Tag Archives: Clare Cup

With Clarecastle and Feakle having defeated Broadford and Éire Óg respectively already this week, Eoin Brennan previews the rest of the Clare Cup Division 1A and B action with an array of interesting clashes in prospect Clonlara v Sixmilebridge at Clonlara, Saturday 2pm (Rory McGann, Newmarket-on-Fergus) As part of the reparation process post-lockdown is the long-awaited resumption of the Clonlara v Sixmilebridge derby which has been absent for the past three years. At the time, Sixmilebridge were on the cusp of what would eventually become back-to-back county titles for the first time in 27 years whereas Clonlara have had to be content with back-to-back senior B versions over the past two seasons. Under new managements, it will be interesting to see how much water has flowed under the bridge in the intervening period as while they won’t be near full strength, the winner will remain in contention for Clare Cup honours. Cratloe v Ballyea at Páirc Uí hEithir Cratloe, Saturday …

Derek Dormer was in Clarecastle to witness the home side defeat Éire Óg 2-18 to 0-15 in the Clare Cup A GAME with all the hallmarks of a local derby – ferocious tackling, fierce exchanges, yellow cards and a vocal crowd – provided an excellent spectacle on Wednesday evening in Clarecastle. Éire Óg started the game at a frenetic pace racing into a five points to one lead by the tenth minute but failure to score for the remainder of the half was hugely detrimental to their hopes of success. Dominanation at restarts, winning their own easily and overturning the opposition’s, provided the platform for three David McNamara points, an Oran Guilfoyle beauty and a fine Michael Heneghan score. From here though until the half time whistle Clarecastle simply took over with Killian McDermott inspiring his teammates with some fantastic scores. With Stephen O’Halloran, Rory O’Connell and Darragh Healy now dominating primary possession the Magpies moved through the gears and …

Eoin Brennan previews all the Clare Cup hurling action over the weekend Clare Cup Division 1A Round 2 Sixmilebridge v Inagh-Kilnamona at O’Garney Park Sixmilebridge, Friday 7.30pm Amazingly, a first competitive senior meeting since their 2019 championship Semi-Final clash that appeared to be going in Inagh-Kilnamona’s favour, only to be outflanked by a more wily ‘Bridge side that went on to claim the Canon Hamilton before backing it up in 2020. Inagh-Kilnamona are now the ones in the ascendency after last year’s final appearance so it makes this an intriguing early battle as both are off the back of disappointing first round reverses. Clooney-Quin v Ballyea at Clooney, Saturday 2pm One thing’s for certain, there won’t be a 23 point margin between the sides as there was in 2020 when the sides clashed in the senior championship. That was a particularly low-ebb for Clooney-Quin who were languishing without Peter Duggan at the time. The County senior’s return last time out …

Michael O’Connor on a glorious night for Feakle as they took their first Clare Cup in 33 years THE thunder was in the air and also on the field for the first quarter of this superb Clare Cup game played in Kilmaley. For Feakle, it was the chance to dream of 1988 heroics, knowing a win of some proportions allowing for Cratloe winning against SIxmilebridge might bring the title back to Biddy Earley country. For Kilmaley, a last chance to fine tune and prepare for what many have titled the group of death. The exchanges throughout the game were fierce and uncompromising. Michael O’Malley, who made an unexpected exit soon after, opened the scoring in the first minute with a superb score. It comes as no surprise that Shane McGrath once again took the scoring honours and he had two frees on the board after five minutes as Feakle were operating with Con Smyth as a sweeper and indeed at …

Eoin Brennan whips out the calculator and goes over the Clare Cup permutations ahead of this evening’s games Feakle’s first set-back against Inagh-Kilnamona a fortnight ago did prove costly but crucially not detrimental to their hopes of a first Clare Cup in over three decades. It does, however, mean a three-way wrestle for silverware at the top with Sixmilebridge and Cratloe but with the other two clashing, all Feakle can do is look after their own corner and that means not just overcoming holders Kilmaley on away soil but doing so by as handsome a margin as possible. All because a Feakle win of any kind will be sufficient if Sixmilebridge win the Garneyside derby as the head-to-head would be favourable towards PJ Kelleher’s side. However, if Feakle and Cratloe both win, then it comes down to score difference as the sides have not played each other and currently the 2018 and ’19 county finalists are four points better in …

While it’s a rare weekend of inter-county calm before the storm, the competitive action has contrastingly rapidly mushroomed at club level, with a first bumper weekend of football and hurling leagues to come over a hectic three day span. That zero to a hundred fixture hike is in one way a welcome world away from the bleak lockdown longing that greeted the first five months of the year. However, with a large chunk of players still seeking match sharpness, it’s perhaps not ideal to be a dual player that in the absence of county contingents could be called upon to fulfill up to four fixtures over the coming days. Clare Cup Division 1A Round 2 Crusheen v Feakle at Crusheen, Saturday, 7.30pm (C Maguire) After opening round victories, this should present a welcome barometer for both this Saturday. Feakle’s opening round triumph over county champions Sixmilebridge will have given them a significant shot in the arm whereas the most encouraging …

HOLDERS Newmarket Celtic have been drawn at home in the third round of this year’s Clare Cup. Liam Murphy’s side will take on a Lifford outfit, who are currently sitting third in the Premier Division standings. Among the other ties, Avenue United will make the trip to Manus Celtic, while Ennis Town host Sporting Ennistymon. Clare Cup Round 3 Draw Bunratty Cratloe v Newmarket Celtic B; Manus Celtic A v Avenue United A; Ennis Town v Sporting Ennistymon A; Kilkishen Celtic v Shannon Town C; Lifford B v Shannon Olympic; Corofin Harps v Shannon Town A; Kildysart Celtic v Turnpike Rovers; Newmarket Celtic A v Lifford A. The games are to be played on the weekend of February 23.