Tag Archives: @Kerry_Official

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’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, …

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 …

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 …

It is a familiar match up that never gets easier. Clare travel to Fitzgerald Stadium this Saturday as they come up against a fancied Kerry side this Saturday (throw in 7pm). Clare are monitoring the fitness of Jamie Malone while Kevin Harnett looks set to miss out with an achilles injury. Colm Collins’ men face an extremely difficult task when they go head to head with arguably the most in form side in Ireland. Clare have no second chances with this year’s championship run on a straight knockout basis and any hopes of Kerry taking their opponents lightly appear slim due to their own exit at the hands of Cork in last year’s Championship. However, Clare will enter this game with some confidence after a courageous display against Mayo, where they lost by four points after trailing by 2-13 to 0-8 at the break. Colm Collins was encouraged by Clare’s second half display but he is aware that if his …

Former Clare footballer Kieran Considine believes Clare are “going into the lion’s den” when they travel to Fitzgerald Stadium to take on Kerry this Saturday. “It is going into the lion’s den, particularly when you saw what Kerry did to Tyrone. Colm (Collins) will put all that to one side, and he’ll treat it as a one-off game. The bar he will set to the players is to max out on their own ability on the day. That’s all you can ask from any team: play to your max and try to limit the other team. “Kerry are much talked-about as main rivals to Dublin, so it’s always going to be a daunting task. Colm will want to see a performance and players will want that chance to test themselves, and that’s the opportunity they will get.”  However, he believes Clare can take a lot of positives from their four point league defeat to Mayo as they outscored their opponents …