Tag Archives: clare

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Quarter-Final Clare v Dublin at TUS Gaelic Grounds Limerick, Saturday 4pm (Johnny Murphy, Limerick) Not since Tony Kelly made his senior debut and Anthony Daly enlisted and drilled the Dubs through the narrow streets of Ennis have the counties met at championship level, an 11-year gap that makes the challenge all the more novel. However, last year’s post-Munster Final flatness should be sufficient to prevent another hangover while the unknown entity should equally steele Brian Lohan’s side from any complacentiy either as Clare enter a new phase of their development. It would be easy to wallow in self-pity over the injustices and missed opportunities of a second successive provincial final reverse to Limerick a fortnight ago but in reality while it was a bitter pill to swallow as the Banner craved silverware much more than their hosts, they still have a major point to prove following last year’s lacklustre All-Ireland series. Having not experienced the excessive …

When it comes to Dublin hurling successes the contribution from Clare has been huge with all six All-Ireland successes enjoyed by the metropolitans having a strong representation from the Banner County with peerless Dr Tommy Daly standing tallest of all as ‘the greatest goal man to ever clutch a ball’ writes Joe Ó Muircheartaigh. The stock placed on past glories in the GAA was given a monetary value recently at a sale of Gaelic Games memorabilia organised by Fonsie Mealy’s auction house in Castlecomer, Kilkenny. A first-ever All-Ireland football medal won by Limerick in 1887 went under the hammer for €32,000, while a collection of medals won by old Tipperary and Dublin hurler Mick Darcy in the 1920s fetched over €9,000. The buyer of the latter haul that included All-Ireland gold was antique dealer Tony Honan from Ennis, who already has the largest private collection of All-Ireland medals of anyone in the county – among them a first All-Ireland hurling …

MENTAL health services for young people in Clare are already deeply flawed, and could get much worse with many stressed and disillusioned staff hoping to quit, a new survey shows. The internal staff survey of workers in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in this county shows that 94% of respondents felt the Clare CAMHS clinical environment is not suitable for the support of young people. Worryingly, 100% of those surveyed either agreed or strongly agreed that a shortage of clinical space is putting the children supported by the service at risk. All of the respondents also held the view that poor staff retention is putting not only those who do access the services at risk, but also the children who are left on waiting lists. “We need more clinic space to be able to offer appointments to young people. Rushing people out of an appointment because there is someone waiting to come in, or not being able to …

CLARE will return to the TUS Gaelic Grounds as they face Dublin this Saturday in their crunch All Ireland quarter final showdown, writes Ivan Smyth. Brian Lohan’s side will take on Dublin the quarter-final on Saturday at 4pm in the first game of a double header with Galway facing Tipperary at 6.15pm. This will be the third Championship game this year Clare will play at the Ennis Road venue. The Banner beat Limerick in the round robin stage of the Munster Championship by a single point before losing out by the same margin in the decider. This will be Clare’s first game since that Munster final defeat as they try and secure successive semi final appearances and set up a rematch against Kilkenny. Dublin reached this stage of the competition after finishing third in the Leinster Championship. They trailed Joe McDonagh Cup winners Carlow by a point at half time in their Preliminary Quarter Final clash last weekend before powering …

Munster Senior Hurling Championship Final Limerick 1-23 Clare 1-22 Fortune didn’t end up favouring the brave as Clare were agonisingly edged out by the minimum despite playing in front of a capacity 43,756 in the lion’s den of the TUS Gaelic Grounds, writes Eoin Brennan.  A contentious last gasp decision or lack of to award Adam Hogan a potentially equalising free that would have sent the Munster Final to extra-time for the second successive year re-emphasised the wafer-thin margins between these Shannonside neighbours. Amidst the sweltering sunshine in Limerick HQ, a fourth championship derby in just over twelve months didn’t quite match the electric atmosphere as familiarity ensured more caution than innovation for the majority. However, with never more than a puck of the ball between them for over 70 of the near 80 minutes played. It was still utterly compelling fare that did inevitably go down to the very last play. Both sides had to made big calls beforehand …

A pivotal week for Clare hurling certainly got off to the ideal start last Sunday when the minor hurlers soared to a first All-Ireland crown in 26 years. With a similar 25 year gap to the county’s last provincial senior crown when Brian Lohan himself was at his dominant best, the four-time All-Star will be looking to take a leaf out of Brian O’Connell’s side’s book when lining out against Limerick in their own home patch this Sunday (1.45pm). Witnessing the minor feat at first hand, Lohan was gushing in his praise of such an accomplished final performance against neighbours Galway in Semple Stadium. “It was brilliant. From the quality of their players themselves, how they approached the game, their speed, touch and movement to the brand of hurling that they played, I was just so delighted to see a Clare team play like that in an All-Ireland Final. “Hats off to everyone associated with this minor team, it was …

Unquestionably the biggest current rivalry in hurling, the stakes were raised considerably higher for Clare’s latest Munster Senior Hurling Final showdown with neighbours Limerick when opting to play in the lion’s den of the TUS Gaelic Grounds this Sunday (1.45pm). With a Thurles rematch the most logical choice but amazingly not an option presented, whatever the full narrative of what actually occurred behind the scenes, it was a courageous and confident poker move. Initially viewed at a national level as suicidal, it was actually the ultimate regicidal act as not only did it demonstrate that Clare have no fear of playing in LImerick’s own grounds but more pointedly possess no fear of Limerick themselves. Considering that John Kiely’s side are bidding for an unprecedented five-in-a-row of Munster titles, it was a bold statement but one which will undoubtedly make their hosts all the more wary on Sunday. While the result will inevitably dictate the methodology of the location decision, it …