Tag Archives: clare

A championship-winning captain in 1993 and 2002, Aidan ‘Horse’ Moloney picked up his third medal in 2004. Player-manager as far back as Kilmurry’s 1999 county final defeat to Doonbeg, Moloney has extensive club management experience built up since 2006. Over the last 10 years he has managed Shannon Gaels, Cooraclare, Kilrush and Kilkee, bringing Kilrush to within a point of Kilmurry in the 2012 county semi-final replay and winning a Cusack Cup with Cooraclare in 2009. Moloney played in five county finals with Kilmurry but it wasn’t all rosy in the garden. Incredibly, Kilmurry did not win a single championship game in Moloney’s first 10 years of playing senior club football. “When I could kind of play football, we were struggling. We were harmless enough,” is how the 1992 Munster championship winner with Clare phrased it. “We won a minor in 1980 and 1981. A lot of that team went on to win the championship in 1993. Martin Cahill, Martin …

SOURCES in Wexford have indicated that Davy Fitzgerald will be ratified as the new manager of the Model County’s senior hurling side tonight (Friday). Manager of Clare from 2012 until last month, it had been widely expected that the Sixmilebridge man would make a return to management sooner rather than later. However, the speed at which he has secured a new high-profile appointment, less than three weeks after finishing with Clare, is still something of a surprise. It is understood that Fitzgerald had discussions with officers of the Wexford County Board and faced an interview panel in Portlaoise earlier this week. Others to have been linked with the job included outgoing Offaly manager Eamon Kelly and former Galway manager Anthony Cunningham. Wexford haven’t won an All-Ireland since 1996 or a Leinster title since 1994 but they won three Leinster U-21 titles in-a-row between 2013 and 2015 and there is some young talent available with the likes of Lee Chin and …

She has been pulling on the county jersey for 16 years but Louise Henchy can count on one hand the number of times she has lined out in Cusack Park. The Ennis-based accountant, who has played soccer for Ireland at underage and senior level, can recall most of her games there, one of which dates back nearly 20 years. “I remember I played midfield against Carmel Bohannon [Fergus Rovers], a long, long time ago. We also played Donegal in a league final [2008]. I’ve probably played in Cusack Park three or four times,” the Banner Ladies club player recounted. Ideally, Henchy would like if female footballers had more access to the county grounds but she has accepted that is unlikely during her playing career. “It’s not great but to tell you the truth, I’m used to it. A lot of people ask do we ever train out in Caherlohan at the new [GAA] pitches? But I’ve only seen it from …

Since a ladies football structure was formally established in Clare 33 years ago, adult county teams have brought three All-Ireland titles home from Croke Park. On Sunday the 2016 team, led by full-back Laurie Ryan, will take on Kildare at GAA headquarters, aiming to follow All-Ireland wins in 1991, 1996 and 2009. The clearest link between the Clare team of 25 years ago and the current panel is mother and daughter Carmel and Sarah Bohannon. Carmel was in midfield in 1991, while Sarah has been playing at wing-forward for this season’s Neil Moynihan-managed side. The Clare ladies have played five matches en route to Croke Park, beating Limerick twice, Tyrone and Tipperary in the All-Ireland semi-final. Their sole championship loss was a three-point Munster final defeat against the Premier County. Clare have a panel of just 21 players, which is likely to be reduced to 19 on Sunday given that goalkeeper Ciara Harvey and corner-back Eva O’Dea have leg injuries. …

REPORTS are circulating this evening that Davy Fitzgerald’s colourful five-year term as Clare senior hurling manager will end within days. There had been speculation that several high-profile members of the Clare squad were set to depart if the Sixmilebridge man remained in place. However, sources who were part of the Clare backroom team throughout 2016, have indicated that around two-thirds of the panel were actually in favour of him remaining in place for 2017. The position of Clare manager has been much discussed throughout the county since Clare’s disappointing exit from the championship at the hands of Galway and many supporters wanted to see change. While Fitzgerald’s departure has not even been confirmed yet, Donal Moloney and Jerry O’Connor would clearly be among the front runners to succeed him, given their role in bringing three U-21 All-Ireland titles to the county. The highlight of Fitzgerald’s time in the Clare job was the 2013 All-Ireland, when he brought a team that …

Cratloe’s dual star Podge Collins has ruled out played both codes at inter-county level in 2017. Collins, who was the only senior inter-county dual star this year, has arrived at the decision as he feels the dual role is no longer sustainable. Crucially, though, he didn’t revel which code he will play. Speaking on Clare FM he said, “I suppose this year, just the way the fixtures fell with both teams getting to the quarterfinals… big games were on the same weekend. Playing two games in a weekend it’s unfair, I suppose, on myself and both teams so, unfortunately, I don’t think that’s sustainable so next year I’ll just be playing the one.” Collins won national league medals in both codes this year. He was a member of Davy Fitzgerald’s senior squad that won the Division 1 national hurling league title for the first time in nearly 40 years, defeating Waterford in a replay, while he was also on the football team, managed by his father Colm, which won the Division 3 league title beating …

CLARE dual player Niamh O’Dea has described the fixing of a club camogie championship match seven days before the All-Ireland Intermediate Ladies Football Championship final as “an embarrassment”. Clare will play Kildare on Sunday, September 25 in football final in Croke Park. Meanwhile, on this coming Sunday, Kilmaley are due to meet Clooney-Quin in a vital senior club championship fixture. Three of Kilmaley’s key players, O’Dea, Emma O’Driscoll and Ailish Considine are all starting players in the county football team. “We are raging. It’s awful disappointing on our behalf that we are made to pick. We have given time all year to football and camogie but the board can’t agree on anything. They are putting us in a very difficult situation. The last thing you want on your mind going into an All-Ireland final is this hassle. If it was a men’s county team there wouldn’t be any trouble at all. It’s an absolute disgrace that women are not given …

CREATING the environment to deliver an additional 4,000 jobs in Clare over the next five years is one of the ambitious targets set by the Clare County Council chief, Pat Dowling. Next Monday, Mr Dowling officially starts his seven-year term, with the possibility of a three-year extension, as the council’s new chief executive officer. In an exclusive interview with The Clare Champion, Mr Dowling has outlined a number of key economic objectives, which will help to transform the county, if they are successfully implemented during his term of office. Asked if he feels the target of 4,000 is achievable, Mr Dowling said that, while it is ambitious, “If you don’t go for it, you don’t get there.” He added, “Tipperary thought that Kilkenny were favourites to win the All-Ireland title but they annihilated them. Clare has to do the same. Clare has to show it can punch above its weight in the region. Instead of saying Clare is not getting …