LAST February, Clare started their NFL campaign with a 1-17 to 0-12 win over Waterford in Cusack Park. Weather permitting, the county grounds will be the venue for Sunday’s opening Division 4 game at 2pm, which will represent Mick O’Dwyer’s first league game in charge of Clare. A win, whatever the margin, will set Clare up for a serious tilt at promotion. They came close in 2010 and even closer last year, when they lost to Wicklow in Aughrim. Even a draw in the last league game of 2012 would have promoted Clare. Since then, Micheál McDermott and his management team, bar Micheál Cahill, have stepped down, with O’Dwyer, Ger Keane and Michael Neylon taking over. Clare have undergone extensive training, primarily in Corofin and LIT, while they have played several internal training matches between themselves and against the county U-21 team in Ryan’s field, Clarecastle. The senior and U-21 panels have trained together regularly, which has resulted in approximately …
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