Screeney and Conor Doyle’s goals proved pivotal for the Faithful, ending Clare’s involvement at the grade. The opening exchanges were a scrappy affair with neither side able to register a shot on target until Jack O’Neill broke the deadlock for the Banner with seven minutes of action played. Brian O’Connell’s outfit hit a purple patch, adding on three further scores. Points from Oisin Whelan (2) either side of one from James Organ propelled Clare into a four point lead, however, Offaly would have a profitable few minutes, tallying 1-3 in reply. Clare were penalised on two separate occasions for illegitimate handpasses which handed the opportunity for Adam Screeney and Dan Ravenhill to point for Leo O’Connor’s team. Donal Shirley landed a long range point before …

CLARE can look forward to tomorrow’s All-Ireland championship quarter-final with Wexford secure in the knowledge they have a full deck from which to deal. Wedensday evening saw proposed one-match suspensions of Rory Hayes and Peter Duggan overturned on a technicality and the Banner can face the Model county at full strength in Thurles. Meanwhile, the resurgence of Shane O’Donnell has been one of the stories of this year’s Championship to date. The Éire Óg man has suffered with concussion and missed the 2021 inter- county campaign as a result. His return to action has been slow but well managed as he has slotted in seamlessly, scoring nine points in the Championship to date while lining out at wing forward. O’Donnell scooped the GAA/GPA Player of the Month award for May with manager Brian Lohan hailing the work that the star forward has put in. “There was never a doubt over Shane’s quality. He’s a really exceptional individual with exceptional skill. …

Clare manager Brian Lohan has expressed his delight that Peter Duggan and Rory Hayes have been cleared to play in this weekend’s All Ireland SHC quarter finals. Lohan admits having the in form duo to call upon is a boost for this Saturday’s showdown as he believes his side need the strongest panel possible to overcome Wexford. “Sure look we are delighted that we are getting the opportunity to pick from a full panel. We are delighted that everyone is available.” The former All Ireland winning full back admits that the talk surrounding the proposed suspensions and the effort needed to overturn them was tiring. “It’s very draining for any of these appeals. Between getting legal advice and the Board Officers putting in a lot of effort, it is a tough process. For the guys themselves (Duggan and Hayes) it puts a strain on them. There is a mental toll. Social media is something that we didn’t have to deal …

Leo O’Connor has certainly become accustomed to rolling with the punches these past few weeks as Clare’s hurling re-emergence at all levels began to build momentum. Working as a Business Development Manager for The Clare Champion, the Limerick native, and former player as well as former minor and U-21 manager has faced his fair share of banter as the Shannonside derby that extended to four competitive clashes in 2022 reached fever pitch with the recent Munster Final clash. With that rivalry put on hold (temporarily at least), there is no let-up for O’Connor though as having been Offaly minor manager for the past three seasons, there was almost a sense of inevitability when Clare were the ones to come through the quarter-final qualifiers to face the Leinster champions at the All-Ireland Minor Semi-Final stage in Thurles this evening (7.30pm). Before matters get serious on Friday though, the Claughan clubman, who actually played against Offaly in Limerick’s ill-fated 1994 All-Ireland senior …