Tag Archives: GaaClare

The 2022 Inter-County season will commence on Sunday, January 2, when the Clare senior footballers travel to Dungarvan to take on Waterford in the opening round of the McGrath Cup (Munster Senior Football League) at 2pm. In a hectic first week of Colm Collins’ historic ninth season in charge, the Banner welcome Group 1 rivals Cork, under new manager Keith Ricken, to Hennessy Memorial Park in Miltown Malbay four days later for the first time since winning the McGrath Cup on home soil in 2019. The Group 1 winners will subsequently face their Group 2 equivalents (Kerry, Limerick or Tipperary) in the final on Sunday, January 15. In contrast, it’s winner-takes-all for Brian Lohan’s Clare senior hurlers who also face Waterford, this time in the more familiar setting of O’Garney Park in Sixmilebridge for their Munster Hurling Cup Semi-Final on Friday, January 14 (7pm). With the championship spoils evenly split between the counties over the past two years, it marks …

Clare v Armagh at Conneff Pk Clane (Kildare), Saturday 4.30pm (Alan Doheny, Laois) CLARE face a tough task on Saturday afternoon when they come up against reigning champions Armagh in the All-Ireland Premier Junior Camogie semi final. The Northerners came back from conceding two first half goals against Limerick in last week’s quarter final to return to the last four stage. Ann Marie McGann, joint manager of the Clare team, is aware that Armagh will seek to bring strong physicality to the game while she is aware of the threat their captain Ciara Donnelly, who scored 13 points in last year’s All Ireland final win, will provide. “We’ve seen Armagh play. Limerick were on top in the first half against them last weekend, then they brought a sweeper which invited Armagh on. They are a very physical team so we have to match that and outwork them. Ciara Donnelly is a top class player. She was scoring from everywhere against …

After graciously accommodating Clonlara’s request to switch Round 2 and 3 of the Group of Death following the wedding of Clare captain John Conlon and former Clare camogie player Michelle Caulfield on Monday, Clonlara now have a bye this weekend as Group 1 heats up further. Whitegate v Kilmaley at Cusack Park, Ennis Friday, 6.30pm C Maguire Having failed to maintain their bright opening half display against Inagh-Kilnamona, it’s now must-win territory for Kilmaley who simply cannot afford another set-back in the dreaded group of five. Getting back on the horse shouldn’t be an issue as Kilmaley, showed plenty of promise last Saturday at the same venue, without ever piecing together the consistency required to get the better of their neighbours. A fresh Whitegate will be determined to make a big impact in the championship bow and pour more misery over Kilmaley. And while they might have preferred to take Kilmaley out of the park, Whitegate did push champions Sixmilebridge …

BACK-TO-BACK champions Sixmilebridge are first into the breach on Friday evening as they look to take their perfect championship record to 11 matches when taking on old foes Clarecastle in Cusack Park, writes Eoin Brennan. The glamour of that traditional firecracker has long since extinguished as Sixmilebridge are now aiming for a three-in-a-row of Canon Hamilton titles while the Magpies would be content to avoid any relegation danger in a year where two teams drop to intermediate. The absence of Seadna Morey and Cathal Malone are significant but Clarecastle have their own injury woes and are more likely to need a full complement. The more intriguing tie in Group 2 is the clash of Wolfe Tones and Scariff as whoever wins will have one foot out of the relegation zone and into a potential quarter-final spot. The Tones will require a full AA battery charge from the Arons/Aarons while intermediate champions Scariff won’t hold any fear in their bid to …

Clare minor hurling manager Terence Chaplin is under no illusions of the task his side face when they travel to Semple Stadium to face Cork next Wednesday (throw in 7.30pm). With Cork starting to show signs of rejuvenation in the underage categories in hurling, Chaplin cites the fact that Cork won the Arrabawn U15 hurling Cup and Plate competitions in 2019, with many of that panel now set to be in the way of Clare reaching a Munster semi-final against Limerick. “It is going to be a massive challenge. We know what they did at the U15 age grade two years ago so it’s going to be tough for sure.” Chaplin admits the reduced time that he has had to work with the group of players has been a challenge. However, he believes his side are well prepared to tackle the challenge Cork will pose. “I feel that preparations are going well for the game. It is condensed. We’ve had …

Clare’s U-20 hurling manager Sean Doyle is refusing to look past the challenge Kerry will provide in the Munster Championship. With Clare travelling to face Kerry in Austin Stack Park next Monday evening (throw in 7.30pm), Doyle is keen to stress that he is only focusing on the challenge Kerry provide and not a potential provincial semi final against Limerick. “We are going in to the unknown. We are not taking anything for granted. Kerry is our main focus and we aren’t looking beyond the challenge we face next Monday. They have been strong in the B schools competitions so we know it won’t be easy.” Mark Rodgers is not eligible to play against Kerry as he has played under Brian Lohan in this year’s Championship. A new rule was passed this year which does not allow a player who enters the field in a tier 1 inter-county championship match, to play with their under-20 team in the same year, …

Under 15 Division 2 Championship Round 3 Cooraclare 5-11 Corofin 1-08 Cooraclare put themselves in pole position to secure an Under 15 Division 2 Semi-Final spot after leapfrogging previous table-toppers Corofin in Páirc Finne on Monday evening. Four second half goals against the conditions proved decisive for the visitors who could be thankful to ace marksmen Kevin Marrinan (2-3) and Rory Lillis (2-2) for keeping their side in front throughout. A glorious evening for football was accentuated by the backdrop of two opponents with perfect records. So while it didn’t exactly live up to those lofty expectations, at full strength both will feel that they can make an impact on the latter stages of the championship. Having chalked up 13 goals in their two previous outings, the home side weren’t used to finding themselves on the backfoot but with the wind at their backs, Cooraclare set about trying to make the most of this opportunity. An early siege carved out …

After an encouraging U-20 football campaign last year, Clare manager Michael Neylon is keen to see his side build on the progress made last year. Although this age grade often sees a high turnover of players year on year, Neylon is hopeful his side can improve after they defeated Waterford last year before being a narrow two point defeat to Cork ended their campaign. The draw for this year’s Championship has presented Clare with an opportunity as Cork and Kerry face each other on the other side of the draw. This leaves Waterford, Clare, Limerick and Tipperary battling it out for a place in the provincial final. Clare face the Déise this evening (Thursday) in Fraher Field, Dungarvan, with a throw-in time of 7.30pm. Neylon is refusing to look beyond the clash although he admits every team in the section of the draw will fancy their chances of reaching the provincial showdown. “We are looking at Thursday night first and …