The resilience shown by Clare hurlers Ryan Taylor and Tony Kelly to battle back from serious injuries has been lauded by team physiotherapist for the last three years, Shane Malone. While Shane has attended All-Ireland homecomings in his native Kerry following All-Ireland successes, he described last week’s welcome for the Liam McCarthy Cup in Clare as “incredible”. He will never forget the hundreds of Clare hurling supporters who lined the streets and rural roads to welcome the team home, which was a real “eye opener”. “The enthusiasm and love for Brian Lohan and the team is quite different from my previous experiences. I was very impressed by the volume of support out there for the Clare team. It shows the high esteem they are held within the county. “The response from Clare fans all year has been unbelievable. There is a great connection between Brian Lohan and the county and people respond when they like what they see. “The way …
Read More »‘We’re in a different place this year’
Clare Senior Hurling Manager Brian Lohan is relishing a return to Croke Park for only the second time since 2013. He spoke with Ivan Smyth about lessons learned from last year’s trip to GAA HQ. The similarities are obvious. Akin to 2022, Clare face in to an All Ireland semi final against Kilkenny after bouncing back from a Munster final defeat to Limerick. Facing off against the third placed team in Leinster in an All-Ireland quarter-final adds to the sense of déjà vu so far in this year’s journey to GAA HQ. The semi final showdown last year was only Clare’s second appearance in Croke Park since the 2013 All-Ireland final. There is a greater sense of cautious optimism among the Clare hurling fraternity with manager Brian Lohan expressing his view that the squad have gained valuable insights from last year’s journey. “I think we are in a different place to last year. We invested a lot of energy in …
Read More »Hurling: If the cap Fitz, wear it
Off the back of a memorable championship summer in which Clare encouragingly made their championship mark, David Fitzgerald is relishing the prospect of trying to surpass that achievement in 2023. Just as the Banner’s swashbuckling provincial performances ignited the whole county, Fitzgerald was also performing to new heights in the Saffron and Blue jersey, scoring 2-18 in just seven championship ties on the way to deservedly becoming Inagh-Kilnamona’s first All-Star recipient (since Catherine O’Loughlin in 2005 at least). Being his seventh championship campaign, the stars had finally aligned for Fitzgerald in terms of finally nailing down a starting place. You see, prior to 2022, his versatility of being able to play in either defence or attack essentially made it difficult for him to be a master of one position as evidenced by 11 of his 24 championship appearances between 2016-2021 being from the bench. “To be honest, with the versatility, just trying to be consistent in a position was tough …
Read More »Clare look to hit the ground running in Thurles
Eoin Brennan previews this afternoon’s Munster Senior Hurling Championship Round 2 between Clare and Tipperary at FBD Semple Stadium Thurles JUST as Tipperary’s sense of injustice motivated an uprising against recently crowned National League champions Waterford last weekend, Clare will be targeting a similar assault this Sunday as they look to hit the ground running in this year’s provincial championship. With both sides justifiably irked at being largely discounted in the conversation for the top three in Munster, Tipperary’s backlash landed but ultimately failed to knock down their opponents which leaves them with no room for error as they scramble for points this Sunday. Being Clare’s competitive bow, they obviously have a little more wriggle room but realistically if the Banner are to make an impression in the provincial series, a win is almost a prerequisite in Thurles. Easier said than done, after Clare took 90 years to previously make that breakthrough back in 2018 on their way to knocking …
Read More »No divided loyalties for Ralph ahead of Clare’s Tipp test
Although Ken Ralph has more than earned his Banner citizenship, an intriguing sub plot to this weekend’s clash with Tipperary is the selector trying to defeat his county of origin. Ralph represented Tipperary at minor and U-21 level before he was offered a job at De Beers (now Element Six). After initially living in Limerick, he migrated to Clarecastle as he helped the Magpies enjoy some of the greatest days in their history, when winning county titles in 1997 and 2003. Although the two time county champion with Clarecastle admits that he does hold a soft spot for Tipperary, there is no doubting his determination to inflict a second straight loss on Colm Bonnar’s charges. “Coming up against Tipp is something I’ve dealt with years ago. I’m in Clare longer than I was in Tipp. I do have a soft spot for Tipp but my kids were born in Clare. I’d nearly be forgiven for rooting for Clare. When Clare …
Read More »Young gun Meehan hoping to make lightning start for Clare
WHEN Shane Meehan answered the phone to The Clare Champion the 19-year-old was almost drowned out by the cheers and excitement of the children hurling behind him. That morning and afternoon, Meehan was down at his own club, Banner, helping the club run their Easter camp. With over 100 kids attending the camp, hopes are high within Banner that they can continue their recent upward trend across all codes. The evening prior Meehan and the Clare U-20 hurlers saw their Championship campaign come to an end after falling to an agonising two point against Cork. For the second game on the spin, Clare let a winning hand slip as Meehan’s final year at the U-20 grade came to a close. Despite the disappointment, the Mary Immaculate student, headed down to coach the young players coming through the ranks. When Meehan spoke to The Champion after the camp, he reiterated the point that heading down to his club helped him deal …
Read More »Clare star still learning from talent coming through
For someone with the mercurial touch of Tony Kelly, it’s intriguing to hear the Ballyea man discuss improving upon and refining his artillery for Championship combat. After requiring ankle surgery last October, Kelly was forced to watch from the sidelines as Ballyea showed remarkable grit to eventually emerge triumphant and lift the Canon Hamilton. The 28-year-old was part of the St. Flannan’s management team when the Ennis school lifted the Dean Ryan Cup in November, three days after Ballyea were crowned county champions for the third time in the club’s history. The teacher believes he can take lessons from watching his clubmates and the students he coaches between the white lines. “It gives me a different perspective when I’m watching games on the sideline. Something I enjoy doing is coaching the younger players. No matter what age you are you can pick up a thing or two watching other players. You can learn a lot from different players.” After a …
Read More »Derbies and revenge tours as Clare Cup continues
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 …
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