Tag Archives: football

By Seamus Hayes Eire Og’s Ciaran Russell will make his debut for the Clare senior footballers in Sunday’s crucial league clash with Carlow at Cusack Park. Russell has been named at wing back in a side that shows three changes in personnell from that which suffered their only defeat of the campaign to date when going down to Tipperary three weeks ago in Thurles. The Ennis man replaces Cratloe’s Oige Murphy Kevin Hartnett who didn’t start that game due to injury but who came in for the second half is now named at full back releasing Gordon Kelly for duty at centre back. This results in the switch of Enda Coughlan to corner forward.  Under 21 player Jamie Malone returns to the starting line up and will lead the attack flanked by Shane McGrath and Sean Collins. Although available to the footballers this weekend, dual player Podge Collins isn’t included in the starting line up due to a hand injury …

By Peter O’Connell KILMURRY Ibrickane GAA club will start their centenary celebrations on this Saturday when almost 80 living past winning captains will be recognised, along with former club chairmen. Michael Talty is chairman of the Kilmurry Ibrickane Centenary Committee and has found that many committee members were re-energised at the prospect of helping to mark 100 years of the club, which hugs the spectacular, occasionally deadly, Atlantic coastline. “It’s a very big focal point because of it being our centenary year. An awful lot of people, who might not have been involved for a number of years, have got involved again and have been rejuvenated by the centenary year. That’s what makes it a bit more special,” the vastly experienced referee said. “From my own point of view, I was chairman of the club for ten years. I had a core group of people with me who were very proactive during the development stages of Pairc Naomh Mhuire and …

By Peter O’Connell Clare 2-14 London 1-8 FIRST half goals from Enda Coughlan and Gary Brennan were pivotal in steering Clare to the top of the division 4 table in Ruislip on Sunday afternoon. Playing with a strong first half breeze the goals helped Clare into a 2-7 to 1-3 half time lead. Martin O’Leary kicked two first half points for the winners, with Podge Collins, Shane McGrath, Dean Ryan, David Tubridy and Gary Brennan also pointing. However Clare conceded a soft first half goal when a Lorcan Mulvey shot deceived Clare goalkeeper Pierce Deloughrey and full back Gordon Kelly. With a stiff breeze in their face Clare outscored London 0-7 to 0-5 in the second half. Martin O’Leary and Shane McGrath put over a brace apiece, while Podge Collins, Tubridy and Sean Collins added a point each. This was a decent display from Clare who introduced Alan Clohessy, Rory Donnelly and debutante Jack O’Dea to the 2014 league. Their …

By Seamus Hayes GAA clubs across the country will agree it has become increasingly difficult to get volunteers to take on club officer roles and it has almost become the norm that some clubs fail to fill some executive posts at their annual meetings. Eventually, most manage to get someone to take on a specific task. Despite the fact that St Senan’s Kilkee have, so far, failed to find both a chairman and secretary, outgoing chairman Peter Muldoon is satisfied the club’s future is secure and that the posts will be filled. The positions remain vacant after the AGM and a further meeting failed to find candidates for the posts Outgoing officials Peter Muldoon (chairman) and John Lynch (secretary) signalled well before the end of last season that they would not be seeking re-election. Muldoon completed four years in the post, while outgoing secretary John Lynch has been the face of the West Clare club for the past 40 years. …

A VERITABLE glow of satisfaction exuded from Clare coach, Paudie Kissane as he spoke outside the Clare dressing room in Dungarvan. An All-Ireland winner with Cork in 2010, the now retired wing-back has played on the biggest stages available to a Gaelic footballer but last Sunday, it was clear what an opening win in Waterford meant to him. “The first half was a bit mixed and for the first 10 minutes of the second half, we were under a bit of pressure. They were coming forward but we didn’t panic and we forced them to make mistakes and caught them on the break and got some good scores,” was Kissane’s analysis of Clare’s seven-point win. Clare started with U-21s Martin O’Leary and Jamie Malone in the full-forward line. Kissane made it clear that age or experience aren’t something that he dwells on. “If you want to see what a guy is made of and try to give him a chance …

LAST week Mick O’Dwyer revealed that he had definitely occupied his last inter-county sideline. The eight time All-Ireland winning Kerry manager, who also managed Kildare and Laois to Leinster titles, guided Clare in 2013. It turned out to be his last inter-county job. “We were a bit unlucky,” Micko said this week of his year with Clare. “We lost a lot of our players to injury. Even Gary Brennan, who’d be one of the best players in the country, he struggled all year. We tried to play him full forward in the finish and he was the mainstay of our team. There was about four or five other top class players in Clare that weren’t able to perform last year. But we went to the last game in the league and if we had beaten Limerick we’d have gone up. So we were there or thereabouts,” the four time All-Ireland winning Kerry footballer told The Clare Champion this week. He …

By Seamus Hayes;   The death took place at the weekend of one of Clare’s best known GAA personalities, Henry Neylon from the Michael Cusacks club. At the time of his death, Hendy, as he was affectionately known, held the post of president of Clare GAA In July of 2012, I spoke with Henry as he celebrated his 90th birthday and a week before his beloved Ml. Cusacks club held a functon to mark the 50th anniversary of the North Clare club. A week earlier the club’s junior team had captured the Clare division 4 football league title. Henry spoke passionately about his beloved club and about a lifetime of involvement in the GAA. He played for Carron in 1944 when they won the junior novice title, beating Moveen in the final. Two years later the club was known as BellHarbour and he was a member of the team which beat Caherea in the junior championship in Miltown. “We had …

By Seamus Hayes Westmeath 3-9 Clare 2-8 While Clare’s under 21 footballers showed improved form from their first round loss to Roscommon a week earlier, defeat was still their lot when they hosted Westmeath at Miltown on Saturday in round 2 of the Hastings cup under 21 football competition. The Banner side will complete their programme in this competition on Friday next when they will play Kildare under lights at St. Patricks GAA grounds in Limerick city. Clare got off to a dream start on Saturday when Jamie Malone goaled in the second minute but they failed to build on this and the visitors hit back with five unanswered points to lead by two at the end of the first quarter. A point each from midfielders Ciaran Devitt and Conor Cleary levelled the game and the teams went on to exchange points with Martin O’Leary’s effort for the home side  leaving the half time score at 1-3 to 0-6. In the …