Tag Archives: @CLGEireOgInis

Senior Hurling Championship Quarter-Finals Newmarket-on-Fergus v Wolfe Tones @ Cusack Park, Saturday 1.30pm A golden opportunity to return to a semi-final that neither side can afford to pass up in what is a unique derby showdown in Ennis on Saturday. It’s novel because at certain stages of their final group matches, the thoughts of staring the relegation play-offs in the face seemed a distinct reality so this is essentially bonus territory particularly after drawing each other in the last eight. Newmarket-on-Fergus’ late smash-and-grab victory over another neighbour Clooney-Quin will have injected a new lease of life into the Blues while Wolfe Tones, despite coming off the back of back-to-back defeats, equally have nothing to lose on Saturday. That Wolfe Tones’ form has fallen off a cliff will be alarming as the first half of their group campaign up to half-time in the Sixmilebridge match, the Shannon side looked like Canon Hamilton contenders only conceding 1-18. However, since then, they have …

The morning dew was still resting on the well manicured facilities of St Joseph’s GAA grounds in Gurteen on Saturday morning as Éire Óg with a positive opening ten minutes secured the Féile B title at the expense of St Joseph’s Miltown. Conor Perrill was the early hero for the Ennis side as he struck for (1-1) in the opening minutes as the skilful fast moving Charlie Doherty was the goal maker as Perrill finished off the chance. This sequence of scores hit Miltown hard as they needed a couple of plays to get settled and create their first scoring opportunity which was finished by Eoin Devanney. However, worse was to come for the West Clare side as Charlie Doherty left two markers in his wake to slot home Éire Óg’s second goal. Colin Hayes was on hand to deny Doherty a third Éire Óg goal and indeed it was an important save as it stifled Éire Óg somewhat for …

Senior Hurling Championship Round 2 Group 1 Inagh-Kilnamona v Clonlara at Cusack Park Ennis, Sunday 2.45pm A ‘Group of Death’ Super Sunday commences with the tie of the entire round as one perfect record has to fall between Inagh-Kilnamona and Clonlara. Originally pencilled in for a fortnight ago, the switch of Round 2 and 3 at Clonlara’s request gave Inagh-Kilnamona the opportunity to build further momentum by adding the scalp of O’Callaghan’s Mills to neighbours Kilmaley. Of course, Clonlara also overcame the Mills in their opening bout but considering the performances of both sides so far, it’s not overstating it to suggest that neither Inagh-Kilnamona or Clonlara are the finished article quite yet. Considering their strength-in-depth, attacking flair and inter-county experience, unfulfilled potential has been a nouse around their necks over the past decade. Inagh-Kilnamona have certainly benefitted from their two outings, with incremental improvements displayed against the Mills, even if they still have a tendency to leave their opponents …

Group 1, Round 3 Kilmurry Ibrickane v Cratloe at Cusack Park Ennis, Saturday There wasn’t even a debate surrounding the headline act for this week’s resumption of the Jack Daly race as this is not only a top-of-the-table clash and a repeat of last year’s final but more significantly a 13th championship meeting between these overly-familiar rivals in the last 12 seasons. Crucially however, holders Kilmurry Ibrickane have won the last four clashes, bookended by county final victories in 2016 and ’20. So while this Saturday’s result probably won’t hold any earth-shattering overall significance in terms of the group, there has never been any such thing as a half-blooded encounter between the pair. In typically seesaw fashion between the three group favourites, both Kilmurry Ibrickane and Cratloe have drawn with St Joseph’s Miltown so far, with the defending champions fortunate to grab a draw in the end whereas it was Cratloe that let slip their advantage last time out. It …

With no immediate pressure for the main protagonists, the Junior A Hurling Championship probably won’t kick into gear until the knock-out stages. After all, with only four sides exiting the competition following the group stages, it will be difficult to truly assess the main contenders for O’Callaghan’s Mills title. However, after a number of barren seasons, there is renewed hope that a first team can finally claim the Junior honours, with Ogonnelloe’s recent Division 3 League success putting the East Clare side in pole position to achieve that goal. Only three flagship sides have won this championship in the past two decades – Ennistymon (2004), Meelick (2007) and Bodyke (2017), with Ogonnelloe’s last title coming 33 years ago. They are expected to be vying for the crown with the Banner who after gaining promotion to the intermediate ranks in football, will be determined to do likewise in the hurling equivalent. Ennistymon still remain an unknown quantity while the best of …

SAINT Joseph’s Miltown’s Cusack Cup retention remains firmly in their own hands this Saturday as a victory over Clondegad would guarantee back-to-back flagship league crowns for the first time in 71 years, writes Eoin Brennan. Anything less and St Breckan’s and Ennistymon have the opportunity to snatch breakthrough Division 1 honours. St Joseph’s Miltown v Clondegad Following last year’s meek championship defence exit at essentially the quarter-final stage to Cratloe, St Joseph’s Miltown have the perfect opportunity to gain an early boost ahead of this year’s Jack Daly race on Saturday. Put simply, with the head-to-head not a factor, Miltown’s 40 point score advantage is 21 more than nearest rivals St Breckan’s which means that a win of any kind would be sufficient for Miltown to retain the Cusack Cup. Don’t expect Clondegad to roll over though as they are not without their own motivations. It’s a repeat of the last final in 2019 when slogging it out in a …

Kilmurry Ibrickane v Ennistymon at Quilty, Sunday, 12pm The county champions may be out of contention to commence 2021 with early silverware but it won’t stop the ‘Bricks from finally kickstarting their season and possibly even halting others from getting their hands on the Cusack Cup. With the championship surfacing inexorably on the horizon including a showdown against this weekend opponents, the return of their county contingent to offset recent injury set-backs is pivotal to turning around their fortunes in time for August. However, Ennistymon still remain unbeaten and will be determined to sustain that winning mentality especially after being embroiled in such an unenviable championship group and with ‘Bricks legend Odran O’Dwyer amongst their backroom team, the North Clare side might just shade a tight contest. Clondegad v Doonbeg at Ballynacally, Sunday, 2pm It’s been a full mixed bag of results for Clondegad so far with an opening draw with St Breckan’s and a derby win over Kildysart offset …

THE sprint for this year’s Cusack Cup is still wide open following the weekend’s action as half of the contenders are locked together at the summit of the table, reports Eoin Brennan. Without their county contingents, there have been some erratic results thus far but fundamentally no perfect record remains in the top flight after two rounds. An eagerly-anticipated derby clash of opening round victors St Josephs Miltown and Ennistymon perhaps failed to live up to its heightened billing but still possessed a compelling finale. Following a toothless first half in which the sides struggled to trouble the umpires too often, Ennistymon appeared to snatch the whip hand on the restart and turned a 0-3 to 0-2 half-time deficit into a two point lead entering the final quarter. However, as the clock ticked inexorably down, a Darragh McDonagh solo goal dramatically nudged the home side in front only to see it wiped out in the next passage of play when …