Tag Archives: Clare hurling championship

Tiered Senior and Intermediate Hurling Championships for 2024 are set to be rubber-stamped at the February meeting of Clare GAA, it was agreed at Tuesday’s Structures Meeting in the Temple Gate Hotel in Ennis. With eight motions put forward for discussion, it was the four pertaining to the format of the county senior and intermediate hurling championships for 2024 that garnered the most debate. Sixmilebridge and Feakle are seeking a return to the pre-covid championship structure of knock-out with a back door while Broadford (senior) and Newmarket-on-Fergus (intermediate) opted for a tiered approach. In the end, Sixmilebridge’s proposal was defeated, with clubs looking more favourably on Broadford’s motion to divide the 16 participating teams into Senior A and B sections (two groups of four in each) with the top three teams from each group at Senior A advancing to the Canon Hamilton Cup quarter-finals alongside the group winners at Senior B. Clubs’ Senior A or B status depended on where …

Eoin Brennan previews the weekend’s hurling action with quarter-finals and relegation play-offs on the menu   Senior Hurling Championship Quarter-Finals Cratloe v Newmarket-on-Fergus at Cusack Park Ennis, Saturday 3pm Commencing Saturday’s derby-fest in Cusack Park is a rivalry that has rather cooled in recent seasons which is perhaps indicative of differing development paths. In fact, it’s a full decade almost to the month since Cratloe and Newmarket’s last senior championship clash, one that the Blues won’t be forgetting in a hurry as 3-10 to 0-9 county final victory over their neighbours finally bridged an seemingly interminable 31 year gap to their previous Canon Hamilton crown. In hindsight, Newmarket will be relieved to have snatched that solitary crown as they were in danger of not fulfilling their potential with a golden crop of players following final defeats in 2006, ’08 and subsequently in 2013. Cratloe did bounce back to win their second title in five years in 2014 but that was …

Attendances at hurling and football championship games to date have, for the most part, been disappointing but an improvement is expected this weekend as it gets to the business end of the season. Four quarter-final places remain to be filled in both the senior and intermediate hurling. While there is much to look forward to in each of the four senior games, the clash of neighbours Inagh-Kilnamona and Kilmaley on Saturday evening is expected to be the top attraction. At whatever grade these clubs have played each other over the years, they have rarely failed to provide plenty of talking points. They have both had a lot of success at underage levels and this is particularly true of Kilmaley, who have won minor A and U-21 A titles in recent years. Many of the players who featured in those wins are now filling key roles at senior level. Champions Cratloe know there are no second chances from here on. Already …