Tag Archives: clare hurling

Davy Fitzgerald spoke candidly to Peter O’Connell when they met on Wednesday morning in Ennis. They talked about their shared past and where Clare hurling goes from here WHEN Davy Fitzgerald entered the Temple Gate Hotel on Wednesday morning, nobody noticed. It wasn’t that people were deliberately ignoring the Clare hurling manager. It was just that his attire would have led them astray. Replacing the Clare top was a sharp-looking jacket, far removed from the dress code Davy dons when patrolling the sideline, lobbing the odd enraged query at referees and sometimes even following them for a quick post-match word. Wednesday’s Davy cut a much more relaxed figure and one that didn’t blink or avoid questions when the conversation flowed. First up, why? Before talk turned to referees, Clare McNamara, Colm Galvin, Clare’s 2015 on-field record and the influence of Davy’s father Pat Fitzgerald, the air had to be cleared somewhat. Given that there has been the odd moment of …

DOUBLE All-Ireland winning manager Ger Loughnane is adamant that it’s not too late for Podge Collins to play hurling for Clare before the end of the 2015 campaign. The Sunday Game analyst says that people he meets outside of Clare are “flabbergasted” that the 2013 All-Star and hurler of the year nominee isn’t hurling for the county this year. Collins, who is on the county football team, is available and willing to play hurling for Clare but hurling manager, Davy Fitzgerald has ruled out players fulfilling a dual role. Loughnane also told The Clare Champion that this Clare team must win a second All-Ireland to dispel the belief that they are on the slide and to salvage their “long-term reputations”. Clare didn’t win a championship match in 2014 and were relegated to Division 1B earlier this year, having won just one game from six. Loughnane also bemoaned the absence of Colm Galvin, who has emigrated to the US and believes …

SOMETHING odd is happening in Clare. There is splintering opinion as to whether the Clare hurling glass is full, half full or half empty. Sunday’s display in Nowlan Park clearly suggests that the glass is, if not teeming over, definitely not half empty. The panel of players deserve immense credit for producing that standard of hugely committed hurling in Nowlan Park. While some individuals, notably Tony Kelly and Shane O’Donnell, excelled, as a team Clare resembled themselves again. Based on Sunday, it’s not over the top to suggest that they will be formidable Munster championship opponents for Limerick come May 24. Based on Saturday, Limerick will be doing well to turn up at all. They were obliterated by Dublin and looked remarkably off the pace of league, let alone championship, hurling. Clare showed what they can do if they produce the level they are capable of. That’s looking at it from a glass-half-full standpoint. However, there is no avoiding the …

Clare’s outstanding All-Star midfielder, Colm Galvin, is to spend the summer in the US and will not be available for the county’s Munster championship campaign, which begins on Sunday, May 24 when the Banner men take on Limerick at Semple Stadium in Thurles. Clare fans will be glad to hear, however, that the Clonlara man has not ruled out playing some part in the championship. Rumours of Galvin’s desire to travel to the US have been circulating for the past few seasons but have been quite strong since last autumn, after he played a key role in helping Clare to a third successive All-Ireland U-21 title. The 22-year-old will leave Ireland on April 28 and will play his hurling this summer with Tipperary in the popular North American venue of Boston, where he has work lined up. His absence is a huge blow to Clare hopes of championship success and also a massive loss to his club, Clonlara, who were …

RESULTS in the National Hurling League’s Division 1 games last weekend mean that Clare travel to Nowlan Park for their final group game on Sunday in the knowledge that victory there, allied to a win for Galway over Dublin, will see the Banner side into a league quarter-final. A Clare victory will confine Kilkenny to bottom position on the league table and send them into the relegation play-off. Should Clare and Dublin finish on four points each (following a Clare win and a loss for Dublin), Clare will climb above the Dubs on the head-to-head result and leave Dublin to face Kilkenny. Irrespective of the result, league champions Kilkenny will be in the relegation play-off. They have already lost to Galway and Dublin and as a win over Clare would see them draw level with the losers of the Galway v Dublin game on points, they would still lose out on the head-to-head result with whichever of the sides loses …

Nicky O’Connell and Davy O’Halloran have turned their backs on the Clare senior hurling panel. Clonlara’s O’Connell, an All-Ireland senior and U-21 medal winner and O’Halloran, from Éire Óg, also an U-21 All-Ireland medalist, left the panel last week after they were punished for an alleged breach of discipline. O’Connell’s brother Cathal (Tots) was also disciplined by the team management but he has not withdrawn. He was with the squad for last Sunday’s league tie with Tipperary. It is understood that the trio were given a three-week programme of physical training and informed that they would not play any part in three league games as a result of a breach of the strict discipline guidelines put in place by the team management. The alleged breach is understood to have occurred on the Friday prior to the opening league game against Galway. Davy O’Halloran and Nicky O’Connell have played key roles in the Munster and All-Ireland successes that Clare have enjoyed …

CLARE won’t name the starting line-up for Sunday’s crucial hurling league clash with Tipperary until nearer match time but it’s expected that Tony Kelly, David McInerney and Conor McGrath will all make their first competitive starts of the season. The inclusion of all three will strengthen Clare’s chances of getting their first win of the campaign. It’s also likely that experienced Brendan Bugler and Pat Donnellan will revert to defensive duties for this one, after spells at midfield and wing-forward respectively. Indeed, there is speculation that Clare might revert to using a sweeper, with Donnellan filling the role that he did with great success during the 2013 championship campaign. Ahead of this week’s eagerly-awaited tie, there is a doubt about the fitness of Colin Ryan. The Newmarket man picked up a leg injury in the Cork match and didn’t train last week. A final decision on his fitness will be made nearer match time. McInerney is likely to be named …

LAST year was a huge disappointment for the Clare senior hurlers, according to 2013 All-Ireland medal winner, now turned selector, Fergal Lynch. “We didn’t perform last year and we will be trying to rectify that this year. We will be trying to win every league game,” he told The Clare Champion. “The league is all about learning about players and how lads will react under pressure. There are eight or nine teams vieing for top position and every game is a championship game. The teams coming up from Division 1B are nearly as strong, if not as strong, as those that are in Division 1. The league will provide us with plenty of food for thought as we look at players and see how lads react,” the Clooney-Quin clubman said. Lynch, who plays club football with Cratloe, is in his second season as a member of Davy Fitzgerald’s backroom team. Acknowledging that there is a conveyor belt of players in …