Sports

Seadna Morey pulls no punches or offers no clichés about Sunday’s county hurling final appearance being something that Sixmilebridge targeted being involved in. The Garney side club are set to end a decade that has already seen them contest four showpiece events with another march behind the band, and the omens are in their favour if that is something you believe in. 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 and now 2019 have all seen the Bridge in Cusack Park on the biggest day in the Clare club hurling calendar, and only the first year of that run has seen them come away without the Canon Hamilton trophy. Morey admits they were eager to get back there once more. “We would be lying if we said that we didn’t target this at the start of the year and it really is something that we were aiming for. We wanted to build our performances throughout the campaign to get to the county final and …

Fergie O’Loughlin I really think this could be one of the best county hurling finals that we have ever seen. Both squads are brimming with talent and pace and power and guile, and when you add into the mix how close the two parishes are, it makes for a mouth-watering prospect ahead in Cusack Park on Sunday afternoon. I think this will be a really tactical game. On the Cratloe side, Mike Deegan and Alan Neville will have studied Sixmilebridge’s strengths and they will have a plan to try and put a stop to them. Davy Fitz and Tim Crowe will also have been taking a good long look at their opponents and will have worked on a plan to try and take them on. I think a major aspect of the game that Sixmilebridge need to focus on is pushing up at all times on the Cratloe players and do not give them that time to build their game …

We asked a number of expert pundits for their predictions for Sunday’s Clare SHC Final.  Pundit View: Brendan Bugler Thoughts on Sixmilebridge and Cratloe in the championship to date They are both deserving of their place in the final because they are the two teams that have played the best hurling in the championship to date. It will be a really interesting battle and the rivalry between the two parishes will only add to that. Over the last decade Sixmilebridge have an excellent record in getting to finals and their record in those games is not bad either. Cratloe have been the club of the decade for what they have done in both codes and how consistent they have been. Both teams are capable of playing really exceptional hurling and it should make for a great final. Key Areas It is going to be a real tactical battle. A lot of work will be done before the game on both …

It’s a ninth final this decade for Newmarket-on-Fergus but arguably their most significant after shipping three consecutive defeats in as many seasons. However, while from the outside in, it would appear a mammoth task to pick themselves off the floor and rally again, Blues captain Aoife Griffin puts it down to sheer character and an innate leadership within the group. “I can totally appreciate how people would think ‘how can you lose three finals in a row and still have that determination to come back again?’ I just think it’s a testament to the resilience we have as a team to keep coming back each year. “In all honesty, there’s a very special group of girls there that have that buy-in attitude. There’s a seriously dedicated bunch there and we’re very lucky because it’s not something that every team has or something that you find happens all the time I guess. It’s just we’ve predominantly come along at the same …

There were no medals handed out against Inagh-Kilnamona a fortnight ago but it was still considered Scariff-Ogonnelloe’s most crucial ever hour. Having lost the last two senior championship semi-finals to the same opposition along with the Division 1 League decider after extra-time at the end of May, it was essentially make-or-break for this group according to captain Mairead Scanlan. “Everyone was saying going into that semi-final that all the pressure was on Inagh-Kilnamona as they were the champions and going for four-in-a-row. But we did feel a little bit of pressure and we probably put it on ourselves becuase we have said from the very start of the year that we want to go one step further this year and make a final. “So after topping the group, we presumed we would avoid Inagh-Kilnamona in the semi-final but Truagh beat them and we had to face Inagh-Kilnamona again for the third semi-final in a row so we said we simply …

Winning the Clare intermediate title and getting St Joseph’s back up to the senior ranks might be the chief motivation for their captain Alan O’Neill, but it is not the only one. The 25-year-old knows that victory over Broadford in Sunday will make facing back into the regular customers at Dan McInerney and Sons in Ennis a little easier. “Serving the farmers of Clare is what I work it so I try to look after them and they look after me a bit too I suppose. They are well able to dish out the abuse but they get it back too. It is great craic with them and when all is said and done, they love to talk about hurling and most of them would have played it a bit too down through the years. Over the last while they might have given me plenty stick and I might have told them where to go but it is great fun …

Broadford captain Cathal Chaplin has missed most of the season due to injury but the 29-year-old is ready to leave it all on the line this Saturday as his side look to capture intermediate glory. Chaplin made his first start of the championship in the semi-final against Smith O’Briens and helped his side claw back a tough Killaloe side. Tenacity has been the backbone of this Broadford team all year and it has gotten them out of some sticky situations. Broadford have also never panicked despite trailing in their last three games, a very good trait to possess in a final. “We have matured an awful lot in the last few years being down in intermediate. I’m the second oldest on the team and I’m not even 30 yet, so it shows the age profile of our squad. The young lads have grown up a lot in the sense of they now realise that even if a game isn’t going …

Seanie McMahon is the first to admit that it has been an inconsistent few years for St Joseph’s Doora Barefield. Relegation came their way in 2014 as part of the five team cull from the senior ranks, but that was forgotten about two years later as they took the scalp of Broadford in the decider. 2017 saw them consolidate their place in the top tier, but that status was lost again 12 months ago. They are now just 60 minutes away from a second intermediate title in the last four years, and McMahon is confident they are ready to make that push back up the ranks once more. “Last year was a real disappointment to get relegated. We were really keen to have a go at getting back up straight away and we are in the final now so this is where we wanted to be. We came up in 2016 but just never really got going last year. It …