CLARE was showcased to the nation on Wednesday when RTÉ’s popular daytime Today show broadcast live from Ennis with host Dáithí Ó Sé. The production team based themselves in the Old Ground Hotel during filming, travelling to the four corners to highlight the best of the Banner. Speaking to The Clare Champion, Dáithí revealed that he has a soft spot for the county. “We come to Clare a lot, last Sunday we took a spin back to Spanish Point, it’s beautiful back there. Rita’s parents both come from there so we are very familiar with West Clare and often come to Ennis shopping. “It’s great to be here and get a feel of the town being back again, there’s a great buzz. “You’re very lucky in Clare. You are on the Wild Atlantic Way, have the Cliff of Moher and the Burren, towns like Ennis, the trad music. There’s a great balance, you get it all here.” While in Clare Dáithí met with …
Read More »Orthlaith on the comeback trail
ORLAITH Duggan cut a lonesome figure at Clare training session in Shannon. The captain, who is from Spancilhill, was fully togged and keen to train but a niggling Achilles tendon injury has kept her on the sideline. However Duggan, who plays her club camogie for Clooney-Quin, is confident that she will be fit to tog against Dublin on Saturday in Parnell Park. “When you’re out for a few weeks, you could come to training and you mightn’t speak to anyone,” the speech and language therapist, who works in Ennis, reflected, before realising that maybe things weren’t that bad. “This is making things sound really depressing,” the NUIG graduate laughed. The late evening sun was beating down as Trisha O’Grady incessantly roared instructions in the background. “That’s what you want to be doing, especially on evenings like this. If it was lashing rain, I wouldn’t mind missing training too much. I hope to be togging anyway and to be able to …
Read More »Orlaigh honoured to captain Clare
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 …
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