Tag Archives: @KildysartGAA

Intermediate Football Championship Final Corofin v Kildysart @ Cusack Park Ennis, Saturday 2.45pm (Niall Quinn, St Joseph’s Miltown) A THIRD championship showdown in the space of 15 months between these clear favourites for the Intermediate honours has looked likely from the outset. However, while the spoils have been shared evenly so far, the stakes couldn’t be any higher this Saturday. All because winning is simply a prerequisite for both, a conundrum that brings it own pressure and heightened tension for what could be a cracking final if they can play to their undoubted potential on Saturday. Both have been down this road before with Corofin having to wait over twelve months to try and rectify their second half slump in last year’s final against St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield. The need is even greater for Kildysart with this being their fourth intermediate decider since 2016 as they look to finally banish their final hoodoo. Kildysart, led by talisman Emmet McMahon, will need …

Kildysart manager Noel O’Grady insists his side will not be using past final heartbreak as added motivation ahead of his side’s showdown with Corofin Despite this being his side’s fourth final in six year at the intermediate grade, O’Grady believes his charges must look forward and not back as they prepare for a final, which many predicted would come to fruition before the competition started. “We are just focused on this year. The lads have to work hard and do their jobs on the pitch. “We have a new management team this year so we have just been focusing on the task at hand The past defeats haven’t been mentioned by us. They (the players) may be thinking of it themselves but we’ve not mentioned it.” O’Grady knows his side cannot afford the slow start that ultimately cost them in their semi final defeat to Corofin last year as they fell nine points behind in the opening quarter. “There is …

A battle of the senior and intermediate champions tops the billing for Round 2 of the Senior Ladies Football Championship when Banner Ladies host Kilmurry Ibrickane in Banner GAA on Sunday at 2pm. In a repeat of last year’s senior decider, the Ennis side repeated the dose against West Clare Gaels last weekend while Kilmurry Ibrickane were edged out by 2019 winners Kilmihil in contrasting opening bouts, with anything the ‘Bricks could get out of Sunday’s fixture being a major bonus. Also determined to get off the mark will be Cooraclare and West Clare Gaels who meet in Cooraclare on Saturday evening at 6pm. The sides famously last met in last September’s semi-final that saw the 2010 winners finally end Cooraclare’s superb return to senior level despite a rousing second half fightback by 3-9 to 1-10. The tie of Round 2 however is the intriguing wrestle for supremacy between Kilmihil and St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield in Kilmihil on Sunday evening (6pm) …

SAINT Joseph’s Miltown’s Cusack Cup retention remains firmly in their own hands this Saturday as a victory over Clondegad would guarantee back-to-back flagship league crowns for the first time in 71 years, writes Eoin Brennan. Anything less and St Breckan’s and Ennistymon have the opportunity to snatch breakthrough Division 1 honours. St Joseph’s Miltown v Clondegad Following last year’s meek championship defence exit at essentially the quarter-final stage to Cratloe, St Joseph’s Miltown have the perfect opportunity to gain an early boost ahead of this year’s Jack Daly race on Saturday. Put simply, with the head-to-head not a factor, Miltown’s 40 point score advantage is 21 more than nearest rivals St Breckan’s which means that a win of any kind would be sufficient for Miltown to retain the Cusack Cup. Don’t expect Clondegad to roll over though as they are not without their own motivations. It’s a repeat of the last final in 2019 when slogging it out in a …

Kilmurry Ibrickane v Ennistymon at Quilty, Sunday, 12pm The county champions may be out of contention to commence 2021 with early silverware but it won’t stop the ‘Bricks from finally kickstarting their season and possibly even halting others from getting their hands on the Cusack Cup. With the championship surfacing inexorably on the horizon including a showdown against this weekend opponents, the return of their county contingent to offset recent injury set-backs is pivotal to turning around their fortunes in time for August. However, Ennistymon still remain unbeaten and will be determined to sustain that winning mentality especially after being embroiled in such an unenviable championship group and with ‘Bricks legend Odran O’Dwyer amongst their backroom team, the North Clare side might just shade a tight contest. Clondegad v Doonbeg at Ballynacally, Sunday, 2pm It’s been a full mixed bag of results for Clondegad so far with an opening draw with St Breckan’s and a derby win over Kildysart offset …

THE sprint for this year’s Cusack Cup is still wide open following the weekend’s action as half of the contenders are locked together at the summit of the table, reports Eoin Brennan. Without their county contingents, there have been some erratic results thus far but fundamentally no perfect record remains in the top flight after two rounds. An eagerly-anticipated derby clash of opening round victors St Josephs Miltown and Ennistymon perhaps failed to live up to its heightened billing but still possessed a compelling finale. Following a toothless first half in which the sides struggled to trouble the umpires too often, Ennistymon appeared to snatch the whip hand on the restart and turned a 0-3 to 0-2 half-time deficit into a two point lead entering the final quarter. However, as the clock ticked inexorably down, a Darragh McDonagh solo goal dramatically nudged the home side in front only to see it wiped out in the next passage of play when …

The weekend starts here for the footballing fraternity who embark on a frantic Friday of Cusack and Garry Cup action. The opening round didn’t exactly go according to script so it’s probably best to expect the unexpected once more. Consequently tasked with the futile exercise of predicting those second round winners is Eoin Brennan. Cusack Cup Round 2 Éire Óg v Kilmurry Ibrickane at Éire Óg, Friday, 7.30pm (J Donnellan) Normally a box office annual meeting, neither a full complement of supporters or players will be present in Ennis on Friday evening. Without county players in both codes, inevitably Éire Óg and Kilmurry Ibrickane lost their opening ties albeit that the Townies will be much the happier in defeat due to a battling display against Ennistymon which was in doubt right up until the final whistle. In Pairc Naomh Mhuire however, the final whistle couldn’t come soon enough in a derby demolition at the hands of their nearest neighbours St …

AFTER a false start in 2020, there was a large sense of deja vu when the Cusack Cup finally recommenced in earnest on Bank Holiday Monday, reports Eoin Brennan. Without any action in over eight months, five adult league games should be sufficient to blow off any cobwebs, with this week’s Round 1 being a repeat of last year’s opening fixtures. Defending champions (from 2019) St Joseph’s Miltown couldn’t have asked for a better confidence boosting start as they blew away the meek challenge of arch rivals Kilmurry Ibrickane by 2-21 to 0-04 in a rare below-par derby showdown in the newly redeveloped Páirc Naomh Mhuire in Quilty. Without their county continents, it was the most recent Clare performer that proved the ultimate difference as Cormac Murray’s remarkable 14 point haul allied to final quarter goals through substitute Micheál Malone and Gordon Kelly saw Miltown exact full revenge for league and championship reverses to their neighbours in 2020. Fortifying last …