Tag Archives: Podge Collins

They’ve been there from the very start of the Cratloe revolution but brothers Sean and Podge Collins are determined to cap off a memorable decade and a half at the top table of Clare GAA by lifting the Jack Daly Cup for a third time on Sunday. It has been a real family affair for the Collins as having shared in the club’s greatest achievement of a first-ever senior hurling and football championship double in 2014 alongside youngest brother David and father Colm, Sean and Podge have also had the rare honour of winning national senior honours together for their county in both codes as well. A breakthrough 2013 All-Ireland Senior Hurling crown was followed by a 2016 National Football League Division 3 title back in Croke Park but while it all has been quite a whirlwind experience, it’s only recently that Podge has begun to fully appreciate the privilege of being able to play alongside his siblings. “To be …

THREE of Clare’s best known players recently returned from a historic trip to Africa, where they kick started a bid to plant more than a million trees to combat climate change. Clare players Podge Collins, Dean Ryan, and Eimear Kelly joined 50 leading GAA stars to compete in the first ever ‘Plant the Planet Games’ in Nairobi, Kenya, on a visit that also saw them plant the first thousand trees in a GPA-backed tree planting effort to tackle climate change in Africa. Each of the participating players, who included inter-county hurlers, footballers and camogie players from 23 different counties, were tasked with raising €10,000 in sponsorship to support the effort.  The group’s collective total has already topped half a million euro, with funds still coming in. The initiative was organised by Galway dual player Alan Kerins Warriors for Humanity in conjunction with development charity Self Help Africa, and is also being supported by Kenyan Olympic medalist and world record holding …

Ivan Smyth speaks to Podge Collins ahead of this weekend’s crucial vote on the football championship FOR Podge Collins the answer is simple, change the structure of the football Championship before it is too late. This Saturday delegates will vote on whether Proposal B will replace the current Championship structure. Under Proposal B the Championship will be run in a league format with each county guaranteed a minimum of seven games. “Proposal B would make the competition much fairer. The current format is skewed, you have 12 teams in Leinster and five in Connacht. The fairness of the competition is the main reason why we are pushing for change. Seven games will develop counties. We played Kerry last year and were well beaten and that was our year done.” “It is a broken system. Proposal B is not perfect. I’ll be the first to admit that but it’s better than what we have right now. I understand people have legitimate …

It might still be some time before action is seen at Pairc Micheal O’Hehir in Cratloe, or any other GAA ground for that matter, but that has not prevented the South East Clare club from looking to continue their progression. Over the last 15 or so years, the club has grown both on and off the pitch and now is established as one of the top contenders in both the Clare senior hurling and football championships each year. The first major stepping stone on that journey of the last few years was their Senior B hurling success in 2006, and just three years later the Canon Hamilton trophy was secured for the first time with victory over Clonlara. It returned to the parish in 2014 when Crusheen were vanquished, but their last two final appearances in 2018 (Ballyea) and 2019 (Sixmilebridge) ended in defeat. In the same year their hurling side were making history with a first senior title, the …

Clare 1-23 Tipperary 1-21 THE Clare hurlers scored an incredible, breathtaking win over Tipperary in Semple Stadium on Sunday. Clare didn’t lead until 90 seconds from the end of five minutes of injury time. Tipperary had led 1-21 to 1-20 three minutes into injury time. It was Clare’s first Munster championship win over Tipperary since 2003 and means that next Sunday’s final round game, at home to table topping Limerick, will have a place in the Munster final at stake. If Clare win they will qualify for the final. They currently sit on four points, one behind Limerick, while Cork, who play Waterford next week, are also on four points. Peter Duggan who put over 0-15 in total, 0-13 from frees, was superb while Podge Collins also injected life and pace to the Clare attack. The Cratloe man set up Ian Galvin’s 64th minute goal, seconds after Jake Morris had spurned a goal chance for the home county. Tipperary led …

Clare senior hurler and youth wellness ambassador, Podge Collins, and captain, Patrick O’Connor, have pledged their support for Clare County Library’s Healthy Ireland at Your Library programme. Speaking at the launch in the de Valera Library, Podge said, “I am delighted to be associated with this library initiative, it’s a brilliant resource for the county. I hope that young people will call into their local library or log on to the website www.clarelibrary.ie to check out what’s on offer.” Caroline Aherne, executive librarian, explained, “Healthy Ireland is the national strategy to improve health and wellbeing, placing a focus on prevention, individual awareness and keeping people healthy for longer. Public libraries, including Clare County Library, are currently delivering the nationwide ‘Healthy Ireland at Your Library’ programme that will establish libraries as a valuable source within the community for health information.” Through funding granted by Healthy Ireland, Clare County Library has enhanced its health and wellbeing book collections (digital and hardcopy), and …

ELEVATE has announced that Podge Collins will be its first ambassador to champion youth wellness in Clare. The Elevate Foundation was established by Clare’s first Mount Everest summiteer John Burke and his wife Aoibhín Garrihy. A not-for-profit organisation, it aims to fund the roll-out of a multifaceted wellness programme to young people, utilising independent organisations and professionals, who specialise in youth wellness and mental health. Podge said it is something he would have liked to have seen in place when he was a teenager. “The projects that Elevate hope to roll out across secondary schools in Clare, they weren’t around when I was in school. A lot of people my age would have benefited from them.” Elevate are offering five mindfulness sessions for every second-level student in Clare and he said teachers he has spoken to are very positive about it. “It’s great for them to get a bit of support from an organisation like Elevate that is willing to …

Cratloe’s dual star Podge Collins has ruled out played both codes at inter-county level in 2017. Collins, who was the only senior inter-county dual star this year, has arrived at the decision as he feels the dual role is no longer sustainable. Crucially, though, he didn’t revel which code he will play. Speaking on Clare FM he said, “I suppose this year, just the way the fixtures fell with both teams getting to the quarterfinals… big games were on the same weekend. Playing two games in a weekend it’s unfair, I suppose, on myself and both teams so, unfortunately, I don’t think that’s sustainable so next year I’ll just be playing the one.” Collins won national league medals in both codes this year. He was a member of Davy Fitzgerald’s senior squad that won the Division 1 national hurling league title for the first time in nearly 40 years, defeating Waterford in a replay, while he was also on the football team, managed by his father Colm, which won the Division 3 league title beating …