Tag Archives: Offaly

Allianz Football League Division 3 Round 3 Offaly v Clare at Glenisk O’Connor Park Tullamore, Sunday 2pm (James Molloy, Galway) There’s no need for Mark Fitzgerald or Seanie Buckley to script any motivational speech for this Sunday’s return to National League action in Tullamore. Nothing to do with their hosts Offaly, more an inevitable need to itch a scratch caused by the injustice of their last outing on away soil against Mullingar a fortnight ago. What initially seemed and has been since proven to have been a legitimate Cormac Murray match-winning goal was agonisingly ruled out for a perceived square ball by referee David Murnane, a bitter pill for Fitzgerald and his new-look Banner to have to stomach. Every cloud has a silver lining though and unquestionably Clare will be fired up to redress the balance and get themselves back into the promotion mix albeit still without three of their most experienced leaders as captain Cillian Brennan, midfielder Darragh Bohannon …

All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship Semi-Final Clare 0-18 Offaly 2-16 OFFALY advance into the All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship Final after overcoming Clare, 2-16 to 0-18 at Semple Stadium, Thurles on Friday evening, writes Jamesy McConigley. Adam Screeney and Conor Doyle’s goals proved pivotal for the Faithful, ending Clare’s involvement at the grade. The opening exchanges were a scrappy affair with neither side able to register a shot on target until Jack O’Neill broke the deadlock for the Banner with seven minutes of action played. Brian O’Connell’s outfit hit a purple patch, adding on three further scores. Points from Oisin Whelan (2) either side of one from James Organ propelled Clare into a four point lead, however, Offaly would have a profitable few minutes, tallying 1-3 in reply. Clare were penalised on two separate occasions for illegitimate handpasses which handed the opportunity for Adam Screeney and Dan Ravenhill to point for Leo O’Connor’s team. Donal Shirley landed a long range point before …

Orlaith Duggan was not expecting it when she was approached and asked to be the Clare senior camogie captain. “It’s a great honour to captain any team and a very big honour to captain one’s county senior side. I was, of course, delighted to be considered but it was something that I wasn’t expecting,” the 22-year-old told The Clare Champion last week, as she took a break from training ahead of the opening game of the All-Ireland championship against Ofally. Born into a well-known Clooney-Quin family, Orlaith readily acknowledges, “It’s a really sporting house and my family are delighted for me. They are really supportive”. Ahead of Saturday’s opening tie, she said, “We put in the hard weeks; we did the tough winter training, the circuits, the running. This is the time all camogie players and hurlers look forward to – the championship. We are looking at five weeks in a row. Everyone wants to be playing matches, trying to …

Offaly 0-15 Clare 1-11 FOLLOWING an exceptionally poor first half display, Clare improved significantly in the second period but eventually lost out to a Michael Brazil point from play, which was kicked six minutes into injury time. The fact that the Offaly centre forward cut through the Clare defence without any Clare defender impeding his progress, underlined some of the deficiencies in this display. Lifted by their wins over Limerick and Westmeath, Clare showed few signs of their form in those games. While their performance was not good enough, if promotion is to be a realistic aim, they did show admirable resolve in the second half and Eoin Cleary’s 70th minute goal leveled the game. Five minutes into injury time the Miltown forward was certain he had kicked the winning point but it was waved wide and neither was a 45 awarded. He confirmed afterwards that if the ball was in fact wide, it was definitely a 45. A minute …

AS they head for Tullamore on Sunday, Clare’s priority will be to produce a second 70-minute performance once the clock hits 2pm. If they can reproduce and sustain the level on view against Westmeath, the result will look after itself. However, it must be expected that Offaly will test Clare’s resolve far more than Westmeath did. The Lake County were very poor and aside from a few minutes late in the first half, they didn’t take the game and simply folded late in the second half. Offaly are just two points behind Clare in the league table and a win on Sunday would almost guarantee their Division 3 status for 2016 and put them in with an outside chance of promotion. Offaly lost to Tipperary last weekend, having beaten Sligo 1-13 to 0-14 in their previous fixture. They will look to players such as Michael Brazil, Niall Smith, Niall Bracken and Niall McNamee on Sunday to steer them to what …

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 …

Goalkeeper Patrick Kelly and ace forward Conor McGrath will start for the first time this season for the Clare senior hurlers when they open their Allianz league campaign against Offaly at Cusack Park on Sunday. Manager Davy Fitzgerald and his backroom team have named a strong starting fifteen as Clare set out on a road which fans hope will lead to a return to the top division. Goalkeeper Patrick Kelly is the only member of the starting line up that didn’t get any game time in the recent Munster league which Clare won, beating Limerick in the final. Tony Kelly, Patrick Donnellan and Seadna Morey weren’t considered due to injury The team is Patrick Kelly (Inagh-Kilnamona): Patrick O’Connor (Tubber), Cian Dillon, Capt. (Crusheen), Paul Flanagan (Ballyea): Conor Cleary (Miltown St. Josephs), David McInerney (Tulla), Conor Ryan (Cratloe): David Reidy (Éire Óg), Colm Galvin (Clonlara): Peter Duggan (Clooney-Quin), Colin Ryan (Newmarket-on-Fergus), John Conlon (Clonlara): Shane O’Donnell (Éire Óg), Darach Honan (Clonlara), …