Tag Archives: Clare GAA

A TUG of war is developing between two-time All-Ireland winning captain Anthony Daly and the duo who guided Clare to three All-Ireland U-21 titles in-a-row for the vacant senior hurling manager’s position. According to board chairman Joe Cooney, Clare GAA is in the process of putting an interview panel in place to meet with the nominees. He told The Clare Champion that the candidates “will be interviewed over the next couple of days and we will then bring a report back to the executive and hopefully we will come up with some conclusion”. The chairman confirmed that there are just two nominations for the post vacated by Davy Fitzgerald a few weeks ago, after a meeting of the players had expressed a view that a change was required. Asked if he expects to have a decision for next Tuesday’s October board meeting, he replied “if possible, yes”. However, he added, “This may not be possible, as some of the nominees …

Contesting the final of the National Hurling League, which required a replay, netted Clare GAA €202,552.51. Clare’s return from the National Football League, where they were crowned Division 3 champions, was worth €28,554.38 to the board. Details of the financial returns from both leagues were revealed by treasurer, Bernard Keane to Tuesday night’s board meeting in Caherlohan. Up to the end of August, the total spend on county teams, Mr Keane outlined, was €449,124.51, of which €258,625 was for hurling, with €190,500 for football. A further breakdown revealed that €222,262 was spent on the senior hurling team and €159,777 was spent on the senior football team. The treasurer stressed that these figures “are what has been paid out in cheques up to the end of August and may not be a true figure but it gives you a feel for where we are. It’s not a complete picture.” Whitegate delegate, David Solan said, “Clubs are being squeezed to the limit …

DAVY Fitzgerald is expected to continue as manager of the Clare senior hurling team for another year. After a four-month break, Clare GAA will hold a county board meeting next Tuesday at their meeting room in Caherlohan where, it is expected, a number of inter-county team managements for the coming season will be appointed. Whether or not Fitzgerald would seek another term in charge of the senior hurlers has been a topic of discussion since the team bowed out of the championship in July. Fitzgerald, who spent some time in hospital in the lead-up to Clare’s game with Galway, has said on a number of occasions since then that he will take time to decide on his future. He did attend a number of the club championship games last weekend, as did selectors Louis Mulqueen and Michael Browne. The expectation is that he will seek to continue as team manager. After leading Clare to the All-Ireland title in 2013 in …

Clare Marts had requested the council to delete any references to the relocation of Cusack Park to the subject site from the Draft Clare County Development Plan 2017-2023. However, councillors took a different view and decided to include a resolution into the draft plan to facilitate the move, if this is sanctioned by Clare GAA in the future. The council stated, “This opportunity site on the edge of the town has been zoned for mixed-used development and, given its location, it is particularly suited to facilitate the relocation of Cusack Park, should the need for a new stadium arise during the lifetime of this plan. “Adequate lands have been zoned to also accommodate the necessary car, coach and bicycle parking on the site, the development of which will require the use of permeable surface, given its location within an area of flood risk,” the resolution stated. Councillors also decided at a recent meeting to include additional land to the west …

ONE of the primary reasons why Éire Óg has withdrawn from the Clare Intermediate Football Championship is because the club has adopted a policy of not fielding players who are not registered members. Éire Óg were due to play Clarecastle last Sunday evening in Round 1 of the intermediate championship but they did not fulfil that fixture. They also withdrew from the Division 3 football league earlier this season. “The decision we made was based on two factors. One was the numbers we had and the other factor was membership. We are not allowing any team to take the field unless they are all fully paid members. That’s where we stand,” Éire Óg club secretary Paddy Smyth told The Clare Champion. He cited an instance where a senior club hurler was told he would be dropped from the club’s championship team, unless he paid his membership. “We want everyone to be paid up members for insurance reasons. If there is …

ON Monday night next, UTV Ireland will air a documentary that will be of particular interest to Clare GAA fans. My Toughest Year, which will be broadcast at 8pm, follows the recovery of one of GAA’s best known and most talented young players, dual star Podge Collins, from a cruciate injury he suffered 12 months ago and which cast doubt on the future of his playing career. He suffered the injury while playing for his club Cratloe in the Senior Hurling Championship. Over the past 12 months, UTV Ireland sports reporter, Marie Crowe, from Sixmilebridge, followed Collins throughout each step of his recovery process, gaining exclusive access to his medical procedures, his rehabilitation and his fight to regain match-day fitness. Collins is set to play Munster championship football for Clare this Sunday against Limerick and, seven days later, will line out in the senior hurling semi-final against Waterford. In recent weeks he made history by playing a key role in …

Treasurer of the Clare GAA County Board, Bernard Keane has admitted that the board’s finance are “serious” prompting them to acquire “a line of credit of €200,000″. The financial scenario was outlined to delegates attending this week’s meeting of Clare GAA and the meeting unanimously supported a request from the executive to sanction the borrowings. Treasurer Bernard Keane said, “This is a necessity. There is no income until July. The finances are very serious at the moment”. Secretary Pat Fitzgerald explained that the board hoped that the borrowings will be paid back before October. “All outgoings are between January and April and monies don’t start to flow until July. We have acquired similar resolutions from Croke Park and from Munster Council,” he added. Outlining the expenditure to date on county teams, the board treasurer said this amounted to €153,244.27. However, he cautioned that it will be higher as “there are a lot of bills to come in yet”. The breakdown of …

A strong warning on the responsible use of social media was delivered by outgoing Clare GAA County Board chairman, Michael McDonagh, at Wednesday night’s convention. He welcomed the use of social media “if it is done in an honest and straightforward way, with no personal attacks”. “I fear, at some stage, it will go too far and people will not be able to take the pressure. I hope my words never come true, as everyone should know what could happen when somebody is under pressure,” he told delegates at the Auburn Lodge in Ennis. “All county team managers should deliver a year-end report to the officers of the county board who, in turn, will deliver that report to the county committee for discussion,” McDonagh continued. Welcoming all as chairman for the last time, he noted, “I have spoken to many people and asked them about the way forward for Clare GAA and Clare County Board. Everyone’s opinion differed but the …