*Cian Broderick. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
SIXTEEN teams divided into four groups of four will begin a journey this weekend that all will be hoping will lead them to senior ranks for 2025.
By Páraic McMahon and Seamus Hayes
Action begins on Friday evening as the quest to lift the Paddy Browne Cup and return to the top tier of the Clare club hurling begins in earnest.
This competition is made all the more intense with the addition of Clarecastle and Wolfe Tones, winners of the 2005 and 2006 senior championship respectively, the two clubs were relegated from the senior grade last season.
Sixmilebridge’s second string reached last year’s final where they pushed a strong Corofin side, en route to the final they overcame Bodyke and Tulla. Former Clare corner back Brian Quinn has succeeded Jim McInerney as Tulla boss, with the return of Colin Corbett and Mark Lynch to their attack the men from the Windswept Hill appear to be a stronger force.
Ruan were beaten semi-finalists last season, they have amalgamated with Corofin at underage level and will be keen to try emulate the success of their neighbours. The loss of players such as Cian Nolan and Tommy Reddan has weakened Smith O’Briens and will likely curtail their chances of promotion while nearby Parteen/Meelick who have lost out in successive quarter-finals are a youthful side that must demonstrate progress.
Having failed to qualify from the group last year, Tubber will be determined to bounce back in 2024 and they begin their campaign to the 2023 finalists, Sixmilebridge.
Group 1:
Clarecastle
Management: Colin Lynch (manager), Pat Healy, Eric Flynn, Tim Hickey, Trevor Slattery (S&C), Michael O’Donoghue (kit man), James McMahon(kit man), Bernie Regan
Captain: Colin Brigdale
Key Player: Cian Galvin
One to watch: Oisin Whelan
Fresh blood: Evan Price, Luke Aherne, Cian O’Dell, Daragh Crimmins
Departures Gate: Niall Galvin (emigrated).
Treatment table: Colin Brigdale (broken thumb), Lee Brack (appendix), Stephen O’Halloran
Last year’s run: Relegated from the senior ranks for the first time.
Schedule:
Round 1 vs Ruan on Friday August 9th in Clooney at 19:30
Round 2 vs St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield (August 23rd/24th/25th)
Round 3 vs Smith O’Briens (September 6th/7th/8th)
“The focus is completely on the first game versus Ruan, we won’t be looking beyond that. There was huge disappointment with going down last year but we are where we are, the lads have put their heads down and trained well”.
“We don’t see ourselves as favourites, our focus is on being ready for the first game regardless of who it was against and in this case it is Ruan, we are not in a position to talk about anything that might happen after that”. – Colin Lynch, manager.
Ruan
Management: Leon Quirke (manager), Patrick Roughan, Pat Meaney, Mike Daffy, Gearoid Roughan and Martin Minahan.
Captain: Killian Ryan
Key Player: Robin Mounsey
One to watch: Frankie Lyons
Fresh blood: Christian Cummins, Ben Kelly, Christian Staggerwall, Darragh McDonagh
Departures Gate: Michael Lyons (emigrated), Conall Ó hÁinifein (emigrated)
Treatment table: Shane Punch,
Last year’s run: Eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual winners Corofin.
Schedule:
Round 1 vs Clarecastle on Friday August 9th in Clooney at 19:30
Round 2 vs Smith O’Briens (August 23rd/24th/25th)
Round 3 vs St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield (September 6th/7th/8th)
“We lost two games in the intermediate hurling championship and it was Corofin who beat us twice. We were very disappointed with our semi-final performance against them, it didn’t happen for us in the first half particularly and that was a disappointment for us”.
“Reaching the knockout stages is the target for us, a club like Ruan should be aiming for that at the very least” – Leon Quirke.
St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield
Management: Dermot Daly (Manager), Liam Clohessy (coach), Brian Dilleen, Mike Cullinan, Tony McInerney, Mark Silman
Captain: Kevin Dilleen
Key Player: Padraic O’Donovan
One to watch; Conor Nash
Fresh Blood: Conor Nash, Charlie Hannan, Cormac Maher, Conor Daly, Padraic O’Donovan, Niall Clancy, Ciarán O’Driscoll
Departure Gate: None
Treatment table: Matthew Power (hamstring).
Titles Won: 2 (1985, 1993)
Last year’s run: Didn’t get out of the group
Schedule:
Round 1 v Smith O’Briens on Saturday August 10th in Cratloe at 17:00
Round 2 v Clarecastle (August 23rd/24th/25th)
Round 3 v Ruan (September 6th/7th/8th)
“We had a good league campaign which we won and we used up to forty players. We are a very young squad. We won’t know who we will have until the seniors play on Friday. The first game is very important. Smith O’Briens will be targeting this game. They will be tough opposition as this is their first team. We are looking forward to the campaign,” – Dermot Daly.
Smith O’Briens
Management: Tim McGrath (manager/coach); Anthony Rodgers, Derek Conway (selectors) David Gough, Katie Pearl (S&C), Ronan Costello (nutritionist).
Captain: Mike Gough and Mark O’Halloran
Key Player: Mike Gough
One to watch: Eoin Heffron
Fresh blood: None
Departures Gate: Cian Nolan (travelling), Evan Connolly (travelling)
Treatment table: None.
Last year’s run: Defeated by Corofin in the quarter-finals.
Schedule:
Round 1 vs St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield on Saturday August 10th in Cratloe at 17:00
Round 2 vs Ruan (August 23rd/24th/25th)
Round 3 vs Clarecastle (September 6th/7th/8th)
“The lads have trained hard. We didn’t get the results we wanted in the league but we are building for the championship. We’re going to take it one game at a time and see how things go. We have a good few young lads who got a taste of it last year and will likely get more exposure this year. We’ve targeted each game at a time, we won’t take anything for granted against St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield, they will be strong and we have to be ready for them” – Derek Conway.
Group 2:
Sixmilebridge
Management: Pat Keane (Manager), Eamonn Healy, Seamus Cusack
Captain: Cillian Custy
Key Player: Dara Fitzgerald
One to watch: Matthew O’Halloran
Fresh Blood: Mark Sheedy, Matthew O’Halloran, Callum Phelan, Michael Carey, Lee Mulready
Departure Gate: Kevin Lynch (emigrated), Evan McInerney, Colin Kelly
Treatment table: Ronan Tuohy, Oisin Breen
Titles Won: 5 (1951, 1957 (shared with Cappagh, 1971, 1988, 1990)
Last year’s run: Beaten in the final by Corofin
Schedule:
Round 1 v Tubber on Saturday August 10th in Páirc Finne, Corofin at 19:30
Round 2 v Newmarket-on-Fergus (August 23rd/24th/25th)
Round 3 v Ogonnelloe (September 6th/7th/8th)
“We hope to progress from last year, but right now the focus is on getting out of the group. We have a tough opener against Tubber who have a lot of good hurlers. We haven’t met them in the past two years. We may lose a player or two when the senior kicks off this week. A few of the players who were with us last year are in line to play with the seniors this year. We must wait and see who they will use on Friday evening” – Pat Keane.
Tubber
Management: Pat Taaffe (manager); Rory Gantley (coach), Ivan Conway, Mike Coen (S&C), Pascal Lee.
Captain: Patrick O’Connor
Key Player: Ronan Monahan
One to watch: Senan Dunford
Fresh Blood: Osgar Dunford, Joe Clancy, Oisin McNamara, Seanie McNamara, Alan Lee;
Departure Gate: Aidan McNamara, (emigrated) Jonah Culligan (transferred)
Treatment table: ‘Just the usual niggles’.
Titles Won; 2 (1972, 1976, )
Last year’s run: Failed to get out of the group.
Schedule:
Round 1 vs Sixmilebridge on Saturday August 10th in Páirc Finne, Corofin at 19:30
Round 2 vs Ogonnelloe (August 23rd/24th/25th)
Round 3 vs Newmarket-on-Fergus (September 6th/7th/8th)
“Like all clubs in all championships, our target is to win our first game and go on to get out of the group. We face a very tough opener against last year’s finalists and they have been knocking around the concluding stages for a number of years. They are looking to feed to their senior team. Most of their players will have played at A grade and not at C level where ours have played. They have huge numbers at their disposal whereas we are struggling for numbers. Our focus is on the opening round as this sets one up for the year”, Pat Taaffe.
Newmarket-on-Fergus
Management: Neil Ryan (manager); Donagh Keogh, David Barrett, Marty O’Hanlon, Shane Cusack
Captain: James Liddy
Key Player: Cathal Hayes
One to watch: Aaron Moroney
Fresh blood: James McInerney, Lee Freeman, Daniel Meehan, Alan O’Flanagan, Michael Power.
Departures Gate: Ronan Good, Darragh Burke, James Freeman
Treatment table: Eoghan McInerney (groin).
Last year’s run: Didn’t make it out of the group,
Schedule:
Round 1 vs Ogonnelloe on Sunday August 11th in Glenomra Park, Broadford at 13:00
Round 2 vs Sixmilebridge (August 23rd/24th/25th)
Round 3 vs Tubber (September 6th/7th/8th)
“If you lose game one in a group of four you’ll struggle so we’ve been keeping our heads down, all we want is to turn up and do ourselves justice. Our goal every year has been to get out of the group, for our second team that would be a massive plus and that always has been our aim since we’ve been involved. Being in the relegation doesn’t define a team from intermediate this year because six are going down whatever way you look at it, the pressure of relegation is gone but our stall each year regardless of personnel and group is to get out of the group. The two opening games defined our year last year” – Neil Ryan.
Ogonnelloe
Management: Michael Sheedy (manager), Martin Conlon (coach), John McMahon.
Captain: Barry Kiely
Key Player: Gearoid Sheedy
One to watch: Donnacadh McNulty
Fresh blood: Ethan Harrington, Mikey Sheedy, Stephen Grady
Departures Gate: Sean Kickers, Colin Harte.
Treatment table: None.
Last year’s run: Didn’t get out of the group.
Schedule:
Round 1 vs Newmarket-on-Fergus on Sunday August 11th in Glenomra Park, Broadford at 13:00
Round 2 vs Tubber (August 23rd/24th/25th)
Round 3 vs Sixmilebridge (September 6th/7th/8th)
“We made the knockout stages in our first year in charge, we didn’t get out of the group last year, we were hit big time with injuries and we blooded a lot of young lads. We’d be hoping to get out of the group.
“Both us and Newmarket-on-Fergus will be targeting the first round as a must-win game. With Tubber and Sixmilebridge also in the group, they are the two heavyweights so we’re looking to get off to a good start” – Martin Conlon.
Group 3:
Wolfe Tones
Management: Barry Keane (manager); Bryan Williams (coach), Alan Cunningham (coach), Mike Hickey (coach), Paul O’Shea (selector); Clem Nihill (S&C/physio)
Captain: John Guilfoyle
Key Player: Daithi Lohan
One to watch: Evan O’Gorman
Fresh Blood: Niall Fitzgerald, Tadhg Fitzgerald, Sean Murphy, Gavin Carigg, Dylan Frawley, Jack Cunningham
Departure Gate: Billy Connors
Treatment table: Jack Cunningham(hamstring), Rory Hayes (ankle) Peter McEvoy (hamstring); Luke Merrigan (ankle); Gavin Carigg (shoulder)
Titles Won: 2 (1983, 2015)
Last year’s run: Relegated from senior
Schedule:
Round 1 v Broadford on Saturday August 10th in Meelick at 17:00
Round 2 v Killanena (August 23rd/24th/25th)
Round 3 v Bodyke (September 6th/7th/8th)
“We will be taking it game by game; While it is Broadford ‘s second team, they are after winning back to back under 21 B titles and they have a lot of players available. We will treat every team the same and right now we are not looking beyond the opening round. The first game is particularly important and this match has been our target since the cup campaign finished. Everything is geared towards Saturday,” – Barry Keane.
Broadford
Management: Sean McMahon (manager);Niall Moloney, Eoin O’Brien Bernard McMahon,, Danny Chaplin;
Captain: James Gunning
Key Player: Padraig Hickey
One to watch: Mark Gunning
Fresh Blood: James Tuite, Sam Cooper, Mark Gunning
Departure Gate: None
Treatment table: Paul Moloney (ankle), Darren McNamara (ACL), Eoin O’Brien (ACL)
Titles Won: 8 (1941, 1947, 1974, 1981, 1997, 2003, 2008, 2019),
Last year’s run: Won junior A championship
Schedule:
Round 1 v Wolfe Tones on Saturday August 10th in Meelick at 17:00
Round 2 v Bodyke (August 23rd/24th/25th)
Round 3 v Killanena (September 6th/7th/8th)
“We go into this championship on the back of two major blows, the loss of selectors Seanie Kelleher and Joey O’Keeffe, both of whom died suddenly earlier in the year. We are thinking of them and their families and we know they will be looking down on us. Following our great win in the junior A championship last year, our aim is to compete at intermediate level. Our opening game is a really tough one as we face Wolfe Tones, one of the favourites for the title. After that we will face two East Clare neighbours in Bodyke and Killanena. We hope that our players will gain valuable experience in this competition,” Sean McMahon.
Killanena
Management: Jason O’Brien, Alan McNamara, Enda Collins (coaches/selectors); Declan Noonan (S&C).
Captain: Cathal Noonan
Key Player: Keith Smyth
One to watch: Ronan Keane
Fresh Blood: Ronan Keane,
Departure Gate: None
Treatment table: Jason Keehan (muscle injury) Seamus Keane
Titles Won: 1 (2010)
Last year’s run: Survived relegation play off.
Schedule:
Round 1 v Bodyke on Saturday August 10th in Scariff at 18:00
Round 2 v Wolfe Tones (August 23rd/24th/25th)
Round 3 v Broadford (September 6th/7th/8th)
“This is a big game and we want to be competitive. We have had a lot of injuries for the past two years, a lot of key players didn’t play at all. They are available this year so we are hoping that they will get through. We can’t look too far ahead. Our focus is on Saturday evening. We got promoted from Division 3 in the league which was a boost for us,” – Jason O’Brien.
Bodyke
Management: Ger O’Halloran (manager), Patsy Fahy (coach), Liam Wiley (selector).
Captain: Éanna Doyle and Seán Wiley
Key Player: Seán Wiley
One to watch: Eden Buckley
Fresh blood: Eden Buckley, Oscar Dowling, Thomas Molloy,
Departures Gate: Cathal Doyle (emigrated),
Treatment table: Cian Minogue (shoulders), Ian Murray (broken leg), Paddy Fitzgerald (ankle), Fionn Slattery (hamstring), Thomas Minogue (hamstring),
Last year’s run: Eliminated in the quarter-finals by Sixmilebridge
Schedule:
Round 1 vs Killanena on Saturday August 10th in Scariff at 18:00
Round 2 vs Broadford (August 23rd/24th/25th)
Round 3 vs Wolfe Tones (September 6th/7th/8th)
“The lads were disappointed to lose to Sixmilebridge in the quarter-final last year but they have bounced back admirably. They have trained well and we’re looking forward to the season, we have the injuries but we’re not dwelling on them, we’re not talking about them and we’re dealing with what we have and we’re preparing for the championship and looking to go a step further than the quarter-final.
“The draw has helped to focus the minds. We have two local derbies to prepare for but we’ll only be taking it one game at a time. For the first time, we’ll be underdogs going into the game with the injuries we do have and our league form wasn’t great, the league suffered because we hadn’t our full panel but it was a great opportunity to blood new players” – Ger O’Halloran.
Group 4:
Tulla
Management: Brian Quinn (manager); Barry Corbett (coach), Fintan Leamy (coach), Brian Lynch, Karl Quinn, Jason McCarthy (S&C).
Captain: Padraic Mulconroy
Key Player: David McInerney
One to watch: Éanna Culloo
Fresh blood: Colin Corbett, Mark Lynch, Éanna Culloo,
Departures Gate: David Meehan, Conor Murphy,
Treatment table: Tony Leyden (hamstring),
Last year’s run: Lost in the semi-final to Sixmilebridge
Schedule:
Round 1 vs Parteen/Meelick on Saturday August 10th in Clonlara at 14:30
Round 2 vs Whitegate (August 23rd/24th/25th)
Round 3 vs Inagh/Kilnamona (September 6th/7th/8th)
“We had a good chance the last few years to try get out of the intermediate, with two more teams down from senior for this campaign it brings with it a different intensity. If we can can get out of the group, we’ll have a go at it but it is a hard group to get out of. They are all difficult teams to beat, Inagh/Kilnamona and Parteen/Meelick are very strong while there will never be anything between ourselves and Whitegate, I think it is the toughest group of the four”.
“We didn’t have a great league but we were missing a lot of players. The two weeks since the All-Ireland and the bounce from that has helped the place come together. We’re going into the unknown for the first round like all teams” – Brian Quinn.
Parteen/Meelick
Management: Denis Barry (manager) Noel Ryan (coach), Benny McEvoy, Roddy McDermott.
Captain: Nathan Fox
Key Player: Jack Kirwan
One to watch: Tom Collins
Fresh blood: Noel Bridgeman.
Departures Gate: Phil Lavin (emigrated), Éanna Mulvihill (emigrated), David Small (emigrated)
Treatment table: None.
Last year’s run: Topped the group but lost out to Ruan in the quarter-finals.
Schedule:
Round 1 vs Tulla on Saturday August 10th in Clonlara at 14:30
Round 2 vs Inagh/Kilnamona (August 23rd/24th/25th)
Round 3 vs Whitegate (September 6th/7th/8th)
“We have a competitive group but it is a good group to be in, Tulla are very strong, Inagh/Kilnamona beat us in the league this year and Whitegate were senior two years ago so it is a tough ask to get out of the group.
“We were going well in the group stages the past two years but I don’t know what it is that has stopped us from pushing on in the knockout stages. If we can get out of this tough group then we’d like to go a step further in the knockout stages.
“We have a young team, eight to ten of the starting team are under the age of 22, it is a young team and we’d hope that they can be applying some of the lessons learned from the last two years” – Denis Barry
Whitegate
Management: Niall Hayes (Manager), Gerry Spelmann (coach), Dermot Hayes (selector)
Captain: Ian Fahy
Key Player: Conor McDermott
One to watch: Conor Whelan
Fresh Blood: Mikey, Max and Harry Bogenberger Michael Heffernan, Daniel Tuohy, Kalum Fahy.
Departure Gate: Eoin Qurke, Ciaran Keenan , Thomas Hogan (emigrated)
Treatment table: Cian McDermott.
Titles Won: 5 (1959, 1984, 1992, 2009, 2013)
Last year’s run: Lost quarter final to Tulla,
Schedule:
Round 1 v Inagh-Kilnamona on Sunday August 11th in Scariff at 13:00
Round 2 v Tulla (August 23rd/24th/25th)
Round 3 v Parteen-Meelick (September 6th/7th/8th)
“We have a very young team as we are re-building, We got to blood a lot of them in the league but this is a step up now, We will have to cope with the pace of the championship. In the first round we are facing a club with a lot of players while our numbers are small. The first round is very important as a win here can put a team in a good position” – Niall Hayes.
Inagh/Kilnamona
Management: Paul McInerney (manager), Flan Barry, Pat Barry
Captain: Paul O’Looney
Key Player: Keith Barry
One to watch: Jack Cullinan
Fresh Blood: Shane McInerney, Tom Barry,
Departure Gate: Cian McInerney,
Treatment table: Paul O’Looney (hamstring)
Titles Won: None
Last year’s run: Didn’t qualify from the group
Schedule:
Round 1 v Whitegate on Sunday August 11th in Scariff at 13:00
Round 2 v Parteen/Meelick (August 23rd/24th/25th)
Round 3 v Tulla (September 6th/7th/8th)
“Our primary target is to retain out status. The first round is very important and Whitegate will present a big challenge. There are no easy games in the group. We are not quite sure who we will have, as there are a number of players who are eligible for senior so we will be waiting to see who will be used at senior level before we can finalise our team. Everyone wants to play at the top grade”. – Paul McInerney.
