Tag Archives: GaaClare

Munster Senior Hurling Championship Semi-Final (Extra-Time if Necessary) Clare v Tipperary at LIT Gaelic Grounds Limerick, Sunday 3.45pm (James Owens, Wexford) Strange at may seem, Clare’s faltering finish wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened on Sunday. If Clare had pummelled Waterford by 15 points which wouldn’t have been unjustified, it would have perhaps given Clare a false air of invincibility and certainly would have alerted Tipperary as to the strength of the challenge that faced them. However, Clare’s 22 wides have given Brian Lohan and Co. plenty to keep their side working on while also allowing Tipperary to view the quarter-final as a battle of two underperforming sides. It’s difficult to know if momentum from last Sunday can override any fatigue as it was a bruising high paced encounter. Having a match under their belts should be beneficial against a Tipperary side that are stepping into the unknown really after a mixed league. The most common critique of …

CLARE have no fresh injury concerns ahead of Sunday’s Munster Hurling Championship semi final against Tipperary. Manager Brain Lohan told The Clare Champion that forward Shane O’Donnell is still out but is “making progress” in his recovery from a concussion sustained prior to the league game against Kilkenny. Other than that Lohan is expected to be able to call on the same panel of players that won impressively against Waterford on Sunday. That includes talisman Tony Kelly who was again outstanding against Waterford. The Ballyea sharpshooter appeared to go pull up in the game’s final minutes but Lohan says Kelly is fit and ready to go against Tipp. On the factors behind last week’s impressive victory, Lohan pointed to the players’ pre-match mentality and desire make a statement early on. “I suppose we arrived to the ground with a good level of intensity, a good level of hunger, among the players and that was reflected out on the field. “They …

Clare v Kerry at Mungret, Limerick, Saturday, 12.30pm Very few teams in any code or age grade of the GAA will have experienced as long a wait as the Clare Junior Camogie team for Championship action. After being unceremoniously removed from the 2020 All-Ireland Premier Junior Championship after the tightening of government restrictions late last year meant only one team per county would be permitted to field a team, Clare finally have the opportunity to do their talking on the pitch. They were prepared to compete in a Munster semi-final last weekend, but with Waterford giving their opponents a bye, Ann Marie McGann and Tim McGrath’s charges now enter this final without playing a Championship game, something which is a source of frustration for McGann. “I’m disappointed that Waterford didn’t play the game. We would rather play the game and lose then not play it at all. “They should have said something before this and let us and Limerick go …

Clubs around the county can now sharpen their focus after the draws for this year’s adult hurling and football championships were made in Clareabbey on Friday evening. Despite only five competitive league matches in preparation, the stakes are extremely high as along with the glory of championship silverware, the prospect of two teams being relegated from the Senior, Intermediate and Junior A Championships in both codes means that every club will have to be extremely vigilant throughout. That double demotion dilemma placed a heightened emphasis on the luck of the draws as the flagship championships, which are scheduled to start in August, reverted to groups in order to provide additional matches after only being guaranteed two matches in 2020. Sixmilebridge’s bid for a three-in-a-row of county senior hurling titles was bolstered when seeded in a group with neighbours Wolfe Tones, Clarecastle and newcomers Scariff, none of whom have reached the knock-out stages in the past five seasons. However, the scramble …

Munster Senior Hurling Championship Quarter-Final (Extra-Time if Necessary) Clare v Waterford @ Semple Stadium Thurles, Sunday 3.30pm (Colm Lyons, Cork) With a full hand to choose from, Clare would undoubtedly be heading to Thurles on Sunday in confident mood of turning over last year’s All-Ireland Quarter-Final result. Traditionally, Clare wouldn’t have the same innate hang-ups about Waterford as they would to a Tipperary or Cork or in more recent times Limerick. Of course, that’s the same for Waterford who will view this match-up as the best of a bad lot in an ultra-competitive Munster Championship. However, there was the growing sense that things seemed to be falling into place for Brian Lohan and his side at the perfect time to peak for championship. That is overtly seen through their improving performances and results as the National League developed but even positionally, there were less and less question marks over personnel. Captain John Conlon’s switch to centre-back certainly raised some initial …

Following league wins over Dublin and Kilkenny, selector Ken Ralph told Ronan Judge the Clare camp is in a good position ahead of their Munster Championship opener with Waterford on Sunday. CLARE selector Ken Ralph is in upbeat mood as he assesses Clare’s prospects against Waterford in Sunday’s Munster Hurling Championship opener. And the Clarecastle club man says the form among players and management is of a similar vein after Clare closed out their league campaign with high scoring victories over Dublin and Kilkenny. The winning end to what was a sprint of a league came after early defeats to Antrim and Wexford. Ralph says there was never a sense of panic in those early weeks. Rather, management were happy with what they were seeing. Performance levels and effort were going in the right direction. The feeling was the results would follow. “I suppose looking back at the league, we’re happy enough at how things went. You’re never totally happy. …

Clare will be looking to build upon their recent momentum when they face Waterford in the Munster SHC this Sunday at Semple Stadium (throw-in 3.15pm). Munster Championship games are notoriously full blooded and intense with this Sunday’s battle expected to be no different as Clare come up against last year’s All-Ireland finalists. John Conlon will certainly be relishing this weekend’s battle as he looks set to taste Championship action for the first time since 2019, due to a cruciate ligament injury that kept him on the sidelines for Clare’s run to the All-Ireland quarter final in 2020. The Clonlara man believes the injury was a “blessing in disguise” as he was able to rehab other knocks and learn more about looking after his own body. “It was a tough injury. I was over a year out with it. It was a blessing in disguise in ways. It gave me the opportunity to grow and work on other injuries. I did …

Munster Senior Football Championship Quarter-Final (Extra-Time if Necessary) Kerry v Clare @ Fitzgerald Stadium Killarney, Saturday 7pm (Jerome Henry, Mayo) For all the warranted plaudits earned by the Clare footballers incremental development that brought them to the brink of a potential Division 1 adventure, the cold reality of a paltry record against Kerry cannot be ignored ahead of Saturday’s ultimate showdown. The fact that of the previous 49 championship meetings between the pair, Clare have only recorded two victories over the Kingdom in 1949 and 1992 is not even the worst statistic either. Actually, the one figure that really should be read between your fingers is Clare’s record in Fitzgerald Stadium. During Colm Collins’ tenure, Clare’s average losing championship margin in Ennis has been five points but in Killarney, it’s a whopping 17 which tells its own stark story about the value of home advantage. Of course, Clare won’t be thinking that way heading down to the Kingdom this Saturday …