Tag Archives: hurling

By Seamus Hayes It’s official. The worst kept secret in  Clare GAA is out. Four senior hurling championship games scheduled for this coming weekend have been called off against the wishes of some of the clubs involved. Representatives of the eight clubs–Ballyea, Clooney-Quin, O’Callaghans Mills, St. Josephs, Wolfe Tones, Éire Óg, Sixmilebridge and Cratloe–were told this evening that the Clare senior hurling management team had “invoked the 13 day rule” which says that players “shall be free from club fixtures for 13 days prior to inter county championship action”. With three of the games scheduled for Friday evening and one for Sunday, there were only eight days, and in the case of Sixmilebridge v Cratloe, six days until Clare play Wexford in the hurling Qualifier first round. The earliest that these games will take place is August and if Clare progress in the championship, it may be later than this. The senior championship game between Scariff and Broadford goes ahead as …

By Seamus Hayes The Clare team to play Cork in this Sunday’s Munster senior hurling championship semi-final at Thurles will show three changes in personnell from the team which started last September’s All-Ireland final replay, the last time that the teams met. Donal Tuohy, Jack Browne and Peter Duggan are named in the team in place of Patrick Kelly, Domhnaill O’Donovan and the injured Shane O’Donnell. Tuohy replaces Kellybetween the posts following some impressive displays in the league. Jack Browne, full back in the under 21 team last week, will wear the number 4 jersey with David McInerney named at full back and Cian Dillon in the right corner. Peter Duggan is named at left half forward with Colin Ryan on the ’40 and Tony Kelly named in the left corner. The team is; Donal Tuohy (Crusheen); Cian Dillon (Crusheen) David McInerney (Tulla) Jack Browne (Ballyea); Brendan Bugler (Whitegate) Conor Ryan (Cratloe) Pat O’Connor (Tubber); Colm Galvin (Clonlara) Pat Donnellan (O’Callaghans …

By Seamus Hayes Five membersw of the extended Clare senior hurling panel will play with the county intermediate team in the opening game at Thurles on Sunday. Cillian Duggan, Jamie Shanahan, Shane Gleeson, Cathal Malone and Bobby Duggan have all be named in the intermediate team which will also face Cork in a game which gets underway at 2p.m. Eoin Enright (Kilmaley) who impressed with the under 21’s last week, was ruled out due to a shoulder injury The team includes six players who started with the Clare under 21 side last week when they beat Limerick in the opening round of their championship. The intermediate team is; Eibhear Quilligan (Feakle); Killian Ryan (Ruan), Cillian Duggan (Clooney-Quin), Cian Nolan (Smith O’Briens); Enda Boyce (Cratloe),  Jamie Shanahan (Sixmilebridge), Gearoid O’Connell (Ballyea); Shane Gleeson (Cratloe),  Jarlath Colleran (St. Josephs); Paddy Fitzgerald (Bodyke), Shane McGrath(Feakle),  Cathal Malone); Mikey O’Neill (Kilmaley), Aidan Lynch (Ruan) Bobby Duggan (Clarecastle) It is understood that the senior team …

Clare 1-28 Galway 1-16 FIELDING a completely separate team in each half, Clare scored a comprehensive win over Galway in a senior hurling challenge game played in Quilty on Sunday evening. The game was the first to feature an All-Ireland hurling winning team playing in west Clare and was played to mark Kilmurry Ibrickane’s 100th anniversery celebrations. The Liam McCarthy Cup was on display throughout the game. Clare led 0-12 to 1-7 at half time, largely thanks to 0-6 from Colin Ryan, who also impressed in open play. Damien Hayes scored the Galway goal in the opening half, while Jason Flynn put over five points from frees and play for Anthony Cunningham’s team. Galway introduced Joe Canning at half time and while he scored an early point from play, Canning didn’t look very sharp with David McInerney retaining the upper hand on the Galway captain. Amongst those to impress for Clare were Seán Collins and Colin Ryan in the opening …

By Seamus Hayes Tipperary 2-24 Clare 2-17 Thirty six years without a National league title, Clare will have to wait at least one more having suffered a seven point loss to Tipperary in this semi-final tie played at the Gaelic grounds on Sunday before an attendance of 20,452. The All-Ireland champions can have few complaints as they failed to match the hunger and sharpness of their opponents who will now play Kilkenny in a repeat of last year’s final. Tipperary played with the aid of the breeze in the first half and were seven points ahead, 1-14 to 1-7, when the half time whistle sounded. The Clare men led for the only time in this tie in the fourth minute when Cathal McInerney scored their goal which put them 1-1 to 0-3 in front. Midway through the half Patrick Maher broke through the middle to fire home Tipperary’s goal. Clare had a great start to the second half, hitting 1-1 …

THE story of the GAA will be the subject of the final lecture in the Shannon Archaeological and Historical Society’s spring series on next Wednesday evening at 8pm in Wolfe Tones clubhouse. Speaker, Liam O’Donoghue is involved with the Lár na Páirce GAA museum in Thurles and he said the talk will go back on events of thousands of years ago. “It goes way back into prehistory, into the time of myth and legend. The earliest reference we have is the Battle of Moytura in 1272 BC. We take it from there right up to the foundation of the GAA and the first All- Ireland. That’s as far as I’ll be going in the talk and, to cover that amount, you don’t concentrate in huge depth on any area. But we’ll be going through the myth and legend, going through the Brehon laws, the English laws that came in to prohibit hurling with the Statutes of Kilkenny and all of …

INTRODUCED at half time, Podge Collins made an invaluable contribution to Clare’s promotion winning second half display in Creggan. The All-Ireland winning All-Star hurler kicked two crucial points from play and along with players like Shane McGrath, his brother Seán, Ciaran Russell and Dean Ryan, the UL student worked exceptionally hard on and off the ball. Speaking afterwards Podge said that the passion evident in the dressing room inspires him. “You can tell by the way lads talk in the dressing room, before games and at half time, how passionate they are about it. I know it doesn’t sound too glamorous after winning the All-Ireland hurling but it’s absolutely huge, especially in my house. It’ll be a happy house for the night,” he laughed. Collins acknowledged that it took him a few minutes to get up to the pace of the game after his introduction for Jamie Malone. “Coming up to Antrim we didn’t really know what to expect. I’d …

By Seamus Hayes Clare 2-23 Laois 2-19 Clare will play Tipperary in the Allianz hurling league semi-final on April 20 but only after they managed to overcome a determined Laois in a quarter final tie at O’Moore Park in Portlaoise. Those who made the journey to the well appointed midland venue expecting a comfortable victory for the All-Ireland champions, endured many anxious moments before the favourites came through with four points to spare. A combination of improved play from the midlanders and below par performances from a number of Clare players resulted in a much closer contest from the last time the teams met when Clare were easy winners in a championship qualifier last July. On the evidence of this display, Laois have made great strides in that nine month period and their supporters, who clapped their side as they made their way to the dressing room after the game, must be wondering if they could have caused a shock …