Tag Archives: hurling

Clare 2-21 Offaly 0-15 As expected, Clare made a winning start to life in division 1 B of the Allianz hurling league when they accounted for Offaly at Cusack Park this afternoon. A strong last ten minutes to the first half during which they scored 1-7 while conceding just a point laid the foundations for this comfortable win. While Clare officials will be pleased with the outcome, there is sure to be some concern at the fact that they finished with a tally of fifteen wides. There is also some concern about injuries picked up by both Darach Honan and John Conlon, both of which were replaced as a result [doptg id=”100″] The fact that three players were sent off might suggest that this was a dirty game but this was not the case. Fourteen minutes into the second half Peter Duggan (Clare) and Conor Doughan(Offaly) were involved in a tangle off the ball and referee Sean Cleere produced a …

THE only team Clare beat in last season’s Senior Hurling Championship will provide the opposition for the Banner men ins Sunday’s opening game in the 2016 National Hurling League. Offaly will travel to Cusack Park in Ennis as underdogs and anything other than a comfortable win for Clare, recent impressive winners of the Munster League, will rank as a surprise. That said, Davy Fitzgerald’s charges cannot take anything for granted against a Midland side that is under new management this season. Tipperary’s Eamonn Kelly, a member of the Sixmilebridge management team that went through 2015 without suffering a defeat in either league or championship, will have learned a lot about Clare from his time here last season and while he said this week that Offaly are not as far down the road in their preparations as Clare, the Banner outfit will need to be wary of the visitors. Clare will be without joint captain Tony Kelly and utility player Seadna …

A total of thirty teams will compete for the under 21 A, B and C hurling titles in 2016, the draws for which were earlier this evening at Clareabbey. Kilmaley, holders of the A title will take on the corofin-Ruan combination in the opening round with the winners going on to play Tulla in a quarter final tie. In all there will be ten teams competing for the A title, twelve in the race for the B title while eight clubs will battle it our for the C crown. Ballyea, Kilmaley, Clarecastle and St. Josephs will each have two teams with their ‘second string’ sides competing for the C title. The pairings are; U-21 A: Preliminary Round: A Kilmaley v Corofin-Ruan; B Wolfe Tones v Inagh-Kilnamona; Quarter finals: 1 Sixmilebridge v Eire Og 2 Clonlara v Wolfe Tones or Inagh-Kilnamona 3 Tulla v Kilmaley or Corofin/Ruan: 4 Feakle-Killanena v Clarecastle; Semi-finals: 2 v 1 and 4 v 3 U-21 B: …

Munster league champions but no All-Ireland club hurling final date for Clare in 2016. Thats the story at the end of a busy January Saturday for Clare hurling as the county side overcame neighbours Limerick in the Provincial senior league final but county intermediate champions Wolfe Tones bowed out of the race for the All-Ireland title when going under to Bennettsbridge from Kilkenny at St. Rynaghs grounds in Banagher,Co. Offaly. An official attendance of 4,583 turned up at the Gaelic grounds for the meeting of arch rivals and Shannonside neighbours Clare and Limerick in the Munster hurling league final at the end of which Clare were ahead by the minimum margin, 0-18 to 0-17. Indeed the big attendance surprised officials and the start time was delayed by ten minutes to give patrons an opportunity to get into the stadium. It was a hard fought contest which produced plenty of talking points and at the end of it all the visitors …

The fallout from the recession and emigration was brought centre stage at Clare GAA County Board meeting this week, when there was strong support for a request from Ogonnelloe to be allowed to regrade from intermediate to junior A hurling level for 2016. In a detailed letter to the meeting, the East Clare club outlined their reasons for seeking to be regraded. “Over the past number of years, we have struggled as a club to compete at intermediate level due to a number of factors, which are largely outside of our control. It is now the wish of the entire club, having discussed it at our recent AGM, with players and supporters alike, to apply to be allowed to regrade for 2016. This is not a decision we have come to lightly but it is one we believe is absolutely necessary for the continued survival of Ogonnelloe Hurling Club,” the letter read. “Over the past few years, as the impact …

THE Clare and Munster intermediate hurling champions will face their stiffest test to date when they line out against Kilkenny and Leinster counterparts, Bennettsbridge, in the All-Ireland semi-final at St Rynagh’s GAA Club in Banagher, County Offaly on Saturday at 2pm. Bennettsbridge go into the game on the back of a two and a half year unbeaten run. A junior club in 2014, after two final losses, they captured the Kilkenny title before adding the provincial and All-Ireland titles. They took up where they had left off when the 2015 season began and they went through the Kilkenny intermediate campaign unbeaten to regain senior status after 32 years. Since that breakthrough, they have added the Leinster title and, this week, they seek to keep their winning run going when they face Wolfe Tones. They currently have one member of the Kilkenny senior panel, Robert Lennon, in their side and he will be in the team for Saturday’s game having successfully …

Ballyea’s Tony Kelly will captain the Clare senior hurlers in their first competitve outing of 2016 when they face Cork in the opening game in the Munster senior league on Sunday. The game will take place at Sixmilebridge where the throw in will be at 2p.m. Inagh-Kilnamona’s David Fitzgerald will make his competitive senior debut having been named at corner forward completing a line which includes Clonlara duo John Conlon and Darach Honan. Another newcomer is Newmarket’s Eoin O’Brien who has been named at corner back. Tubber’s Pat O’Connor has been named at full back. The backline includes three Ballyea players with Paul Flanagan at corner back while Jack Browne and Gearoid O’Connell will fill the wing back positions, flanking Cratloe’s Conor Ryan. The team is Donal Tuohy (Crusheen); Eoin O’Brien (Newmarket-on-Fergus), Pat O’Connor (Tubber), Paul Flanagan (Ballyea); Jack Browne (Ballyea), Conor Ryan (Cratloe), Gearóid O’Connell (Ballyea); Colm Galvin (Clonlara), Shane Golden (Sixmilebridge); David Reidy (Éire Óg), Tony Kelly (Ballyea), …

THE addition of former Cork goalkeeper Donal Óg Cusack to the senior hurling management team for 2016 is one of the reasons for the increased interest in this season’s Munster Hurling League, which gets underway this weekend. The fact that Clare’s opening game will be against Cusack’s native county is further adding to the interest to the game, which is scheduled for O’Garney Park, Sixmilebridge at 2pm on Sunday. Cork are under new management, with Kieran Kingston at the helm backed up by Diarmuid O’Sullivan, a Cloyne clubmate of Cusack, Pat Hartnett and Pat Ryan, All-Ireland medal winners with Leeside teams. Sunday’s game is the first of four games Clare will play in the coming weeks. A disappointing 2015 when relegation to Division 1B of the league was followed by an early exit from both the Munster and All-Ireland championships, led to criticism of the Clare management team, led by Davy Fitzgerald. The Sixmilebridge man’s decision to add Cusack to …