Clonmel Commercials 1-13 Miltown, St Josephs 0-3 Miltown St Josephs’ dream of contesting this season’s Munster senior club football championship final was well and truly shattered at Clonmel Sportsfield on Sunday afternoon. Despite playing against a strong wind, the home side dominated the opening half and were well on their way to the final where they will play Nemo Rangers from Cork, by half time at which stage the winners were 0-8 to 0-1 in front with the assistance of the wind to come. From the throw in, the home side let it be known that they would not be easily beaten as they had two points on the board before the game had reached the tenth minute. By this time the visitors were forced into their first change with Colin Hehir called in to replace the injured Damian Lafferty. It was 0-8 to 0-0 before Miltown opened their account with what was their only score of the half, an …

It was a good day for Clare soccer as the Oscar Traynor side defeated Mayo but there was disappointment for Clare GAA teams competing in provincial competitions as Corofin and Ennistymon bowed out. Clare 2 Mayo 0 Clare moved a step closer to the play offs in this season’s Oscar Traynor, inter league junior soccer competition, when they scored a 2-0 win over Mayo at the county grounds in Doora on Saturday evening. In atrocious conditions, Clare scored twice in the opening half to move to the top of the table in their group. With one game to play when they travel to take on Roscommon, Clare know that a win at the Connacht venue will see them through to the next stage. [doptg id=”85″] The Clare soccer headquarters was in remarkably good condition but the teams had to contend with driving rain and strong winds which militated against a big attendance. The home side got off to a dream …

UNTIL 2015, Carol Kaiser had not put much thought into how effective a shouter she was. An accountant based in Dublin, Carol is wearing the number one jersey for Newmarket this year and is still acclimatising to the demands of what is often a solitary role. Goalkeeping isn’t merely about preventing the sliotar from crossing the white line and taking puck-outs. Communication is a crucial component and this basically boils down to shouting quite a lot. “It wouldn’t have been something I’d have been very good at previously but I am trying to improve on shouting,” Carol revealed. The problem is that her full-back is a more experienced practitioner and can be heard miles away. “I have Laura [McMahon] in front of me and Laura does a lot of that work for me. She’s very good at shouting. When I shout, I think I’m really loud and then nobody hears me,” Carol noted somewhat sadly. The sisters have won 22 …

CAN Róisín McMahon predict the future? It seems that way. As night closed around Newmarket on Saturday, The Clare Champion visited the McMahon family ahead of this weekend’s Munster final. Róisín captains the team from centre-back, while her sister, Laura, wears the number three jersey. Their mother, Veronica, played for club and county, while their father, Seánie, has just retired from refereeing. A Newmarket club hurler himself, their brother, Pádraic, is a journalism student and often writes on camogie, although he admits that he sometimes holds back a bit on giving credit to his sisters. Just before we retired to the McMahon family front room for the on-the-record chat, Róisín predicted that her mother would not delay in mentioning that she won an All-Ireland medal with Clare. “I won an All-Ireland in 1981,” Veronica chimed, seconds after the dictaphone was switched on. Róisín and Laura were next seen rolling around the floor, unable to free themselves from uproarious laughter. Even …

Clare senior football captain, Gary Brennan, will become just the fourth man from the county to represent Ireland in the International Rules series, when he lines out against Australia in Croke Park on Saturday week. The Clondegad clubman, who teaches at St Flannan’s College in Ennis, has been selected on Joe Kernan’s 23-man panel for the one-off test. Kilkee’s Noel Roche was the first Clare man to represent Ireland in the series in the 1980s, while Martin Daly (1998) and Odran O’Dwyer (2003) have also represented the country. Speaking to The Clare Champion on Wednesday, Gary Brennan said he has been helped by many people in his development as a footballer. “I’m delighted but I’m very conscious I wouldn’t be in this position only for my family, all of my football and hurling club mates and my county team mates. “This comes from training all year with the county, playing at a particular standard and being fortunate enough to go …

Wolfe Tones 1-12 Bruree, Limerick 0-11 Wolfe Tones from Shannon will play Newcestown from Cork in the final of the Munster intermediate club hurling championship in two weeks time. At Kilmallock earlier today (Sunday), the Clare champions proved too strong for their Limerick counterparts, Bruree and emerged with a four point victory, 1-12 to 0-11. The game’s only goal came nine minutes into the second half and it proved to be a crucial score, Rory Hayes getting the final touch after the experienced Brian O’Connell had created the opportunity. After playing with the aid of the wind, the Shannon club led by five points, 0-9 to 0-4, at half time. Bruree had the first two points of the second half but then the visitors struck for an Aron Shanagher point followed by goal from Hayes. Bruree piled on the pressure and outscored their opponents, 0-5 to 0-1 in the next twenty minutes to trail by a goal with the full …

The University of Limerick will this afternoon award an Honorary Doctor of Science to former Ireland rugby captain Paul O’Connell. Dr Paul O’Connell will be the 100th recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Limerick since 1990. Dr Paul O’Connell has a long association with the University of Limerick from his days training in the original PESS swimming pool as a secondary school student, to the years he spent studying computer engineering at UL. He has been a director of the UL Foundation since 2011. In that role in 2012, he gave generously of his time to front the Paul O’Connell Golf Outing, which raised in excess of €50,000 to fund scholarships for students participating in UL’s Access Programme. The scholarships enabled six students from socio-economically disadvantaged areas of Limerick to study degree programmes at the University. Speaking about Paul O’Connell’s Honorary Doctorate UL President Professor Don Barry said, “The awarding of a University of Limerick Honorary Doctorate …

Sixmilebridge 0-18 Crusheen 1-13 A memorable year for Sixmilebridge senior hurlers concluded at Shannon on a sunny November afternoon with victory over Crusheen in the Clare Champion cup, senior hurling league, final. The merited win saw the Bridge complete the senior double as they had earlier won the championship title (Canon Hamilton trophy) while the win also saw the side go through the domestic season without suffering a defeat. They concluded their memorable season in front of new Clare senior hurling coach Donal Og Cusack who attended the game in the company of team manager Davy Fitzgerald from Sixmilebridge. [doptg id=”84″] This was the third meeting of these sides in competitive action this season and the Bridge emerged victorious on all occasions. In bright sunny conditions Sixmilebridge took an early lead with points from Niall Gilligan and Jamie Shanahan before Pat Vaughan opened Crusheen’s account in the third minute. A minute later Crusheen pounced when Derek Fahy’s attempted short puckout …

Donal Og Cusack from Cork is the new coach to the Clare senior hurling team. In a statement issued this Bank holiday Monday, the former Cork custodian has been named as coach selector in Davy Fitzgerald’s management team for 2016. A winner of minor, under 21 and three All-Ireland senior medals, five Munster senior medals and two All-Star awards as goalkeeper the Cloyne man has been a member of the RTE Sunday Game panel for the past two seasons. During the Cork senior hurlers strike action a few season’s back, Cusack was one of the chief spokesmen for the players Another new member of the backroom team is Jimmy Payne from Waterford who is to be a strength and conditioning coach along with Kelvin Harold who is employed full time by Clare GAA. He worked with Fitzgerald during the Sixmilebridge man’s tenure as Waterford senior hurling team manager. He has also held the role of Strength and Conditioning Coach with …

Na Piarsaigh, Limerick 3-11 Sixmilebridge 1-15 Sixmilebridge’s dream of progressing to the latter stages of the Munster senior club hurling championship were shattered at their own O’Garney park this Sunday afternoon. Despite being ahead by nine points at half time, the Clare champions suffered their first competitive defeat of the season when going under to their Shannonside neighbours. Playing with the aid of a strong wind in the first half, the home side built up a nine point lead, 1-12 to 1-3 by half time but they struggled throughout the second half. A haul of 1-6 in a nine minute spell at the start of the second quarter saw the Clare champions build up a good lead. The goal scorer was Cathal Malone who was put through by Shane Golden. A storming third quarter from Na Piarsaigh proved decisive in this tie. Kevin Downes goaled two minutes after the resumption and he provided the pass from which Peter Casey found …

Wolfe Tones 4-12 Kilmoyley, Kerry 2-6 Clare champions WolfeTones booked a Munster intermediate hurling championship semi-final date with Bruree from Limerick when they proved too strong for Kerry senior champions, Kilmoyley at Sixmilebridge on Saturday afternoon. The winners dominated throughout Ssturday’s tie and were two goals clear inside the opening ten minutes after Aaron Shanagher and Declan O’Rourke had found the net. Shanagher goaled in the tenth minute and O’Rourke’s major came three minutes later when his strike from 60m slipped through the hand of visiting goalie Aidan McCabe. At half time they were 3-8 to 1-4 ahead, the third goal coming from team captain Aaron Cunningham just before the short whistle. Clare senior panelist Cunningham also scored the fourth goal when he converted a penalty awarded against visiting full back Sean Dowling who earned a straight red card for his tackle on Cunningham. Kilmoyley finished the game with thirteen players after Tom Murnane picked up a second yellow a …

THIS Saturday night in the Stella Maris Hotel, St Senan’s GAA Club, Kilkee will host a tribute night to John Lynch. Originally from Moveen, the now retired Kilkee club secretary filled that role for 41 years from 1971. This week, The Clare Champion met with John, who still sells club lotto tickets 52 weeks of the year. He was joined by his successor Diarmuid Keane, club chairman Christy Kirwan and three-time championship winner Noel Roche, who also represented Ireland in the Compromise Rules in the 1980s. Their admiration and respect for John was clear as they listened to him reflect on more than four decades at the epicentre of Kilkee GAA. “I came into town in 1961 and met my life partner, Mary. We married in ’61. I was working as a tradesman and I was thankful to the people of the parish for giving me the work. I didn’t have to emigrate,” John explained. A former O’Curry’s footballer, it …

Miltown St. Josephs 0-13 Cooraclare 0-9 Miltown St. Josephs bridged a twenty five year gap at Cusack Park in Ennis earlier today when they captured the Clare senior football championship title for the thirteenth time. In one of the better finals for some time, they deservingly overcame the challenge of their neighbours Cooraclare which led to County GAA chairman Michael McDonagh, a member of the Miltown club, presenting the Jack Daly cup to the running captain, Brian Curtin, amidst great scenes of celebration [doptg id=”83″] The winners made a blistering start racing into a 0-3 to 0-0 lead after just four minutes with points from Eoin Cleary, Darragh McDonagh and man of the match Kevin Keavey. Points from Rory Donnelly and Pierce Lillis lifted Cooraclare spirits and from here to half time it was evenly fought with Miltown taking a two point advantage to the break when the score was 0-8 tgo 0-6. Cooraclare had the better of matters in …

THE 2015 Clare Senior Football Championship final has the potential to be one of the most intriguing for many years. Miltown haven’t seen Jack Daly for 25 long seasons, while Cooraclare’s memories of their last win in 1997 are also fading into the mists of time. This year’s final has a fresh look to it simply because it has been so long since either club were in one and because there are players on both sides who have more than paid their dues to their clubs and, indeed, to Clare football. Nobody necessarily deserves anything but it is fair to say that a cohort of players on both panels have more than earned their county final day experience. So who will win it and why? Based on their respective semi-final performances, Cooraclare should start as clear favourites. Of course, that doesn’t mean that they will win it. While their semi-final display against Clondegad was not flawless, they played the game …

Waterford and Limerick will provide the opposition for Clare in the opening rounds of the 2016 Munster senior hurling and football championships. The hurlers of Clare and Waterford will meet in a Provincial semi-final game while the football clash of Shannonside neighbours Clare and Limerick will be a quarter final tie with the prize for the winners a Provincial semi-final date with the defending Munster champions Kerry. The winners of the Clare v Waterford hurling game will be through to the provincial final and also in the the All-Ireland quarter finals. Dates and venues for the games will be set at a meeting of the Munster council in the coming weeks but as the footballers had home advantage last year when they played Limerick, this year’s meeting will be at a Limerick venue. Should Clare win this game they will also be away to Kerry as the last time these sides met, it was played in Cusack Park. The opening …