Tag Archives: Clare camogie

In terms of debut seasons as manager, David Sullivan has achieved everything he could have asked for with Scariff-Ogonnelloe, writes Ivan Smyth. After taking the reins from Jim Minogue, David Sullivan has helped Scariff-Ogonnelloe reclaim the county title after coming unstuck against Newmarket at the semi final stage in 2020. His side are now just 60 minutes away from securing a second Munster crown in three years although the Tipperary native admits he found settling in to the new role with Scariff-Ogonnelloe challenging initially due to the pandemic. When Sullivan was appointed, COVID restrictions meant GAA teams could not train together. “It was tough to be honest. I’m hands on when it comes to coaching. I like to see the players on the field and go from there. I have to give credit to our S+C coach Ronan Moore as he did up plans for the girls which kept us going.” “It wasn’t a perfect way to start by any …

As an experienced member of the Scariff-Ogonnelloe team, Mairead Scanlan knows how difficult it is to win silverware, writes Ivan Smyth. Having been a key member of the side that lifted the McMahon Cup for the first time in 2019, Scanlan admits this Championship campaign has been filled with difficult hurdles to overcome. However, Scariff-Ogonnelloe have managed to navigate all obstacles thus far with the joint captain keen to recapture the clubs’ second senior provincial crown. “It has been an unbelievable run. We have gone the hard way. The five team group made it difficult and we were joined by Kilmaley and Newmarket. We manage to top the group and still had to play Inagh-Kilnamona. Usually, we are second and they win their group but it was different this year. We had two tough games in the county final.” “Those games really stood to us. We are battle hardened and have won all our Championship games bar the drawn final. …

Eoin Brennan previews Scariff Ogonnelloe’s Munster Camogie Championship battle with Iniscarra With the last three Munster winners vying for honours, the 2021 Munster Senior Camogie Club Championship is set to be the ultimate battle of the champions over the next fortnight. With Drom & Inch pipping Inagh-Kilnamona to the post to eventually claim the 2020 version only six weeks earlier, the Tipperary champions will understandably be favourites to complete a unique back-to-back in such an unprecedentedly short period. The Mid-Tipp side commence their title defence with a semi-final showdown against Limerick champions Newscastle West on home soil this Saturday at 1pm. Equally as significant however is the penultimate stage clash of the 2018 and ’19 provincial victors Inniscarra and Scariff-Ogonnelloe at the same time in Ballyanly, a historic occasion as it’s the first time that the East Clare combo have faced Cork opposition competitively. Far from being an unknown entity though, Inniscarra also overcame Inagh-Kilnamona in a Munster Final in …

Clare v Armagh at Conneff Pk Clane (Kildare), Saturday 4.30pm (Alan Doheny, Laois) CLARE face a tough task on Saturday afternoon when they come up against reigning champions Armagh in the All-Ireland Premier Junior Camogie semi final. The Northerners came back from conceding two first half goals against Limerick in last week’s quarter final to return to the last four stage. Ann Marie McGann, joint manager of the Clare team, is aware that Armagh will seek to bring strong physicality to the game while she is aware of the threat their captain Ciara Donnelly, who scored 13 points in last year’s All Ireland final win, will provide. “We’ve seen Armagh play. Limerick were on top in the first half against them last weekend, then they brought a sweeper which invited Armagh on. They are a very physical team so we have to match that and outwork them. Ciara Donnelly is a top class player. She was scoring from everywhere against …

BRÍD MacNamara and Clare Camogie’s officers clocked up one million steps between them during the month of July, writes Ivan Smyth. The fundraiser was run for Clare Camogie with PRO Brid completing over 640,000 steps during the month as she visited all 26 camogie clubs in the county. She also put her best foot forward during her lunch break and at any available opportunity. Brid admits her body is sore after completing the challenge and that it was challenging to find the time every day to clock up the steps as she averaged over 20,000 steps per day during the month of July. She believes the help of her fellow county board members was invaluable. “My body is holding up ok at this point. My legs are very sore and my feet are too. It was challenging to fit in the walking every day if you factor in inter county games on work days and then we had minor and …

National Camogie League Division 3 Round 3 Carlow v Clare at Netwatch Training Centre Fenagh, Saturday 2pm Clare’s aim is simple when embarking on the five hour round trip to Fenagh on Saturday. There’s no need for calculators as it’s do-or-die for the visitors that will only be sated by a victory in order to advance to the Division 3 Semi-Finals. Having consistently reached that lofty stage since taking over four years ago, joint-managers Ann-Marie McGann and Tim McGrath are arguably facing their toughest test to maintain that record against intermediate side Carlow. Of course, Carlow last overcame Clare in the 2014 All-Ireland Junior Championship Semi-Final on their way to national glory. It would provide the catalyst to subsequently soar to an All-Ireland Premier Junior Championship and National League Division 3 double twelve months later, but any further momentum hasn’t materialised as the Leinster side were relegated back to the third league tier for 2020. Perennial top-scorer Ciara Quirke and …

National Camogie League Division 1 Round 2 Limerick 2-14 Clare 1-11 A NERVY relegation series is Clare’s lot after disappointingly falling to neighbours Limerick in their concluding group stage outing in Fr.McNamara Park on Saturday afternoon, reports Eoin Brennan. Sorely second best for the opening three-quarters of the tie, the Banner never reached the encouraging heights of their opening performance against Galway seven days previously. 0-4 to 0-3 in favour of the visitors by the first water break, a blistering second quarter ensured that Limerick put themselves firmly in the driving seat as they outscored their hosts by 2-6 to 0-4, with Caoimhe Costelloe firing both goals including a 28th minute penalty to carve out a 2-10 to 0-07 interval cushion. With the conditions to come, Clare’s expected fightback never really materialised as five goal chances of varying degrees of difficulty went abegging. Instead, a superior Limerick, who were making their competitive bow for 2021, maintained their nine point advantage …

National Camogie League Division 3 Round 2 Clare 3-11 Waterford 1-09 CLARE deservedly bounced back to winning ways when timely goals ensured the hosts kickstarted their season in Fr McNamara Park in Ennis this afternoon, reports Eoin Brennan. A first home tie in seven months, nothing but a victory would suffice for the Banner to remain in contention for a Division 3 Semi-Final spot. That extra pressure did surface momentarily but thanks to an early brace of Sarah Loughnane goals and a crucial clinching strike through Sinead O’Keeffe by the two-thirds marks to catapult Clare to their opening points of 2021. Loughnane displayed the full array of skills as her rebound goal after only six minutes was bettered by a worthy two point converted sideline cut from 40 metres in the next passage of play. The Sixmilebridge player did receive a large dollop of luck for her second goal by the ninth minute that appeared to sneak into the right …