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Tag Archives: Munster final

Feakle’s Donnellan flying high over ‘unbelievable buzz’ in the parish

THE run of the parish’s hurlers has shortened the winter in Feakle and Oisín Donnellan has really enjoyed the atmosphere. “In the last few weeks there has been an unbelievable buzz around the parish. Everyone is looking forward to it, just wishing you the best of luck and all that. It’s a real community thing,” he says. A graduate of NUI Galway, further study may be on the horizon for Donnellan in the future. “I said I’d give myself a years break and see what I wanted to do. I wasn’t sure whether I’d go back and do a Masters or not. I’ll start think about that after the hurling finishes.” At the moment he is working in Clare Fruit and Veg in Ennis and at times there is a lot of hurling talk on the premises. “I’m on the shelves and at the tills and all of that. It was good, we had a good bit of banter the …

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Late first half Cork goal costs Clare

CLARE fell to a disappointing second successive Munster final loss to Cork in Thurles. Played in front of a crowd of 45,364, Clare were chasing their seventh Munster title in what was their 13th provincial final meeting with Cork. Clare are still without a Munster title since 1998 and on reflection, Cork’s late first half goal, put away by Luke Meade, was a key score. Clare led 2-11 to 1-10 at half-time, following an immense 35 minutes from John Conlon. A minute before half-time, Clare led 2-11 to 0-9 and looked to be approaching the interval in an excellent position. However, Meade ghosted through and finished to the Clare net, while a minute later, Mark Coleman pointed a superb line ball. Clare’s first half goals were put away by David Reidy, following a superb Seadna Morey run, while Peter Duggan finished the second to the net, after a Donal Tuohy free dropped in front of Anthony Nash’s goalmouth. Clare played …

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Clare find momentum at the right time

SINCE the new millennium dawned, Clare have beaten Cork once in 11 championship games. Clare’s only win? The 2013 All-Ireland replay. If you were going to pick one of those games to win, that would be the one. The statistics also make it clear that, generally speaking, Cork beat Clare very regularly. They have won 38 of the 50 Munster championship games played between the two counties. Cork have won the Munster championship 53 times to Clare’s mere six. Clare are fifth in that particular table, three short of Waterford’s nine provincial titles. Why this sudden interest in numbers? It underscores the significance of Sunday. This Clare panel need a Munster championship and the county senses that they are on the cusp of delivering. There is a clear sense that the Clare hurling team have the county behind them again. Three Munster round-robin wins, in nifty succession, has that effect. Until Clare’s semi-final win over Limerick in 2017, they had …

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Clare can’t let Sunday become a shootout says Cunningham

Having spent a few years patrolling the sidelines, with both Cork and Dublin, former Rebels All-Star Ger Cunningham is revelling in the armchair role he has now taken up. He talks to Gerry McInerney about Sunday’s prospects Momentum is key and former Cork player and selector Ger Cunningham believes Clare’s new-found confidence can be traced to a seminal moment in Thurles a few weeks ago. Jake Morris’ late strike rebounded back into play off the butt of Donal Tuohy’s post and, in a sweeping counter-attack, Clare opened up the Tipperary rearguard for Ian Galvin to strike the killer goal. From hanging on to Tipperary’s coat-tails for virtually the duration of the match, Clare kicked on and Peter Duggan delivered the coup de grace with an audacious point from the sideline. Clare got the result, if not the performance but it was the break the team craved and maybe, just maybe, the spark required to ignite their season. That view was …

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Winning momentum should help Clare shade final – John McGrath

Regardless of the result on Sunday, Tipperary All-Star John McGrath believes Clare have the potential to win another All-Ireland. He spoke to Dan Danaher. Tipperary All-Star John McGrath has experienced the ecstasy of victory and the agony of defeat in major games this year. From the high of lifting the Fitzgibbon Cup aloft in February as University of Limerick captain, the Loughmore-Castleiney clubman endured the low of a two-point defeat to Clare in Thurles on June 10. Tipperary may have been one of the favourites for the Liam MacCarthy this year but Clare’s thrilling victory dumped the Premier County out of the Munster and All-Ireland series and ended the inter-county season for the 2012 All-Ireland medal winner. “It was a massive honour to be chosen as UL captain this year” he said, considering hurlers like Clare star forward, Tony Kelly and Tipperary ace marksman Jason Forde were also members of this team. “UL had a lot of inter-county players on …

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Former Clare player Brendan Bugler of Whitegate. Photograph by John Kelly.

No regrets – Bugler easing into retirement

Plenty of distractions have eased Brendan Bugler into retirement from the inter-county scene, while he also has come to enjoy being a spectator again, writes Owen Ryan. MUCH has been written in the last couple of years about the plight of the sportsman whose career at the highest level finishes, leaving a gap in the structure of his life. Brendan Bugler could be in that position, having invested thousands of hours into preparing for Clare hurling teams but, having drawn a line under it at the end of 2017, he is very happy in his own skin. “I’m lucky this year, I’ve had a couple of distractions as well. I’ve thrown myself into a couple of little things and there’s a little nine-month-old as well who is keeping us fairly busy. We’re building a house too. “This year I’ve been really busy, maybe next year, when I’ve a bit more time to sit down in the evenings, I might miss …

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Clare's Peter Duggan on the summit of Spancilhill where he played hurling as a child with friends, cousins and neighbours. Photograph by John Kelly.

Last night as I lay dreaming…Spancilhill’s Peter Duggan chases Munster glory

Peter Duggan has been hurling all his life. Now, the Spancilhill man is ready to see Clare bring home a Munster title, he tells Sports Editor Seamus Hayes His name has scarcely been out of the limelight since the hurling championship got underway seven weeks ago, which isn’t surprising given that, in four games, he has amassed a tally of 1-42. Peter Duggan has had the bug to play for Clare since he first started hurling in his back garden as a youngster. That desire to wear the saffron and blue grew stronger from the day he represented the county in the Primary Game at half-time of a Munster championship fixture involving Clare in Thurles. “Seven of the current panel, including Tony Kelly and Jack Browne, played in the Primary Game that year and that drove us on. Even when we were preparing for the Primary Game in Clareabbey, we used to see the then senior players going in and out …

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Reidy cleared to play in Munster final

CLARE hurler David Reidy is free to play in Sunday weeks Munster final against Cork in Thurles. The Clare Champion has learned that the Clare half forward and free taker has been successful in his appeal today in Croke Park. The Éire Óg clubman was red carded during Clare’s round robin Munster championship defeat of Limerick in Cusack Park last Sunday. Initially, Limerick substitute, Tom Condon, was red carded. Referee, James Owens, consulted with his umpires in making the decision to dismiss Condon. However, before play resumed, he again spoke to his umpires and decided to also issue Reidy with a red card, deeming foul play in an incident with Limerick’s Diarmuid Byrnes, who tumbled to the ground, following what looked like minimal contact. Reidy can now concentrate on preparing for the July 1 final, which is a repeat of the 2017 decider. There is no news yet if joint manager, Donal Moloney, will be free to patrol the touchline. …

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