McMahon Cup action gets underway

 

THE race for the Clare senior camogie title commences this weekend with the opening round of games in the championship. Seven teams will do battle for a place in the final to compete for the McMahon Cup on October 12.

Group 1 features the 2012 finalists, Clooney-Quin, Sixmilebridge, Inagh-Kilnamona and the 2012 intermediate winners, Truagh-Clonlara, while group 2 features title holders Kilmaley, along with Newmarket-on-Fergus and the 2012 Glenomra shield winners Kilkishen.
Clooney-Quin caused the surprise of the 2012 championship when they defeated Newmarket-on-Fergus in the semi-final, leading them to a first appearance in the senior final in 60 years. They will, no doubt, be hoping to go one step further this season.
Sixmilebridge, who last made a senior final appearance in 2008 when they lost to Kilmaley, have been knocking on the door for a few years now.

In 2011, they beat Wolfe Tones to lift the Glenomra Shield. They had success at U-21 level in 2012, as well as Minor A Shield and U-16A final appearances, which indicate they have talent coming through.
Truagh-Clonlara lifted the Fr Liam Murray Cup when winning the 2012 intermediate championship and went on to defeat Waterford’s An Rinn in the Munster junior club final. However, they succumbed to Carlow’s Myshall in the All-Ireland semi-final.

The South-East Clare club were also victorious at minor and U-16 levels in 2012 and will now be looking to these players to feature in the senior championship.
In group 2, Kilmaley, who captured the league title earlier this year, will want to do the double, having been denied that opportunity last year by Newmarket, who lifted the 2012 league title. Kilkishen face Newmarket-on-Fergus in their opening game.

Clooney-Quin
Manager: Raymond Ryan; coach: Dave Barry; selectors: Mike Murphy and Mike Duggan; captain: Deirdre Murphy.

Contesting last year’s senior final gave the Clooney-Quin parish a huge lift. Plenty of hard work is going in at all levels, particularly in the underage section and club officials believe this will be rewarded.
The senior team made a slow start to the season when suffering a heavy defeat to a very impressive Newmarket-on-Fergus side in the league semi-final in May.

Since then, the girls have been training with the start of the championship in mind and on Sunday, face what will be a huge challenge from Inagh-Kilnamona in the opening round.
Clooney-Quin have lost quite a few top-class performers from 2012, with stalwart defender Imelda Colleran out for the year with a long-term injury.

Likewise, Sarah Doyle is facing an extended spell on the sidelines following a recurrence of an ankle injury, while rising talent Laura Costello also misses this weekend’s action, having picked up a serious injury in a recent minor game.
Midfielder Clare Ryan is doubtful due to a hamstring injury, while county player Orlaith Duggan is currently in the US. Immigration has also hit the panel hard, with quite a few girls forced to seek work overseas.

They will be looking to Deirdre Murphy, Sheelagh Daffy, Aisling Hannon, Marie Halpin and Aisling Corbett to name just a few and while the build-up to this match has not been ideal, the girls are looking forward to the challenge and will certainly give it their all.
Sunday’s tie looks like it will go right to the wire.

Sixmilebridge
Manager: John Nihill; selectors: Mike Morey, Brian Barron and Flan McInerney; captain: to be chosen.

Sixmilebridge have a very young team, lacking experience at the highest level and probably a few years away from being really competitive at county level.
They do have a number of experienced players on the Clare senior panel in Chloe Morey, Maire McGrath, Naomi Carroll, Sinéad Tuohy and Bridget O’Halloran.

Their league campaign got off to a good start with a win over Inagh-Kilnamona in the first round.
In their opening game this week, they play Truagh-Clonlara, who are expected to make things difficult for them.

Sixmilebridge won their first senior championship in 1983 and six years later, in 1989, they won both the Munster club and championship. The club won eight senior county championships in-a-row, the last being in 1990.
Following a few dormant years, the club made it through to final day in 2011. Hopes are high that they will have a successful championship.

Inagh-Kilnamona
Manager: Joe McKeown; selector: Gary Lafferty; captain: Michelle Tierney.
Inagh-Kilnamona will face last year’s finalists, Clooney-Quin. After losing to Kilkishen in last year’s shield final, after a replay, Inagh-Kilnamona will be hoping to make progress this season. Although the 2013 league did not go well for the young club, having had a relegation play-off with Truagh Clonalara, the Inagh-Kilnamona panel will be strengthened by the return of key players from injury.
With a mixture of young and experienced players, Inagh-Kilnamona will be hoping that this combination, with senior county players Fiona Lafferty and Sinéad O’Loughlin, will be able to meet the challenges of the group stages. Young players like Aoife Keane, Sinéad Quinn and Laura Rynne are keen to establish themselves in the upcoming campaign.
Inagh-Kilnamona are new to the senior championship and 2012 was their first year competing at this level.

Truagh-Clonlara
Manager: Seamus Hogg; selector: Bob Caulfield; captain: Patricia Mullins.

Truagh-Clonlara head into this year’s championship campaign hoping to secure their spot in the senior ranks for 2014. They hope to introduce a few new players from their underage teams this year to give them some experience at adult level in Clare. The side has worked hard since 2006 to get back into the senior championship in Clare, after nearly a 10-year absence.

The panel has been depleted from 2011 and 2012 with the loss of a number of players, notably Cathy Halley. They will be looking to players such as Sarah Sherlock, Michelle Caulfield and sisters Kathleen and Ellen Horgan, as well as more experienced players, such as Niamh Power, Aileen O’Sullivan, Patricia Mullins and Teresa Nihill. Younger players, who achieved so much success in 2012, notably Eimear Kelly and Siobhán Fahy, will add to this year’s panel.

In the league, Truagh were in a group with Clooney-Quin and Kilmaley and they met Sixmilebridge in the quarter-finals.
All matches were fairly evenly contested but the experienced Kilmaley and Clooney-Quin teams found an extra gear in the final quarters to see off the Truagh challenge. The quarter-final was no easy draw either, meeting Sixmilebridge.

Truagh have a tough opening match, meeting Sixmilebridge at 4pm on Saturday. Both teams will have learned a lot from the league game that was played three months ago in Clonlara.

Kilmaley
Manager: Gerry Kennedy; coach: Terry Kennedy; selectors: Freddie Markham and Martin Enright, Siobhán White; captain: Claire McMahon.

Kilmaley will be hoping to get a win over Kilkishen in the first round to help them get their championship underway on a high note. Getting out of the group will see them into a semi-final.
Winning back-to-back titles would be a great achievement but they know all their opponents will be keen to get a win over the champions.

The team’s strength lies in the mixture of youth and experience and their ability to play as a unit. This panel has been together for a few years. Kilmaley defeated Newmarket in the league final and are determined to complete the senior double.

Newmarket-on-Fergus
Manager: Darren Hayes; selectors: Brendan Mulcaire; captain: Róisín McMahon.

Newmarket last won the county title in 2011 and there is determination in the panel to regain the crown this year. They have a strong and evenly balanced panel and had a strong representation on the county panel this season with Carol O’Leary, Róisín and Laura McMahon, Joanne Walsh and Jenny Kelly all featuring throughout their campaign. Newmarket will also look to players such as Deirdre Cassidy, Áine O’Brien, Bríd Enright and Niki Kaiser.

The group stages of the league went well and this young team showed they were capable of matching all opponents. A good performance in the semi-final against Clooney-Quin set them up to play Kilmaley in the final. Kilmaley dominated the game for the first 30 minutes and this proved decisive.

Last year, Newmarket were very lucky to get past Kilkishen in the group stages of the championship. Kilkishen are a determined team with players such as Lisa Loughnane, Kate Lynch and Cushla Hehir and they are expected to make things difficult for Newmarket.

Kilkishen
Manager: Joe O’Gorman; selectors: Seán Hehir, Pat Loughnane and Danny Minogue; captain: Kate Lynch.

Kilkishen, winners of the intermediate title in 2009, have never won the senior championship.
This year sees Kilkishen competing in the senior championship for the fourth year in-a-row. Since achieving swnior status with their success in the intermediate championship in 2009, the club has worked hard to progress at this level. This hard work has paid off with the club claiming the Glenomra senior shield.

Kilkishen will hope to compete well but will be rated as underdogs with Newmarket in their first match and last year’s champions, Kilmaley, in their second match.
They will be looking to Lisa Loughnane, Kate Lynch, Cushla Hehir and Kate O’Gorman, who are on the Clare senior panel, to lead the way.

Their opening game against Newmarket will be very tough without doubt, as Newmarket has been shortlisted to win the championship every year.