Clare GAA Discussion - 2024 All Ireland Hurling Champions

Just back from an entertaining Clare football Intermediate Final in Cusack Park.

My first thoughts is that the better team lost. Kildysart owned and bossed possession and made St Breckans look pretty poor at times. The old saying that goals win matches and the two first half goals by the Lisdoonvarna men proved key. Colm O'Brien and recent Clare minor Padraig Kelly with the two majors.

For the winners I felt that Clare senior panelist Dale Masterson was most impressive with his impressive fielding in the middle of the field. But other than that, St Breckans flattered to deceive and despite holding a 4 point lead at H-T and with the aid of the elements for the 2nd 35 minutes, it took a late Joe McGann point (their only score in the entire 2nd half) to give the North Clare men the victory.

However a lot of huge credit must go Kildysart. In midfield the outstanding duo of Kieran O'Brien and Emmet McMahon, who stood above head and shoulders, with an fantastic display chipping in with an outstanding 4 points from play. McMahon who will surely be part of Colm Collins and new Clare U-20 football manager Michael Neylon's plans for 2020, is a future Clare senior football captain in the making, belied his youthful years with a most mature and composed display.

In defense for the West Clare men, I felt that Brian Eyres and Shane McNeilis were most impressive with their ability to win turnovers and frustrated what many felt was a very potent St Breckans forward line. In general Kildysart outfought and outworked their opponents, but their poor shooting costed them what would have been a huge momentous piece of silverware, that club deserves for years of hard work being done underage there. Their time will come and I certainly would put them as strong favorites to win the 2020 Clare Intermediate title. They have Division 1 Cusack Cup football to look forward to next year after their Garry Cup success early in the year, so as the old saying goes, the future is bright.

So St Breckans are the county intermediate champions in football for 2019. However I doubt that the Donie Garrihy managed side will do much damage in the Munster campaign on the basis of what I saw today. Meanwhile St Senans Kilkee's decline shows no sign of ending after their relegation to Junior A football was confirmed, after a 1 point defeat to Naomh Eoin in the Intermediate relegation play-off today. To me an amalgamation for Kilkee in adult level, is the only solution if they are to have a meaningful future. Personally they need to gather all relevant stakeholders in the club and make some very tough decisions, that will ensure that football in this proud part of West Clare remains viable.

Obviously the spike in emigration in recent years has affected the area very hard and as a tight knit community, they have suffered a lot of personal tragedy in recent times, which has meant for obvious reasons that football was not their number one priority. Fingers crossed that whatever decision that the club stakeholders make, that there will be a brighter future for Kilkee football as we simply cannot allow football to die completely there, for a club that has produced so many fine footballers in the past, including Ger Keane and the late Michael O'Shea, to name but a few.

Tomorrow St Joseph's Miltown and Kilmurry Ibrickane collide in Ennis to see who will be lift Jack Daly in 2019. A match that is way too close to call, I think that the men from Quilty might just have the last laugh on the basis that they have shown the slightly more consistent form throughout the championship campaign. Roll on 3 o'clock is all I'll say!!!!!!

Just back home from a most interesting Clare senior football final, which included a first for me, who has watched GAA for over 22 years, an own point.

The start was all about Quilty's pressure game and the manner in which they tore into the match early doors. Michael Hogan and Keelan Sexton along with the industrious Dermot Coughlan, began well and were well deserving 4 points to 1 ahead after 20 mins. However Coughlan took two nasty hits midway through the 1st half and came on in the 2nd half with a bandage all around his head and was never the same player since.

However like all great champions do, Miltown hit back and 3 points in a row, including a Seanie Malone score in the last kick of the first half made it 4 points apiece at half-time, with Miltown set to have the aid of the elements for the 2nd 30 mins.

The second half started well for Miltown, who increased their workrate considerably in the 2nd half. An early point gave them the early edge, before a bizarre incident led to Kilmurry's opening score in the 2nd half. What looked like a simple kickpass by Seanie Malone back to the goalkeeper Sean O'Brien, turned into a nightmare and incredibly, albeit under huge pressure by the Quilty men, Malone kicked the ball inexplicably over the bar, but in the wrong goal!!!!!

The rest of the match itself was tit for tat. Points were traded between both teams. At 8 points apiece heading into the 3rd minute of injury time out of 5, Cormac Murray stood with a 45. The young Miltown man scuffed his kick, but like all good players do, Conor Cleary gathered the breaking ball and tapped over the bar, what appeared to be the winning score for the defending Jack Daly champions. However in typical Quilty's never say die attitude, they won a free with goalie Ian McInerney running from his goal. From just over 45 metres out, and the fate and the pressure all on the veteran Quilty netminder's shoulders, he absolutely nailed it. Straight between the posts and just soon afterwards, referee Chris Maguire, who had a competent game, blew the final whistle. A draw.

Little between both teams throughout the 60 plus minutes. For KIB I felt that the evergreen Michael Hogan was immense. He was everywhere in the field and to me I was surprised that he was taken off quite early, as I felt he had plenty of more to give. Darragh Sexton and Daniel Walsh were outstanding, in particular Sexton with his attacking runs, a huge handful for Miltown. While I felt that Mark Killeen, also put in a huge shift for the Quilty men.

For Miltown I felt that their best performers on the day included Seanie Malone and in general the defensive performances were far more impressive than their attacking players, who flattered to deceive. However that malaise in attack was more down to the outstanding displays in the green and red jerseys, who quite simply did not give the much vaunted Miltown forward line, not a sniff of space.

So a replay is required to decide who will lift the Jack Daly for the final time this decade. Incredibly in the Clare FM pre-match show on Friday, two of the three guests they had, including Seamus Hayes, Joe Garry and former referee Rory Hickey said that it would end in honours even! Personally I can't call the replay. Both sides cancelled each other out, with tremendous displays in defense. If any of the forwards can click and in the case of Miltown, their forwards must deliver a far more composed performance in front of goal, if they are to come out on top next week. The case for both sides to come out victorious next week is compelling.

Before all that though, all focus will be on next week and the updates regarding the vacant Clare senior hurling manager's role. Expect developments throughout the next 7 days.

funnyname wrote: »

What was so bad about Clancy, he had previously been minor manager so they must have seen something in him.

Wrt u20, it's a bit of a nothing grade now given teams could be training for 3 to 4 months and get knocked after one game.

Many of our top young players who were eligible for U20 selection, including Emmet McMahon, Mark McInerney, Padraig Kelly, Chibby Okoye to name but a few. All those lads just did not commit in 2019.

Clancy was probably just about as bad as you can get as a manager. A great player, he most certainly is, but was also a very poor manager. His club managerial record with his own club Corofin was woeful and while we did reach the Munster minor final in 2017, we defeated Limerick, Waterford and a Tipperary team who were without many of their best players due to the Liam Cahill's reticence to allowing dual players in his minor hurling squad.

Those three teams we defeated in 2017 were very poor and even if Clare had no manager we would still have qualified for the Munster final, in which two things stood out against Kerry. We scored 3 points throughout the 60 mins, and conceded 2-21 in the other end.

This year the Seamus Clancy managed Clare U20's took on Waterford in the 1st round of the Munster U20 Football Championship on July 2nd. A Deise side that only got together 4 weeks previously. Incredibly despite this clear disadvantage of the lack of preparation, it was Waterford that came out on top.

Unbelivably Clancy wanted to stay on for a third year in the role. But in the one of the very very few good things that our "esteemed" county board ever did, Michael Neylon was brought in and I expect a very competitive Clare U20 football team in 2020 under the Miltown Malbay clubman's guidance.

I might seem harsh, but those that have worked under Clancy have said the same that I have mentioned in the above. Great player, but certainly not managerial material.