The Clare Echo 30/07/26

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Jul 30, THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Oct 31, 2026 2024

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IT’S BEEN A LAWN DAY Sadness over death of off-duty garda

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

BROADFORD and surrounding communities have been left heartbroken by the death of Sergeant Andrew O’Riordan.

A pair of Crusheen fans busy themselves with groundswork during their side’s match in Gurteen at the weekend

Photo by Ruthie Griffin

Garda Sergeant Andrew O’Riordan was the passenger in a car that crashed into an oak tree on the Broadford to Bridgetown road (R466) on Sunday evening.

A gentleman who treated all his colleagues fairly, Andrew was based at Mayorstone Garda Station where he was held in very high regard.

The father of five became the first English speaker to

graduate from Ecole Nationale Supérieure de la Police after a year of training According to a spokesperson for Broadford GAA club, the local communities in Broadford, Kilmore and Kilbane have been rippled with sadness “at this heartbreaking time”.

Investigations into the circumstances of the fatal collision are ongoing. A technical examination of the scene concluded on Monday, and Gardaí are carrying out house-tohouse enquiries in the area.

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Quin community gets quizical

Pictured at the Monks Well in Quin are members of the Community Progress Group and (inset) quizzers taking part in a table quiz last Friday night which is raising funds for Welcome to Quin Day, which takes place tomorrow, July 31 Photo by Tom Micks

Ryanair to create 400 jobs in Shannon as part of €50m investment

by Páraic McMahon news@clareecho.ie

RYANAIR has announced it is to make a €50m investment at Shannon Airport which will create 400 jobs.

This investment will see the construction of a new four-bay aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) hangar and an Engineering Academy at Shannon Airport resulting in 400 jobs.

Planning has been sought by Ryanair on a 6.7-acre site on the airfield at Shannon Airport. Subject to planning approval, the facility will become the airline’s largest aircraft maintenance operation in Ireland and further strengthen Shannon’s position as one of Europe’s leading aviation centres.

Senior management of Ryanair were in Shannon on Thursday to make the announcement along with Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke (FG).

Already Ryanair operates a three-bay aircraft maintenance facility employing more than 200 people in Shannon Airport. Ryanair has operated from Shannon Airport since 1987 and remains one of the airport’s most important airline partners, contributing significantly to connectivity, tourism and employment across the west of Ireland.

This summer, Ryanair operates a record 30 routes from Shannon and has increased seat capacity by 15% compared with the same period last year.

Construction is expected to commence in early 2027 with the facility expected

to enter operation in late 2028, subject to planning approval. The proposed new facility will comprise more than 15,000m² of aircraft maintenance and ancillary space.

Enterprise Ireland are supporting the development of the Engineering Academy. which will see the creation of 80 new apprenticeship roles will be created and support the training of over 400 additional aircraft mechanics between 2027 and 2031.

CEO of Ryanair, Eddie Wilson stated, “This project is about jobs, skills and growth. Shannon already plays an important role in maintaining Ryanair’s fleet, and this expansion will create hundreds of highly skilled engineering jobs while training the next generation of aircraft mechanics in Ireland. This major new facility will not only increase Ryanair’s aircraft maintenance capacity at Shannon but will also include a new Engineering Academy, providing dedicated training facilities for up to 80 apprentices, training over 400 mechanics between 2027 and 2031”.

THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, 2, 2026 2026 THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, JulJul 30,

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Thursday, Jul 30, 2026 THE CLARE ECHO

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Heartbreak in Broadford with death of off-duty garda Andrew

by Páraic McMahon news@clareecho.ie

Ireland loses a great with Frames singer Hansard’s passing The late Glen Hansard pictured in Shannon with Clare-based singer-songwriter Luca Bloom attending a protest in Shannon over 25 years ago. Frames frontman and Oscar-winner Hansard tragically passed away in the early hours of yesterday morning following a traffic incident Photo by Joe Buckley

TRIBUTES have been extended to a Broadford sergeant who died while off-duty in a road accident.

Garda Sergeant Andrew O’Riordan was the passenger in a car that crashed into a tree on the R466 outside the village of Broadford on Sunday evening. His death has caused heartbreak across the communities of East Clare.

Sergeant O’Riordan, a father of five, was a popular member of the Limerick garda division, based at Mayorstone Garda Station and was highly regarded in Broadford.

In 2023, he took part in a diplomatic exchange, graduating from Ecole Nationale Supérieure de la Police in France after a year of training, the first English speaker to complete the course.

A fluent French speaker, Andrew was one of over 40 Gardaí who assisted French police during the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Married to Stéphanie, they had five children, Amélie, Steffen, Gabrielle, Jonathan and Axel.

Frank Thornton, a former president of the Garda Representative Association, said Sgt O’Riordan was highly regarded for the support he

l Garda Sergeant O’Riordan

gave to colleagues, particularly new recruits. “Our hearts go out to his wife and family,” he stated. “A huge void has been left in the division, not just in Limerick, but in the wider garda family. He will be sorely missed”.

In a statement, Broadford GAA club detailed that Broadford, Kilbane and Kilmore have “been left shocked and deeply saddened” by Andrew’s passing.

“There are simply no words that can adequately express the sadness felt throughout our community at this heartbreaking time. Broadford Hurling Club and Broadford/ Bodyke Camogie Club extend our heartfelt and deepest sympathies to Andrew’s wife, Stephanie, their five children, and to all of Andrew’s family, friends and loved ones.”

Investigations into the

circumstances of the fatal collision are ongoing. A technical examination of the scene concluded on Monday, and Gardaí are carrying out house-to-house enquiries in the area. They are appealing to anyone who witnessed the collision to contact them, particularly road users who were travelling on the R466 at Gortnaglogh around the time of the crash. Anyone with information is asked to contact Ennis Garda Station.

Andrew will repose in St. Peter’s Church Broadford on Thursday 30th July from 5pm to 7pm. Funeral Mass on July 31 at 12noon followed by burial in the Church grounds.

Deeply missed by his heartbroken family, loving wife Stéphanie, children Amélie, Steffen, Gabrielle, Jonathan and Axel, parents Patrick and Kathleen, sister Joanne and her husband David Kerr.

Parents-in-law JeanClaude Sachet and Marie-France Sachet, brotherin-law Ivan Sachet and his partner Hélena Rigal. Nieces and nephews Christopher, Alannah, Charlotte, Matthew, Léïla and Yaëlle, aunts, uncles, cousins, extended family, work colleagues in Mayorstone and Henry St, Garda Stations, neighbours and his many friends.

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THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

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Thursday, Jul 30, 2026 THE CLARE ECHO

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Liscannor brothers recreate childhood photograph nearly 70 years later

by Paige Foley paige@clareecho.ie

THREE brothers from Liscannor have returned home from the United States and Australia to recreate a childhood photograph taken nearly 70 years ago.

The original image shows twins Johnny and Gussy White, aged 10, alongside their younger brother Andy, then eight, standing outside St Brigid’s National School in Derreen, Liscannor, in 1958.

Nearly seven decades later, the brothers reunited outside the former schoolhouse to recreate the treasured photograph during what they believe may have been their final opportunity to stand together in the same place.

Today, Johnny and Gussy both live near Chicago, United States while Andy now calls Melbourne, Australia home. Their sister, Eileen Considine, who lives in Miltown Malbay, also joined the recreation, standing in the background just as another child had appeared in the original image.

The family only rediscovered the photograph by chance after spotting it in Clare Library’s online Mi-

l Gussy, Andy and Johnny White pictured in 1958 at the steps of their primary school in Liscannor, and again on the right more recently Photo courtesy Clare Library

chael John Glynn photographic archive in 2007.

“We were scrolling through the archive and Johnny suddenly said, ‘Stop, stop. That’s us,’” his wife, Marilyn White, recalled.

At the time, Clare Library invited members of the public to help identify people in its historic photograph col-

lection. Once Johnny identified himself and his brothers in the image, the family was able to download a watermark-free copy.

The photograph became a treasured keepsake for the family, with Johnny using it as the wallpaper on his mobile phone for years.

The idea of recreating the

photograph came to Marilyn while she and Johnny were walking around Derreen during a visit to Clare earlier this year.

“If all three of them were going to be together again, this was the best opportunity to recreate it,” she said.

The recreation was kept secret until the brothers re-

united in June, when Johnny and Marilyn surprised Andy and his wife Laura during a family gathering. It was the first time they had seen each other in around ten years.

Following the photoshoot, the siblings spent time walking around their old school, sharing memories of their classmates, teachers and childhood.

Johnny admitted he had no recollection of the original photograph being taken.

“They used to come around once a year and take photographs at the schools,” he said. “We never got a copy back then.”

The White family grew up in Clare and were among ten children. Johnny said school life in rural Clare was very different in the late 1950s.

“We went to school barefoot in the springtime and worked on the farms,” he recalled.

Marilyn recalled hearing Johnny and his cousins laugh about what they called “red rags” from their barefooted walks to school. Johnny said their feet would “get cut up and we would have to wrap rags around our feet because they were bleeding”, espe-

cially their big toes.

His brother Gussy also remembered bringing a sod of turf to school each winter to help heat the classroom, collecting water from Guthrie’s Well for hot cocoa at lunchtime and playing marbles behind the school. At lunchtime he said, boys and girls were kept apart by a six-foot wall that divided the playground.

He fondly recalled teachers Mrs Susan McDonough and Master Brendan Vaughan, adding that one of his favourite jobs was leaving class each day to collect Brendan Vaughan’s lunch from his nearby home.

After the recreated photograph was taken, it was combined with the original image by Caitríona Considine of Moher Cottage, who also framed copies for members of the family.

Marilyn said the response after the photograph was shared online had been overwhelming. “This was probably our last chance to get this photo,” she said. “Everybody is getting older and we don’t know when we’ll all be together again.

“It’s something our family will treasure forever.”

THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jun 30, 2026

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Lisdoon revellers ‘will have to get courting done early’ after order to close pubs earlier

by Gordon Deegan news@clareecho.ie

Lisdoonvarna matchmaking festival comes to life every September

A JUDGE has told a court that those travelling to the monthlong matchmaking festival in Lisdoonvarna in north Clare this coming September will “have to get their courting done early”.

At Ennis District Court, Judge Adrian Harris made his comment after rejecting an application for a special licence for all licensed premises in Lisdoonvarna to serve alcohol until 2.30am across four weekends across the month of September for the match-making festival.

Judge Harris said that instead alcohol can be served until 1.30am after a Garda objection to the 2.30am application.

After making the ruling, Judge Harris said: “Let the message go out - they are going to have to get their courting done early.”

Sgt Conor Barrett of Ennistymon Garda Station told the court that he was seeking the earlier closing time as Garda resources in Clare will be stretched during the month of September with the Amgen Irish Open in Doonbeg, the Walker Cup in Lahinch and the Match-making festival in Lisdoonvarna in September.

Acting as agent for the special licence application for Lisdoonvarna publicans, solicitor, John Casey “Lisdoonvarna now have to bow down to President of the United States,

Donald Trump flying in for the Irish Open and other wealthy Americans playing golf in Lahinch” He said: “The poor man from north Mayo or the woman from west Cork trying to find a wife or a husband will have to curtail their evening.

Mr Casey said: “I always say that the last half hour or hour is very important for the romance: the drinking stops, the chat begins and plans are made.”

In a double blow to revellers, Judge Harris also rejected a special events application for pubs to serve alcohol until 2am in the seaside resort of Lahinch during the Walker Cup being staged by Lahinch Golf Club in early September.

Judge Harris

ordered that closing be 1.30am instead of 2am for September 5th and September 6th across pubs in Lahinch after a similar Garda objection from Sgt Barrett in court.

Sgt Barrett said that Garda resources will be required in Lahinch on the street when the pubs close and he said that Lisdoonvarna is even more remote.

Sgt Barrett said that he also had in mind local residents in Lahinch and Lisdoonvarna when seeking the earlier closing time for the special licence applications.

Solicitor, Caroline O’Doherty told the court that the special events licence for Lahinch concerned 13 licensed holders.

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Thursday, Jul 30, 2026 THE CLARE ECHO

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Disused restaurant at Shannon Airport set to become offices

by Michael Fitzgerald news@clareecho.ie

SHANNON Airport has submitted plans to convert a disused bar and restaurant into office space and overflow queuing.

O’Neill O’Malley architects, who have offices in Galway, Westport and Shannon, lodged the application on behalf of the airport.

An application was made to Clare County Council seeking planning permission for the “Conversion of the existing disused restaurant within the departures building to office use, conversion of existing disused bar within the departures building to overflow queuing, provision of additional glazing to facade and provision of a rooftop plantroom enclosure and all ancillary works”.

The site for the proposed development consists of the disused Limestone restaurant and the disused Marsh bar areas on the first floor of the departures building in Shannon Airport.

A cover letter by the architectural firm highlights the reason for the decline in the former facilities, stating that “Due to changing patterns in passenger movement, passengers nowadays prefer to get through security

l An application was made to Clare County Council seeking the conversion of the existing disused restaurant within departures

before relaxing and sitting down for food or a drink. This has led to the Limestone restaurant and Marsh bar being underused and they have been closed for some time”.

The former Limestone restaurant will now be used as office space for the airport with the application outlining that “This situation provides an opportunity

to consolidate the existing building stock by relocating some administrative functions from 1970s offices located elsewhere in the airport, which do not meet modern standards of energy efficiency or user comfort and are unsuitable for modern office use. This aligns with Shannon Airport’s targeted co2 reduction strategy”.

The new offices are designed to create a more attractive working environment for office staff while negating the need for the construction of a new building at the airport. Should the offices receive planning permission, some overflow queuing space will be lost. The former Marsh bar will therefore be converted for this purpose during peak passenger times.

Glazing improvements are also planned for the main airport building which the architects state is “to increase the amount of natural lighting and to enhance the comfort of the new office users”. The airport’s existing west plantroom is proposed to be removed and a new plantroom constructed on the roof under the current plans. “This will allow for the upgrade of the existing environmental systems for the departures building which will also tie into the airport’s sustainability and carbon reduction strategies”, according to the plans.

Clare County Council is due to make a decision on the proposed development by the 9th of September. Submissions can be made to the local authority up until August 19th.

€90k lottery windfall in Miltown

by Michael Fitzgerald news@clareecho.ie

A MILTOWN MALBAY lottery player is nearly €90,000 richer following Saturday’s National Lottery draw.

A winning Quick Pick ticket was sold in McNamee’s Londis store in Bank Place in the West Clare town on the day of the draw, netting its customer €89,430.

The winning numbers for the draw on July 25th were 23, 24, 25, 42, 43, 46 and the bonus number was 37. Two other lotto players also scooped the same prize with the other winning tickets being sold online Dublin and in Lynch’s Centra, Clonbur, Claremorris, Mayo.

The €8,221,849 jackpot was one by a lotto player in Offaly, the fourth jackpot winner of 2026.

Speaking on the wins, National Lotto Spokesperson Darragh O’Dwyer stated that “Someone in Ireland is now holding a ticket worth an incredible €8,221,849.

We’ve also seen three players in Clare, Mayo and Dublin scoop fantastic Match 5 plus Bonus prizes of €89,430 each.

We’re encouraging players in County Mayo and County Clare to carefully check their tickets and players in County Dublin to check their online accounts”.

“With a jackpot winning ticket now out there somewhere in Ireland, we’re encouraging players who bought a ticket for Saturday night’s draw to check it carefully. There’s sure to be plenty of excitement as we reveal where the winning ticket was sold over the coming days”, the spokesperson continued.

The National Lottery are advising ticket holders to sign the back of their tickets and keep them safe in order to claim their winnings.

THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

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Number of US troops transiting through Shannon Airport headed for record low

by Gordon Deegan news@clareecho.ie

THE number of US troops going through Shannon airport has plunged this year despite the build-up of US forces in the Middle East earlier this year due to the war with Iran.

New figures provided by Shannon Airport show that the number of US troops using the airport was 15,326 from January 1st to the end of June - a drop of 42pc on the 26,340 US troops that went through Shannon airport for the corresponding period last year.

The 15,326 in US troops is a very small fraction of the overall 1.17 million passengers that have used Shannon airport in the first six months with the 12pc increase in passenger numbers driven by an expanded route network, increased capacity and sustained demand for commercial air travel.

Figures provided by Shannon Airport show that 4,949 US troops transited the airport in June, 1,069 in May, 1,291 in April, 3,544 in March, 2,461 in February and 2,012 in January.

The total number of US

l US troops at Shannon Airport is a less common occurance this year Photo by Joe Buckley

troops that transited through Shannon airport in 2025 was 44,242 which was a 6pc decrease on the 47,009 that transited through Shannon in 2024.

If the current transiting of US troops going through Shannon is maintained for the remainder of the year, Shannon airport is course this year to record the lowest annual number of US troops to transit through the airport this century.

Between 2001 and 2012, around two million US troops passed through Shannon as part of the US war effort in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Last month, the Shannon airport moved to install high security ‘anti-ram’ barriers at

the airport aimed at combating further unauthorised airfield incursions.

The move by Shannon Airport Authority DAC followed five separate alleged airport incursions by Pro-Palestinian activists on five separate dates at the County Clare airport from March 2024 to April of this year.

Charges have been brought in all cases but no trial has yet proceeded at Ennis Circuit Court in relation to any of the charges.

Peace Activist and former UN peacekeeper, Dr Edward Horgan has campaigned against the use of Shannon by the US military for a long number of years.

He said today that it is not

the numbers of US troops that are going through Shannon and Irish airspace that is important, “it is the fact that they are still going through whenever suits the US”.

He said: “Their numbers fluctuate regularly depending on units rotating and increases in military actions.”

Dr Horgan said that “Ireland urgently needs to follow the example of the Gov-

ernment of Spain which has denied permission to the US to use its airports and airspace for the wars in Iran and Palestine”.

The new Shannon Airport Authority DAC tender for the supply, delivery and installation support of the anti-ram barriers follows one incident involving three Pro-Palestinian activists on November 22nd last where it will be alleged that a Ford

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Transit van entered the apron at Shannon airport when crashing through an exit barrier at speed.

After allegedly crashing through the barrier, it will be further alleged that the van drove at speed to a location where there was a US military plane.

At the scene, Defence Force members briefly drew their weapons until the situation was under control.

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Thursday, Jul 30, 2026 THE CLARE ECHO

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Council launch consultation on new speed limits across county

by Stuart Holly editor@clareecho.ie

l Sixmillebridge GAA grounds

Sixmilebridge GAA must produce more information SIXMILEBRIDGE GAA’s planned new floodlights have hit a roadblock after the hurling club was ordered to produce further information by Clare County Council.

The 1996 All-Ireland Senior Club winners lodged a planning application with the local authority in May for the construction of eight floodlights and additional works at their secondary playing facilities at Cappagh Lodge, adjacent to the recently opened €1.2 million Sixmilebridge GAA arena.

Clare Co Council have found issues with the proposed floodlighting at the site and have requested that The Bridge submit a written light impact report in order to gauge what results the lights will have on the surrounding environment. The local authority noted that “No written lighting report or assessment has been provided to outline and explain the calculations and or to demonstrate that the proposed floodlighting complies with recognised best practice standards for lighting for sports facilities”.

The planning department ordered the GAA club produce a new assessment that showcases “the potential for the proposed development to impact on the amenities of adjacent residents”.

The application received a submission by An Taisce, the National Trust for Ireland who found that “light pollution associated with the subject proposal requires close consideration by the Council. This is also of relevance for potential impact to nocturnal ecological receptors such as pollinators and bats, as well as the enjoyment of the night sky as a cultural resource”.

The report published a series of design specifications that the proposed development should adhere to, including lux levels of between 200 and 300 for club matches at the facility.

The project has received the support of Cllr John Crowe (FG).

Conditional planning permission was previously granted for a concrete spectator stand at the site.

Clare County Council has today launched the statutory public consultation for Phase 2 of the National Speed Limit Review, inviting the public to have their say on proposed changes to speed limits in urban areas and on selected regional roads across the county.

The proposed Draft Clare County Council Special Speed Limit ByeLaws 2026 would introduce 30km/h speed limits in built-up and urban areas throughout County Clare, and reduce speed limits from 100km/h to 80km/h on sections of the R458 (Ennis to Crusheen Road at Ballyline), R352 (Ennis to Tulla Road at Caherlohan), R445 (Radisson Hotel to the Limerick Border) and the N68 (Ennis to Kilrush Road at Darragh).

The review forms part of a national road safety programme led by the Department of Transport. It follows the implementation of Phase 1 of the National Speed Limit Review in February 2025, which reduced the default speed limit on local roads from 80km/h to 60km/h.

Director of Services for Transport, Climate, Recreation, Environment, & Emergency with Clare County Council, Dr Carmel Kirby said, “The proposed changes are aimed at improving road safety, particularly for pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road

l Draft bye-laws were made available for public inspection from yesterday users.

Lower speeds are also expected to reduce the severity of collisions, encourage active travel and reduce traffic noise. According to the World Health Organisation, a 5% reduction in average speed can result in a 30% reduction in fatal collisions.”

The draft bye-laws are available for public inspection from July 29 to August 31, 2026, at Áras Contae an Chláir, all Clare County Council Municipal District and Area Offices, and online at www.clarecoco.ie.

Members of the public can make submissions through the Council’s

consultation portal at yoursay.clarecoco.ie/speed-limit-review-2026, by email to roads@clarecoco.ie, or by post to the Roads and Transportation Department, Clare County Council. The closing date for submissions is 5pm on Monday, August 31, 2026.

Following the consultation period, all submissions will be considered and a report prepared for Clare County Council’s elected members. The proposed bye-laws are expected to be considered for adoption by October 2026, with the new speed limits anticipated to come into effect by March 2027.

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THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

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Clare MEP appointed chief observer of 2026 Zambian elections

by Michael Fitzgerald news@clareecho.ie

CLARE MEP Michael McNamara (IND) has been appointed as ‘chief observer’ of the EU’s Election Observation Mission for next month’s general election in Zambia.

The Ireland South representative previously served as a TD for Clare from 2011 to 2016 and again from 2020 to 2024.

McNamara was appointed by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas to spearhead the initiative, monitoring the elections due to take place on 13 August at the invitation of the Zambian government. The upcoming elections are being held to elect a president and members of the national assembly in the landlocked country in south-central Africa. McNamara was appointed to the position at a conference in Lusaka, the country’s capital.

As part of the mission, a core team has been in the country since late June with 32 long term observers deployed across the country which is approximately 11 times the size of Ireland.

Incumbent president Hakainde Hichilema of the liberal UPND party is the frontrunner in the presidential election which was

l Michael McNamara at the 2024 General Election count Photo by Joe Buckley

called due to technical changes in the country’s constitution. Other candidates in the presidential race include Brian Mundubile of the Forum for Democracy and Development Party and Fred M’membe of the Socialist Party. The EU has observed every election in the country since 2001.

Speaking on the election, McNamara outlined that “Zambia has a well-established history of democracy, beginning with the landmark elections of 1991.

Zambians’ right to freely choose those who govern them is both enshrined in their Constitution and entrenched in their political tradition”.

Zambia has been independent since breaking away from Rhodesia in 1964 as part of the wider European retreat from empire that followed the end of WWII. The country has been governed by a multi-party democracy since 1991, following the fall of president Kenneth Kaunda who had ruled since independence.

“These elections are an opportunity to build on that proud record. In four weeks’ time, millions of Zambians across all ten provinces will make their choices at the ballot box. It is an honour to be here to witness this important democratic moment”, the independent added.

“We have no interest in seeing any particular candidate or party win - who wins is a matter for Zambian voters, and Zambian voters alone. Let the campaign be vigorous but not violent. Let the process be inclusive, with women, young people and persons with disabilities as well as other marginalised groups taking their full part. Let every stage be transparent - because transparency is what creates trust in the result. And if disputes arise, let them be pursued through dialogue and in accordance with the rule of law”, McNamara continued.

News

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Clare records highest NCT fail dangerous rate

by Michael Fitzgerald news@clareecho.ie

CLARE has recorded the highest “fail dangerous” rate for vehicles doing the NCT in Ireland during the first half of the year.

Of the total number of cars tested in Clare during the first six months of 2026, 9.6% of vehicles tested failed dangerously, almost one in ten.

County Meath is second behind Clare at 9.2%.

Of the 12,605 vehicle inspections performed at Ennis NCT centre during the first half of the year, 6003 Clare vehicles failed majorly while 1276 failed dangerously. Just under half of cars in Clare passed the inspection at 5326.

Clare consequently recorded the joint lowest pass rate, alongside Cavan at 42.9%. The RSA is reminding road users that it is an offense to drive a vehicle deemed as having failed dangerously.

Cars which received the unwanted classification will receive a sticker outlining their vehicle’s condition and owners advised to tow the car away.

New figures from the RSA revealed that almost 8% of vehicles submitted for an NCT from January till June were tested as having dangerous defects with a total of 71,308 vehicles receiving this classification. While Clare had the highest number of dangerous fails, Across the 50 NCT centres throughout Ireland, figures of cars failing the test are at their highest ever for the first half of this year at 7.7%, in comparison with 7.6% and 7.6% in the corresponding time period of the previous two years.

The fail dangerous classification is given to vehicles that display dangerous defects that “constitute a direct or immediate risk to road safety such that the vehicle should not be used on the road under any circumstances”, during the compulsory annual vehicle inspection, the RSA state.

More than 2200 vehicles still presented serious risks to road users after being submitted for retests following their initial failure from January to June of this year.

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Thursday, Jul 30, 2026 THE CLARE ECHO

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Newmarket-on-Fergus comes to a standstill with special send-off for Sconey Kilmartin

by Páraic McMahon news@clareecho.ie

NEWMARKET-ON-FERGUS came to a standstill in paying tribute to its beloved son, Anthony ‘Sconey’ Kilmartin.

Born and reared in the village of Newmarket-on-Fergus, Anthony (40) affectionately known as Sconey died following a fall in his adopted home of New York City on July 12.

Thousands of mourners attended his reposal on Wednesday evening last week over four hours, with hundreds more at Our Lady of the Rosary Church for his Funeral on Thursday morning which was followed by his cremation in Shannon.

People came from near and far to remember Sconey. They flew from New York City, walked from Newmarket-on-Fergus and travelled from all corners of Clare.

On Wednesday night, Newmarket-on-Fergus GAA club had one of its biggest ever guards of honour where his Clare SHC winning teammates of 2012 were joined by the current senior squad, the present minor panel who are managed by his dear friend Darren Hayes, the senior camogie squad along with members young and old. Leading the way were captain of the championship winning team Enda Barrett and man of the match from the final, Colin Ryan.

Full of fun and always up to devilment, the larger than life Sconey had the ability to bring colour to the darkest rooms. His infectious personality and generosity was adored by all who knew him.

At home in Newmarket-on-Fergus, his reputation as a character was eminent. It was evident in the harmless mischief during his school days in Newmarket-on-Fergus Boys NS and St Caimin’s Community and also his performances on the sporting field.

He won honours at all levels for Newmarket-on-Fergus and represented Clare at every grade from U14 to senior. In soccer, he lined out with Newmarket Celtic and also played for Clare in successive Kennedy Cup squads even coming up against a future world-champion boxer by the name of Katie Taylor who was one of the first girls to line out in the competition featuring for Wicklow League.

When he relocated to the Big Apple over a decade ago, he brought with him all the traits that made him so endearing. A skilled blocklayer in his homeland, it was his work behind the bar where he showcased his charm and wit in New York. In the States, Sconey’s ability to source tickets, generate craic and how he looked out for others helped people to realise that he was one of a kind.

One of the best examples of his easy going and humorous nature which drew people to him is the fact that Duran Duran lead singer, Simon Le Bon was the one looking to attend a party that Sconey was going to after finishing a shift in the bar and not the other way around. The ‘Hungry Like the Wolf ’ hit man had been a visitor to the bar when he struck up a conversation with Sconey.

Speaking at the funeral mass, Fr Tom Fitzpatrick stated, “It has been a trying last week and a half ”. Crowds that came out to pay their respect had “energised” the Kilmartin family, he said. “The energy flowed from so many people over the last few days, it has been overwhelming”.

Symbols brought forward for Sconey’s mass included his hurley and helmet acknowledging his “hurling journey in the parish, his commitment and pride with the connection”, the phone belonging to his mother Eileen noted the daily contact he had with her while liv-

lSADLY MISSED: Anthony ‘Sconey’ Kilmartin’s coffin is carried from the church and (right)

with the Canon Hamilton after Newmarket-on-Fergus won the Clare SHC in 2012

Photo by Joe Buckley

ing on the other side of the world, “it shows the contact he had constantly had every single day over the last 11 years or so to ring his Mum, to check in and see how things were”.

A ‘snow man family’ which he sent to Boheroan as a Christmas gift displayed “his love of Christmas and the joy it brought to him each year”. Sconey’s trowel noted his skills as “a wonderful blocklayer” and it reminded Fr Tom of when he built a boundary wall at his former residence in Goodwood “between myself and Chris Meehan to keep us apart”.

A baseball which Sconey plucked from the sky at one game in the US also came before the altar, “his hurling instincts never left him, not too long ago he plucked this ball from the air as naturally as catching a sliotar to the amazement of all around him”.

His supportive nature was remembered with a collage of horse racing moments and encouraging messages he sent to his niece Jessica O’Gorman, a promising jockey based in The Curragh. “He was always so proud of you and what you achieved,” Fr Tom told Jessica.

A framed jersey by the Clare hurling team in New York, a team with which he got involved with as a coach in recent months and a miniature USA flag paid homage to the community he built across the Atlantic.

At the altar of the church where Sconey was baptised forty years ago, Fr Tom said Sconey had “a short life but a life well lived”. He added, “his sporting legacy will be remembered long after the final whistle”. The Doora/Barefield parish priest continued, “The death of someone so young and so loved and so needed has left us at ruffling and fumbling with words, his tragic death has left us struggling with answers, it is heart-breaking for his family here and his family on other side of Atlantic”.

After listening to a lot stories over the past week, Fr Tom reached a conclusion, “every conversation about Sconey has eventually ended in the very same away, with a smile and a laugh, they begin talking about the tragedy but find themselves laughing about something he said, something he did, it tells us a great deal about a man we are honouring and celebrating. The way we live our lives is far more important than the way we die, the intensity we bring to our living is what matters most of

all, Sconey brought a passion and intensity to every aspect of his life, resulting in a richness which cannot be measured or quantified”.

According to Fr Tom, Sconey had “a way of making people feel better, within minutes of entering a room the atmosphere would change, before long people were laughing, he had an easy going nature and never took himself too seriously”.

Different stages of Sconey’s life were all witnessed in his native village, “Newmarket-on-Fergus shaped him into the man that he was, he wore the Newmarket-on-Fergus jersey proudly from a very early age, his evenings and weekends were spent at the hurling field where lifelong friendships were formed”.

Claiming the Canon Hamilton in 2012 was made possible for the Blues, thanks to Sconey.

“It was a tremendous day for the club but also for the man himself,” recalled Fr Tom. Moving to New York City eleven years ago was “a new experience” but “ he embraced life in New York with the same enthusiasm which characterised his life in Newmarket-on-Fergus, he worked hard and built a wonderful circle of friends, it’s often said the Irish built America but they certainly helped to create the great country it has become, Anthony in his short time helped to do that, he built something over there other than walls, he built friendships, he built trust, those friendships were very deep and incredibly genuine, people loved him through and through. Death came far too soon for Sconey, he still had so much living to do. New York City became part of his life but Newmarket-on-Fergus was always in his heart,” Fr Tom said.

Manager of the victorious Newmarket 2012 team, Bob Enright said he was “honoured” to be asked by the Kilmartin family to speak at the mass.

“I’m very conscious that there’s a line of people in the hurling club that would love to speak on his behalf. I first met Sconey during the long hot summer of 1995 in the hurling field, I was training the U11s and I spotted two big lads coming through the side gate out of the corner of my eye, I gave a second look because I thought it was John Wayne,” he commented.

In this first encounter, a nine year old Sco-

ney asked could he join the U11s, Enright said he made his first error by trying to poke fun at his young clubmate. “I made the mistake of saying I didn’t know his name, he then said his name was Sconey and I said ‘that’s not even a real name’, even at the age of nine he gave me a look that said I’d want to sharpen up. I asked him if he was any good, he gave me what became his trademark wink and he said ‘I’m not bad at all’.”

From here Sconey became a leader for all teams in the club. “Sconey always seemed to be the captain. He was a natural leader and everyone loved him, if you got Sconey on side you get everyone on side, everyone wanted to be like him,” the primary school teacher noted.

Reflecting on their success of 2012, Bob said he received a phone call from Sconey on New Year’s Day of that year who outlined his determination to get his place back to try win the Canon Hamilton. “He trained like a demon that spring and nothing was ever simple with Sconey so he broke his jaw in April and it had to be wired together. He was not able to eat solid food for five weeks and typical Sconey said it was the best diet he was ever on because the weight fell off him”.

All-Ireland winning manager Liam Sheedy was among those in attendance. The Portroe man was coach to the 2012 team and his influence was acknowledged by Bob. The influence of Sconey in creating two goals which Shane O’Brien Jnr finished were central to the success in defeating Cratloe.

“Sconey slagged everyone and blagarded everyone but he never hurt anyone, he got the balance right, he had great emotional intelligence, from U12 to senior if he saw someone on periphery, the big arm would go out and they’d be pulled back into the centre”.

His partner Karen said she knew Sconey for five months but it felt like years. “It didn’t matter if you knew someone for 20 years or a week, you had the effect of making them feel like your oldest friend, he made people feel seen and safe, he never expected anything in return, he made people feel like they belonged”. His integrity was respected in New York.

Getting involved with the Clare hurling team in New York “reignited something” inside of Sconey, Karen recalled. “There was no pretending to be something you weren’t, one of the most authentic, genuine and bubbly people I’ve met”. Family always came first for Sconey, Karen said who noted “there was nobody prouder of Sconey than his parents”.

His loss leaves a big void on both sides of the Atlantic. He is deeply missed by his heartbroken family, father Tony, mother Eileen, sister Helen, brother David and his partner Elaine, Sconey’s partner Karen, brother-inlaw Anthony, nephew Conor, nieces Jessica and Leanna, grandnephew CJ, uncles, aunts, cousins, extended family and his wide circle of friends far and near.

13

THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jun 30, 2026

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Painting the town red & green

l Ennis resident Jim Coleman (centre), originally from Foxford, Co Mayo, outside Croke Park on Sunday after Mayo defeated Kerry in the All-Ireland senior football final alongside his sons Damien (left) and Paul (right). Jim was only two years old when Mayo last won the All-Ireland back in 1951

Potential return of town councils in time for 2029 local elections

TOWN councils could once again return to An upcoming review of LEAs is due to deClare’s largest settlements after a proposal cide the exact number of municipal councils by the Minister for Housing, writes Michael and could potentially see an increase in the Fitzgerald. number of elected representatives in Clare Town councils in Ennis, Kilrush and Shan- and across the country. non were abolished following the passing of These changes are in line with the current the Local Government Reform Act in 2014. programme for government set out following Minister James Browne (FF, pictured) has the 2024 general election, which pledged to indicated that the government will move to strengthen the role of local government in set up municipal councils in towns around Ireland. the country, proposing that the councils be in Former Mayors of Clare towns reacted place in time for the next cycle of local elec- furiously to then Minister Phil Hogan’s decitions in 2029. The decision was recommend- sion to scrap the councils with former Mayor ed following a report by the Local Democracy of Shannon Mike Flemming (FG) referring to Taskforce following its findings that the or- Hogan as “Scrooge” when plans were first ganisations should be reintroduced. announced in 2012.

The report also recommended that new council oversight and governance committees be established in order to hold chief executives to greater accountability and gauge the performance of local authorities.

Following the 80 councils’ abolitions in 2014, the number of elected representatives in areas such as Clare was greatly reduced as local authorities such as Clare County Council received a greater deal of power and decision making.

An Taoiseach Micheál Martin previously spoke enthusiastically about their reintroduction, stating “It will be of benefit to elected councillors and will give them a greater degree of powers. It’s important that when the people elect councillors that they have the decision-making capacity, in the local context, to get things done for their communities”.

EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN The newly proposed municipal councils would differ from previous town councils as they would feature greater representation in line with population.

Psychiatric Unit in Ennis ranks poorly

by Michael Fitzgerald news@clareecho.ie

THE Acute Psychiatric Unit at Ennis Hospital was ranked among the lowest of 10 facilities surveyed as part of a series of inspections by the Mental Health Commission across Clare, Galway, Kerry & Dublin.

Ennis Acute Psychiatric Unit ranked at 74% compliance with the Rules, Regulations, and Codes of Practice out of 100, the third lowest of the ten mental health centres surveyed, above only Dublin’s Ashlin Centre and Ginesa Centre, St John of God University Hospital.

The Ennis mental health centre recorded seven “highrisk non-compliances with the Regulations on food and nutrition; food safety; individual care plan; privacy; premises; ordering, prescribing, storing and administration of medicines; and risk management procedures”.

The report found some Ennis patients “were not provided

with food and drink that took account of all special dietary requirements and was consistent with each resident’s individual care plan, as the needs of one resident who was assessed and required dietetic input had not been reviewed by a dietitian as per the approved centres policy”.

Food hygiene at the facility was also criticised by the report which noted that “A high standard of hygiene was not maintained in relation to the storage and disposal of food- a process was not implemented for the monitoring of food supplies used in cooking groups and stored in the activation kitchen to ensure that they were in date and suitable and safe to use.

Some food was found to be out of date”.

The report found further dietary issues through the implementation of individual care plans (ICPs), highlighting that “While the ICPs identified the care and treatment required to

Ennis News

meet goals for residents, this was not implemented as a resident’s weekly weight was not recorded for one resident”.

“In another ICP, the dietetic resource required to provide the care and treatment was not identified, as documented evidence indicated that dietetic input was required as this resident had significant weight loss recorded over a three-month time frame. This did not align with the approved centre’s policy, and the evidenced-based nutritional assessment in line with best practice”, the report went on to say.

Resident privacy was highlighted as being non-compliant in the report which found that three bedrooms had no internal locks while windows could be seen through by members of staff and contained broken blinds.

The report criticised the overall standard of the premises, outlining, “The approved centre was not clean, hygienic and free

from offensive odours everywhere. There were multiple cigarette butts littering the high observation outdoor space, the high observation bedroom windows were dirty, and there was a stagnant water malodour detected in the assisted shower room on the Psychiatry of Later Life (POLL) unit”.

The Ennis centre recorded “high risk” non compliance in regard to its ordering, prescribing, storing and administration of medicines due to errors in patients’ Medication Prescription and Administration Record (MPAR). “Six of the ten residents were receiving high dose antipsychotic treatment (HDAT) however this was not indicated on the MPARs and there was no evidence that a pharmacist review was completed. Clinical files of four out of six residents on HDAT did not contain evidence of having had the protocol of monitoring completed as per the approved centres policy”, the report said.

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14

Thursday, Jul 30, 2026 THE CLARE ECHO

North Clare

‘Quiet Roads’ pilot is proposed for North Clare

by Paige Foley paige@clareecho.ie

PLANS to designate a network of low-traffic roads linking Doolin, Lisdoonvarna and Kilfenora as “Quiet Roads” are to be considered by Clare County Council.

The proposal, tabled

by Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) at the July meeting of the West Clare Municipal District, seeks the development of a pilot scheme under the North Clare Mobility and Transport Plan.

Introducing the motion, Cllr Garrihy said it was about “making better use of what we have” by creating safer, more accessible routes for pedestrians and cyclists without the need for major infrastructure projects.

He said Quiet Roads offered a practical way to encourage walking and cycling while linking communities and tourist destinations, adding that the network could become a “flagship part” of North Clare’s transport network.

The initiative proposes creating a network of shared-use “Quiet Roads”, prioritising pe-

l The motion was tabled

by Cllr Joe Garrihy

destrians and cyclists while maintaining access for local traffic.

The project would include identifying suitable local (“L”) roads parallel to the R476, R477 and R478 corridors, introducing speed reduction measures where feasible, installing Quiet Roads signage and route branding, delivering targeted traffic-calming measures, and linking the routes with existing walking trails, cycling routes and tourism infrastructure.

The initial pilot would focus on routes between Doolin and Lisdoonvarna, Lisdoonvarna and Kilfenora, as well as the development of a looped

network linking all three settlements.

Seconding the motion, Cllr Shane Talty (FF) said the proposal was worth pursuing but warned it could be difficult to strike the right balance between the needs of cyclists, motorists and local residents. He noted that many rural roads were narrow with overgrown hedgerows and said road users needed to show greater consideration for cyclists.

Independent Cllr Ian Lynch also backed the proposal but questioned how the council could move it “from the paper and onto the ground”, asking how the initiative could be progressed beyond the motion.

Responding, Acting Senior Executive Engineer Paddy Tiernan said the council welcomed the proposal, which he described as having “clear merit” in promoting active travel, sustainable tourism and improved rural connectivity.

He said the municipal district would examine the proposal in greater detail through a desktop assessment and a review

of the local road network to identify potentially suitable routes.

Mr Tiernan said an initial assessment suggested there was no continuous linkage between Doolin, Lisdoonvarna and Kilfenora using local roads only, without interaction with or crossings of national and regional roads.

He said providing safe crossings and connections at these locations would present a challenge and would require careful consideration as part of any feasibility assessment.

He added that the council had contacted Monaghan County Council, where a similar scheme operates, and described the proposal as a “step-by-step project”, with securing funding likely to be one of the biggest challenges.

In his closing comments, Cllr Garrihy said the proposal offered a “low-cost practical solution” to improve mobility in Clare.

“If Mayo and Monaghan can do it, surely we can in Clare,” he said.

It’s all Fund & games in Lahinch...

l Minister Dara Calleary TD, Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht was in Lahinch to officially reopen the newly refurbished playground, which received funding of €165k under the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht’s Community Recognition Fund 2024. The project was led by the West Clare Municipal District Office of Clare County Council.

Mr Calleary was pictured along with Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council Joe Killeen and elected members from West Clare MD, Deputy Chief Executive Clare County Council Alan Farrell, Director of Service Carmel Kirby, Director of Service Jason Murphy, Paddy Tiernan, Senior Engineer, members of Clare County Council and invited guests.

Photo by Eamon Ward

Inagh-Kilnamona GAA granted extension until 2031 to complete development works

by Michael Fitzgerald news@clareecho.ie

INAGH-KILNAMONA GAA have been granted planning permission until 2031 to construct a new spectator stand, flood lighting and other developments at their Kilnamona pitch.

The 2021 county finalists were granted an extension of the appropriate period of planning permission, meaning that they will now have six years to complete the proposed developments. Attention will now turn to fundraising for the hurling club in order to cover the significant cost of the works.

The amalgamation was initially granted

permission to “realign existing private roadway, alter and develop playing pitch utilising natural playing surface cover, construct seated spectator stand, erect columns and flood lighting, construct exercise track together with all associated site development works and services”, at their secondary playing facilities in Kilnamona, known locally as The Pit. As Kilnamona, the club won three Clare Senior Hurling Championships in the early part of the 20th century, claiming the Canon Hamilton in 1902, 1903 and 1908.

A successful underage amalgamation led Kilnamona to join forces with their neighbours to the west Inagh in 2008 at senior

level. Since then, the club have continued to succeed at underage grades but a senior breakthrough continues to elude the Mid Clare outfit, despite their wealth of talent.

The club applied for an extension of planning permission “due to financial constraints and significant fundraising requirements associated with community-based sporting developments” according to a letter signed by chairman Oliver Mescall.

A number of the proposed works have already been completed at the site, including the successful alteration of the playing pitch, realignment of the existing private roadway and construction of an exercise track at the

grounds.

It is hoped locally in the area that the development’s completion will bring continued success to the club as well as improve wellbeing in the area with the chairman’s letter highlighting the potential for “the long-term enhancement of our community facilities for future generations”.

Following Clare County Council’s decision to grant planning permission, Inagh-Kilnamona now have until 2031 to complete the remainder of the developments.

THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

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News

15

Show is beating heart of Corofin THE Corofin North Clare Agricultural Show was bigger and better than ever before, as it celebrated 75 years last weekend.

92-year-old Nora O’Brien said the Show has been an important part of her life for a very long time.

Over the years, she was a stalwart volunteer, setting up tables and serving food to young and old alike who enjoyed this time-honored Corofin event. “It’s important for the rural people to come together at something like this,” she said. “Rural Ireland is changing now. It’s a different world than I grew up in. But the show still brings the rural people out. It’s homely.”

That homely atmosphere was evident at the Show last Saturday. The 75th anniversary show drew thousands of people to the Corofin Community Hall and Field to celebrate agriculture and tradition from the animal competitions to the judging of the best in horticulture, gardening and home crafts and creations.

Families flocked to the bouncy castles and face painting, and people danced to classic hits performed

by Bernie and friends along with traditional music from local musicians & stepdancers.

The heart of the Show remains true to its agricultural roots. Pat O’Connor of Boston said until a few years ago, he has always had horses in the competitions. It began in 1969, when his horse Kentucky Colleen came in second. “We won a lot with her down through the years. I got a first for her in the draft class, and probably second in the champion mare.”

O’Connor said the show has long been an important part of his life. “I’ve always come to support the show. It’s great to see local people keeping this tradition going” he said.

That was echoed by Corofin man Tom Burke, a former secretary of the Show. “It has become part of the culture of Corofin. Miltown Malbay has Willie Clancy and Corofin at least has the show for one big day of the year,” he said.

Back in the Vintage Tea Room, a competitor in the Hall exhibitions shared her thought. Kathleen Hassett of Dysert has entered the baking competition for years – this year, she said with evident pride, coming away with two first place ribbons in gluten-free tart and gluten-free tea brack and a second place.

“It’s a great day for Corofin. I wouldn’t miss it for anything. It’s meeting my family and friends and having a cup of tea with them.”

Mary McMahon said she also wouldn’t miss the Show. Corofin “born, bred and raised,” she came as a little girl and went on to serve as secretary for 25 years.

“It’s the involvement of the village, of the people, and not just the village but all around that makes the show so special,” she said. “And people come from far and wide and say it’s a wonderful show.

It’s a community event, that should go on, I think, in every community.”

l (There was plenty to smile about at the Corofin North Clare Agricultural Show at the weekend. Pictured enjoying the show were (bottom left) Maisie Bracken with Teddy the dog; (clockwise from top right) Pat Roseingrave shows his calf; Pete Beaumont weaves a basket; a bullock being examined; Leon Moloney with daughters Abbie and Moya; Miranda Hearne with ‘Danny Diva’ the dog; Anthony Rodgers with winning horse; Olwyn O’Regan with a mare and foal; (l-r) Dan O’Connell, Irish Shows Association, Marian D’Arcy, John Beakey, Sean Kelly MEP and TD Joe Cooney; sheep being inspected and (top) local Irish dancers entertain the crowds

Photos by Tom Micks

16

Thursday, Jul 30, 2026 THE CLARE ECHO

WEST CLARE

Food, fireworks, bouncy castles and bonham races in Kilmihil

by Michael Fitzgerald news@clareecho.ie

KILMIHIL is the place to be this August Bank Holiday as the Festival of Fun kicks off from Friday July 31st to Monday August 3rd.

A huge variety of events are planned for the weekend, including a food and craft fair, parade, bonham race, bouncy castles, ball run and fireworks display. Festival committee member Stephanie O’Grady spoke to The Clare Echo about the work that goes into this year’s festivities and her role with the committee.

“I’ve been involved with the committee in some way for the last four years. My main role is that I look after the pig racing event and the arrangements and moving parts that lead up to that on Sunday night. We all share a lot of the roles”, the Kilmihil woman outlines.

Stephanie says that the festival is helped by a great organisational team and exceptional community engagement each year. “There is eight to ten of us in total that sit on the committee panel each year.

Without the rest of the community in terms of volunteers it wouldn’t come together. The festival wouldn’t run without the volunteers that we

l ANNUAL CELEBRATION: Shots from a recent Kilmihil Festival of

Fun, which takes place every August Bank Holiday Photos by Gerard O’Neill

have. They’re really important and integral for it to continue working year on year and the community really comes alive and comes together, you know, each year when the festival is on”.

“The festival doesn’t happen overnight. It takes months and months of planning and the volunteers give countless hours, along with the generosity of the business-

es and individuals who believe in keeping the community traditions alive”, Stephanie adds.

This year’s festival is a mixture of old and new events and is expected to draw big crowds from across the county. “Starting on Friday July 31st we have our annual and eagerly anticipated Marty Cohen football blitz. Then on Saturday morning we have our St Pat’s soccer

blitz which is dedicated to the memory of Pat Dingle Daly.

On Saturday at 1pm we have our 17th annual Dan O’Halloran 5K Run & Walk, starting in Kilmihil Community Centre. Then we have our eagerly awaited kids tractor and trike course that afternoon at the school from 3pm”, Stephanie outlines.

“Then we come on to Sunday where we have our new arrivals mass where we welcome any babies who have arrived into the community with a beautifully celebrated mass. We normally have a five year reunion for the children born from August 2020 to July 2021 as well. After that we have a kids trad session in the community centre with a lot of talent here in Kilmihil. Twelve noon Sunday is our ball run. It’s a wild event but it’s great craic, it brings the crowd together and gets the excitement going for the evening. We also have a family scavenger hunt that afternoon”, says Stephanie.

Sunday promises to be the most exciting event of the festival, featuring the annual bonham race beginning at 8pm with barbecue, tuck shop and amazing fireworks display

planned. That’s not all however, as TikTok sensation Eoin Reardon will showcase his traditional woodworking skills in the heritage zone on Monday from 11am, along with a food and craft fair and traditional blacksmithing displays.

“The day really kicks off from 12 with the start of our cultural parade.

That has the Tulla Pipe Band and a variety of imaginative floats from visitors and local groups. We have juggling classes, clay pigeon shooting and laser wars available as well.

From half past one on Monday we have entry to our Monster Field Day. That’s packed with a lineup of attractions including Bounce City, birds of prey, a dog show, the big dig, face paint, and a toddler’s own picnic area. We’ll have incredible displays from local services such as our fire service, An Garda Síochána and the RNLI as well”, Stephanie adds.

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THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

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WEST CLARE

17

‘Disgrace’ that Kilrush is the furthest town in Ireland from an A&E department

by Stuart Holly editor@clareecho.ie

KILRUSH people have the furthest distance to travel to an A&E of any town in Ireland, accoring to a new report from the Central Statistics Office.

The new findings showed that the median distance of households to the median household distance to a HSE Emergency Department was 12.9 km, however Kilrush in Clare, along with Bantry and Skibbereen in Cork, all recorded median distances above 70km to their nearest HSE Emergency Department.

Clare Sinn Féin TD Don-

na McGettigan TD has she was not surprised at the recent report. She described the findings as appalling.

Donna told The Clare Echo, “It is a disgrace that Kilrush is reported to be the furthest town in the State from an A&E. “But what’s even worse is that smaller places such as Kilkee, Carrigaholt, Kilbaha and others are even further away from UHL. Many of us warned before Ennis 24-hour A&E was closed in 2009, and have warned since, that the people of West and North Clare would be endangered by the difficulty of

l Kilrush residents have over 70km to travel to their closest A&E department in (inset) Limerick

accessing A&E care.

“We have seen far too many tragedies since then.”

She argued, “Option C of the HIQA report on urgent and emergency care in the

Mid-West recommended building a new Model 3 hospital and it is my belief that this must be built in County Clare.

“The CSO report reinforces the need for this to be commenced as soon as possible.

“But the Minister for Health has made it clear she is not even considering this option.

What is worse is that Government TDs in Clare appear to have accepted her decision. This is an-

other example of the people of Clare being ignored by the Government and of TDs putting their parties and careers ahead of the needs of the people who elected them”.

She added, “The building of the new 96-bed unit at UHL has to be welcomed, but it has made very little difference to the wating lists, the number of people left on trollies and of course, does nothing to help those people in Clare who are well over 100 kilometres away from it.”

“I am calling on government TDs in Clare to finally stand up and demand the health care their constituents so badly and obviously need.”

18

THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

ADVERTORIAL

Clare’s Fittest Superstars to raise funds for Cahercalla Community Care and Ennis RFC

In April 2025, Cahercalla Community Care celebrated its 30th Anniversary.

This date celebrates the generosity of the people of County Clare, who formally took over ownership and established Ireland’s first community-owned hospital.

A lot has changed during this time, however, the ownership remains in the hands of the people of County Clare.

Cahercalla Community Care prides itself on the great care the residents get from our dedicated and passionate staff who strive to promote the ‘home from home’ atmosphere within the facility.

Participating or donating to the ‘Clare’s Fittest Superstars’ fundraiser will directly enhance the daily lives of our residents at Cahercalla Community Care.

Proceeds will support a wide range of activities, wellness initiatives, and lifestyle services. Your generosity will help us provide more meaningful experiences and a vibrant, engaging environment

for the people who have come to regard Cahercalla as their home.

Meanwhile, Ennis Rugby Football Club has officially launched an ambitious fundraising campaign following the granting of planning permission for a transformational €2.5 million redevelopment of its facilities at Drumbiggle, Ennis.

The project represents the largest single investment in the club’s history and will deliver a modern clubhouse, pitch and match lighting upgrades, enhanced gym and training facilities, improved community spaces, upgraded player amenities, expanded parking and significant site improvements designed to serve members and the wider community for generations to come.

Ennis RFC has a proud tradition spanning generations and continues to be one of the leading rugby clubs in the region, providing opportunities for players of all ages and abilities while serving as an important community hub for Ennis and County Clare.

l Cahercalla Community Care; (inset top) Ennis RFC development plans and (inset bottom) organiser of Clare’s Fittest Superstars, Davy Fitzgerald

Thursday, Jul 30, 2026 THE CLARE ECHO

Shannon

65,000 set to travel through Airport this Bank Holiday

by Stuart Holly editor@clareecho.ie

SHANNON Airport is preparing for a busy August Bank Holiday, with more than 65,000 passengers expected to travel through the airport over the period.

This represents an increase of 7% on the passenger numbers for the same period last year.

The strong Bank Holiday forecast reflects Shannon Airport’s continued growth in 2026.

The airport welcomed 1.17 million passengers during the first six months of the year, a 12% increase on the same period in 2025.

Growth has been supported by the airport’s expanded schedule, which this year includes 40 routes, its largest route network in 17 years, together with increased Euro-

l There will be a 7% increase on the same weekend last year

pean and transatlantic capacity. New services to destinations including Rome, Madrid, Warsaw, Poznan and Frankfurt, along with additional frequencies on key routes, have further strengthened con-

nectivity for passengers across the region.

Ray O’Driscoll, CEO of The Shannon Airport Group, said: “We are looking forward to welcoming more than 65,000 passengers through Shannon Air-

port over the August Bank Holiday period, reflecting the strong demand we continue to see from both business and leisure travellers and the growing appeal of our expanded route network.

“The strong growth we are seeing in passenger numbers is being matched by growing confidence in Shannon Airport as an aviation and economic hub.

Ryanair’s recent announcement of plans for a €50 million investment in a new maintenance facility and Engineering Academy at Shannon, supporting more than 400 highly skilled jobs, is a major endorsement of the airport, the region and the opportunities for future growth.

“We remain focused on enhancing the passenger experience, investing in our infrastructure and supporting tourism, connectivity and economic growth across the region.”

19

Plans for Shannon town flood relief are welcomed

by Michael Fitzgerald news@clareecho.ie

LIDL Ireland have provided further information on their plans to demolish their Shannon store and construct a new one storey discount foodstore.

The German supermarket giant had previously been asked to provide further information by Clare County Council in relation to the proposed development’s visual impact and plans for traffic management in the county’s second town.

The local authority stated in its request for further information that “concerns arise in respect of the nature, siting and design of the proposed development” and claimed the plan may harm future development of the One Shannon Hub. Clare County Council also raised concerns over a potential increase in traffic volume the proposed development could incur. Lidl Ireland stated “Access to and availability of the parking areas located outside the construction boundary, and accessed from the R471, will be maintained for public use for the duration of the construction/demolition phases, insofar as it is safe and practicable to do so.

The phasing of the construction/demolition works has been planned to minimise disruption to existing public amenities, where possible”.

They argued that the new development, which it’s proposed will replace the existing “ageing” retail store, “will significantly improve the quality of the public realm”. Clare County Council now has a further four weeks to make a decision on the future of the retail development.

Judge jails man (19) for sex and stalking offences

by Gordon Deegan news@clareecho.ie

A JUDGE has jailed a 19year old for carrying out a random sexual assault on a female gym-goer who thought she was going to be raped by the adult teenager on a footbridge in Shannon.

At Ennis Circuit Court on Tuesday, Judge Francis Comerford has imposed a two year, three month prison term with the final six months suspended on Ryan Connors of Caherdavin Meadows, Old Cratloe Road, Limerick.

Judge Comerford said that the combined 27 month prison sentence was for two random offences against females in Shannon “and both offences had a sexual element”.

Judge Comerford said the fact that one offence took place 15 days after the first offence in August 2025 at different locations in Shannon gave the offence a “sinister” element.

Judge Comerford said that the two women suffered as a result of Mr Connors’s offending and both believe that

their security had been taken away.

In the case of a sexual assault on the gym goer at 9.45am across a well known foot-bridge in Shannon on August 16th 2025, Judge Comerford imposed a 22-month prison term.

Judge Comerford described the random attack on a stranger as “irrational”.

He said that the sexual assault offence was a borderline between a lower and mid-range offence.

Judge Comerford imposed a five-month prison term on Mr Connors for the stalking offence against the first complainant on August 1st and ordered that the two sentences be consecutive and suspended the final six months.

Judge Comerford also ordered Mr Connors to be under the supervision of the Probation Service post release and after he said he hoped Mr Connors would take the assistance of the Probation Service, Mr Connors said from the Midlands Prison via video-link ‘Thank you judge, appreciate it”.

Mr Connors - who also resided at an address in Shannon - pleaded guilty to the sexual assault of the woman on August 16th last and the sexual assault took place 15 days after he committed a stalking offence against a female airport worker late at night on August 1st at another location in Shannon.

In the case of the sexual assault, the woman had just got off a bus to meet a friend at a local gym in Shannon at around 9.45am on August 16th.

Mr Connors - aged 18 at the time and high on a cocktail of drugs and alcohol- was on the same bus and followed the woman as she walked on a footbridge at Drumgeely, Shannon that traverses the main road to Shannon airport.

Counsel for the State, Sarah Jane Comerford BL said that as the woman got to the second level of the footbridge, Mr Connors grabbed the woman’s backside “really, really tight”.

Ms Comerford (instructed

by State Solicitor for Clare,

Aisling Casey) said that Mr Connors then pushed her forward into the steps and he reached around and grabbed her breasts roughly.

Ms Comerford said that she felt his hand on her vagina roughly for a split second and all of the touching was outside her clothing.

Ms Comerford said that the woman “was terrified and thought that she was going to be raped”.

In her victim impact statement, the woman recalled the sexual assault and said “I have near felt fear like that in my life. Knowing no one was around to come and help and save you - that you were on your own.”

The Shannon woman said: “All I kept thinking was ‘I will not let you rape me’ as that was what I thought was going to happen to me. I just screamed out loud and constantly asked “Why are you doing this? Please Stop.”

In relation to the stalking offence, Mr Connors followed an airport worker off a bus at around 1.15am to the address where she lived with

her fiancé.

Ms Comerford said that Mr Connors said ‘hey, hey, hey’ and the woman was trembling when her key code for her accommodation was not working.

Ms Comerford said that Mr Connors then asked her did she want a ‘hard f**k’ with him and the scared woman managed to open the door to let her into accommodation.

Ms Comerford said that the woman could see Mr Connors slapping the closed door with his fist.

In her victim impact statement, the woman said: “I am thankful that I was able to get away and it did not cause too much harm to me but the difficult part is recovering from that incident.”

Det Garda Roddy Burke told the court that Mr Connors - now aged 19 - has 36 previous convictions including 34 committed before he turned the age of 18.

In a letter to the court, Mr Connors said that he wanted to apologise for his actions.

Counsel for the accused, Patrick Whyms BL said that

Mr Connors has previous convictions “but nothing of this nature”.

On the day of the sexual assault, Mr Whyms said that Mr Connors the previous night and that morning had consumed a full litre of Jack Daniels, nine to 10 cans along with grams of cocaine.

Mr Whyms (instructed by solicitor Daragh Hassett) said that Mr Connors had just finished school at the time of the offences and had plans to do an apprenticeship in construction.

Mr Whyms said that Mr Connors is horrified at the state he got himself into and especially the effect it had on him.

Mr Whyms said that the big issue for both injured parties is that they did not know what was going to happen to them.

Mr Whyms said that the stalking offence was isolated and short in duration while the sexual assault involved touching outside the clothes.

20

Thursday, Jul 30, 2026 THE CLARE ECHO

EAST CLARE

Preparations at full tilt as Scariff Harbour Festival ready to rock

by Stuart Holly editor@clareecho.ie

SIGNS and hoardings, banners and flags are flying high in Scariff in advance of the Annual Harbour Festival this Bank Holiday weekend.

The increasingly popular 4-day family festival with an events programme packed to the brim with activities from high octane riverside and hurling pursuits to more reflective historical walks and talks with fun activities for children and street music for evening revellers.

“We are delighted to put Scariff on the summer festival map and welcome people of all ages to enjoy our bumper lineup,” said Mike Rodgers, the Festival’s Co-Founder.

“Each year the festival is the end-result of the work of a small core team but is hugely supported by a wider network of helpers, sponsors and patrons.

“We are extremely grateful to each and every one who has contributed and we look

forward to seeing big crowds in Scariff,” he said.

The festival’s best-loved acts and events are all there again this year with some new elements.

Highlights include the Camino of Hope Walk to Cappabane, a historical walk through the town, a locally-made and directed film on Palestine, a talk on the shops of Scariff in years gone by, old photos of East Clare, a cookery demonstration by a high-profile TV chef, free boat tours, free genealogy sessions with the usual arts & crafts workshops, scouting activities, open days with music from Qween, Jack L, Eirfoyl, The Kilkenny’s and Cnoch na Gaoithe Céili Band among others.

In keeping with the festival’s links to Northern Ireland since 2003, the Scariff Harbour Festival will be officially opened by Council of State Member, Linda Ervine MBE on Friday, July 31 at 6.30pm at Scariff GAA grounds.

She will be joined by her

husband Brian, brother of the late David Ervine, Leader of the PUP and who jointly opened the first Scariff Harbour Festival in 2003 with the then SDLP Leader, Mark Durkan. The celebratory event is open to all.

And in the true spirit of North/South integration at community level, a group of U17 hurlers will travel from East Belfast GAA Club to play in the Barry Nash Memorial blitz.

“This is where friendships and genuine understanding can develop among young people with a deeper appreciation of diverse viewpoints,” said the former President of East Belfast GAA, Linda Ervine.

She holds three honorary degrees and an MBE for her extraordinary commitment to and promotion of the Irish language in east Belfast.

She will be joined on stage by Éanna Rowe, Operations Controller, Waterways Ireland; Harry O’Meara, Co-founder of the Harbour Festival Committee, Fianna

l GREAT EXCITEMENT: A bird’s eye View of the stage and the crowd at the final night of a previous Scariff Harbour Festival

Fáil Cllr Joe Killeen, Mayor of Clare, ending with a special rendition of Leaving Dal Riada composed and sung by Brian Ervine.

Jim Collins of Scariff Bay Community Radio will MC

the evening.

Scariff Harbour Festival 2026 runs from July 30-August 2, beginning on Thursday evening with Voices of Ireland - Don Stiffe, Ger O’Donnell and Trevor Sex-

Photo by Cealtra Communications

ton in the local Church of the Sacred Heart.

THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

EAST CLARE

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21

Thousands to descend on Feakle Festival

by Páraic McMahon news@clareecho.ie

FEAKLE is tuning up for the arrival of thousands of visitors across the next week.

Concerts, workshops, presentations and lively sessions galore await for the 39th Feakle Festival which kicks into gear on Wednesday (August 5) and runs until Monday August 10.

“There’s lots of things to expect from it whether you are a musician, dancer, a music lover or just coming to visit of Feakle in East Clare, there’s something for everyone,” explained Aoife Hayes who serves as secretary of the festival.

Tulla Céilí Band will hold 80th anniversary celebrations at the community hall and will launch a CD. The festival itself begins by looking to the past and the future with a presentation by Tulla fiddler Sorcha Costelloe. The presentation titled, ‘Looking back while moving forward: The past, present and future of the East Clare Music Tradition’ takes place in the Community Hall at 19:30. “She will be doing a presentation on the night and has composed new music around the tradition, rhythm and style of East Clare music around the past”.

Workshops take place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning “with many fabulous tutors” including Martin Hayes, Jack Talty, Páraic Mac Donnchadha, Terence O’Reilly, Nuala Kennedy, Mary McNamara and Claire Keville.

Concerts “are nearly sold out and are at capacity,” Aoife outlined. Eva

l POPULAR: Concerts are almost at capacity for the Festival and (inset)

Martin Hayes will be involved as he is every year Carroll and Meabh Mulligan head- for committee to march behind him, line the Thursday night concert in there’s something special about Peppers, talented tutors will show that too for it to be happening and how it’s done with the Friday lunch- with their 90th anniversary,” Aoife time concert while later that night maintained.

Pepper’s marquee will host EleaHaving the festival in existence nor Shanley and Mike Hanrahan. for 39 years is “incredible,” she told Liam O’Connor and Cormac Begley The Clare Echo. “There is someare in St Mary’s Church on Satur- thing for everyone which is the day night for a gala concert with beauty of it, if you stroll around the the Community Hall serving as the village if the weather permits you setting for a céilí with The Star of will find a beautiful atmosphere, it Munster. The grand finale céilí cele- is something quite special to expebrates eighty years of the Tulla Céilí rience it. It amazes me to see peoBand on Sunday at the marquee in ple travelling from all over the world what promises to be “very special”. and how they can find the village Ninety years of the Tulla Pipe of Feakle in East Clare by word of Band will also be marked. “They will mouth”. march through the street during the Her uncle Martin, the gifted fidfestival, this was a thing of the past dler always draws a crowd with his

appearances.

The Hayes family have been associated with the festival for as long as Aoife can remember including the input of her father Pat on the committee.

This is her fifth year on the committee but she has actively helped out behind the scenes for over two decades. “It is hard to pinpoint when my involvement with the festival started, growing up ten minutes down the road we were always there. My Dad was on the committee then and still is, it became a highlight for our year as children.

“As a teenager I got involved helping out in the office and that continued to where I am now with the committee as secretary. I’ve been more heavily involved in the last few years but I’ve always been helping out, I’m nearly 30 now but it has always been part of my life, it is hard to explain what the festival means to me”.

Musicians travelled from as far away as Mozambique to attend the Feakle Festival last year. “We haven’t anything as far as Mozambique in the programme but I’m sure they will travel from near and far, it is incredible to see people come from near and far”.

Growth of the festival is visible each year, she said. “Each year it is exceeding our expectations and

how it has developed with the programme expanding, it is nearly a week long festival and with the calibre of musicians that want to play in Feakle. We have high-end musicians known globally who are delighted and humbled to play at the Feakle Festival. Some musicians say their year wouldn’t be the same if they didn’t play in Feakle”.

Thousands of people are expected in East Clare for the festival.

“It is hard to put an exact number on it but between 5,000 to 6,000 is the miniumum grasp of it. It is hard to pinpoint it, some have said 8,000 but it is tough to quantify because we have so many events.

“Tickets are selling incredibly well and we are anticipating a good crowd, hopefully the weather plays ball and people will come out to support the artists and East Clare businesses. It does have a knockon effect to businesses and supports them whether it is a business owner with a restaurant, café and shop”.

She said there is a “huge” lift for the economy in Feakle and wider East Clare area thanks to the festival. “People are travelling, they need a bed rest and food so it boosts the local economy which is fantastic to see. We’re very fortunate to have four pubs running during the festival, a lot of businesses can make a lot of their income by having a festival running, it is important to thank them for allowing this to happen”.

22

Thursday, Jul 30, 2026 THE CLARE ECHO

News

Celebrating 80 years of the legendary Tulla Céilí Band

l (l-r) Christy Carey, Jim Corry, Jennifer Lenihan, Charlie Harris (RIP), Laura Donnellan, Michael (Haulie) McKee, Brian Donnellan, David Crowe & Mark Donnellan of the Tulla Céilí Band Photo by Oisín Ó hEartAin

by Michael Fitzgerald news@clareecho.ie

THE Tulla Céilí Band is celebrating 80 years of music with a special anniversary CD launch ahead of the Feakle Festival on Tuesday, August 4, at 7:30pm in the Feakle Community Hall.

Ahead of the landmark occasion, band leader and lifelong member Mark Donnellan spoke to The Clare Echo about the lasting historical legacy of the group and their mission to honour their story and preserve traditional music into the future.

The Donnellan family is steeped in Clare’s premier traditional music outlet. “My father first came to the band in 1947,” recounts Mark.

“And my older brother Brian would’ve joined the band in 1984 or ‘85. They went to America on a tour of the US but he sadly passed away in ’86 after a boating accident. My father rejoined the band in which time his good friend at the time PJ Hayes was the band leader for 50 years”.

Since its foundation in 1946, the band has been home to hundreds of remarkable musicians including Francie Donnellan, Paddy O’Brien, Eamonn Cotter, Michael Tubridy, Paddy O’Donoghue, Dr. Bill Loughnane, Michael Preston, J.C. Talty, Mattie Ryan, Michael Murphy, Peter O’Loughlin and Seán Reid, all of whom have helped to preserve the Tulla Band’s renowned rhythm and swing. Mark Doneallan says it’s vital that the legacy of the group continues to be honoured.

“Looking at the members we have now, they’ve all had great respect for the band. The band members that are there now respect them because every band member that did play with you brought something new to it or something different to it, but still was true to the style of music that

has been played”, Donnellan explains.

Throughout its illustrious history, the Tulla Céilí Band has recorded a remarkable catalogue of music, including the landmark albums Echoes of Erin, The Claddagh Ring, Ireland Green and Sweetheart in the Spring.

The band has also marked its major milestones with special recordings celebrating its 40th, 50th, 60th and 70th anniversaries, each reflecting the band’s enduring legacy and continued evolution. These recordings have inspired generations of musicians and dancers across Ireland and around the world, cementing the Tulla Céilí Band’s place among the most influential ensembles in Irish traditional music.

The band were recently awarded a TG4 Gradam Ceoil Award 2026 for their Outstanding Contribution to traditional music over the years, something which Mark says came as “a complete bolt from the blue”.

While the band’s current members were delighted to accept the honour, Mark notes that they are “delighted to be able to accept it”, on behalf of all the fantastic musicians that came before, adding to the 80th anniversary celebrations.

Great community support has enabled the group to thrive in the eight decades since its formation in 1946, something which Donnellan highlights is still continuing today.

“We’re very lucky in that the band has a lot of friends. We are

definitely looking forward to it.

We’re actually very excited about the CD, it came together very well”.

While spirits are high at this time of celebration, the occasion will be tinged with bittersweetness for the band as they mark the passing of Charlie Harris, a treasured member of the group for more than a decade who passed away in May of this year and was

Every band member that did play with you brought something new

“

instrumental in recording the 80th anniversary CD at Cnoc na Gaoithe cultural centre in Tulla.

Mark praises his “pure playing” on the recording despite the fact “it was a tough day” for Charlie as he was still undergoing treatment for his illness, adding that being unable to play traditional music for long periods of time was a cause of great sadness for the man.

The launch promises to be a memorable evening honouring 80 years of exceptional music, friendship and tradition and serves as the perfect opening to a week of celebration as the Feakle Festival begins on Wednesday, August 5. Music lovers are warmly invited to join the Tulla Céilí Band in celebrating a remarkable milestone in the story of Irish traditional music and their recent TG4 Gradam Ceoil Award.

23

THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

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Regional

Scariff Bay Radio & RCB strike gold SCARIFF BAY Community Radio and Raidió Corca Baiscinn both struck gold at the Craol annual achievement awards.

A total of five gold awards returned to Co Clare following the Craol Annual Achievement awards held at The Shamrock Hotel in Athlone last week with SBCR and RCB also winning standout submission awards. The awards celebrate the work of all community radio stations in Ireland highlighting the roles that community radio plays in promoting local voices and inclusion all over the country.

This year having recently been given a full ten year broadcasting license by Coimisiún na Meán, Scariff Bay Community Radio (SBCR) were eligible to enter three categories.

Under Social Benefit – Music Category the SBCR entry was a two hour live broadcast presented by Tulla’s Daragh Leamy from Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy. “I’m delighted to get recognition for talking trad, programme which is well liked by our listeners. Presenting live from the Willie Clancy Festival was a particular thrill and we had a wide range range of guests and musicians both young

l Bernadette Wilson, Daragh Leamy, Geraldine Colleran and Marianne Purcell of Scariff Bary Community Radio

and old”.

Monthly Irish programme Gaeilge agus Fáilte presented

by Bernadette Watson was nominated under the Irish Language Category and was the winner of a gold award.

“Ni Heart go cure le cheileTa ríméad orm an gradam seo a bhuacaint. This programme was a very special edition as I was interviewing three women new to the country who were enthusias-

tically learning the language, all of whom have come to live in Clare from different corners of the world,” she stated.

An in-depth programme titled ‘Domestic Abuse – The Hidden Plague in our Society’ received gold in the Social Benefit: Talk category. It had a wide range of contributors of Social Workers and members of An Garda Siochana outlining the services available to victims and how to rec-

ognise the signs of Domestic Abuse. “It was amazing to win a gold award but to win a standout achievement award on top of that is the icing on the cake. Geraldine and myself both went way out of our comfort zone to research and make this programme.

We wanted to have the right people to give the right information in a sensitive and accessible manner. Particular thanks to our guests on the

programme and a big thank you to our station manager for allowing us to us to make this programme,” Feakle woman Marianne said.

Geraldine added, “This programme was a long time in the making. Our guests were specialists in their chosen fields and really the programme was steered by their input. To win an outstanding achievement award is a great recognition for the radio and the quality of programming that our volunteers produce on a weekly basis”.

RCB’s total tally of Craol awards has now jumped to thirty following their latest success. The two-part documentary, ‘In My Father’s House’ won gold in the Irish Culture Showcase category. Three generations of the Killeen family from Cree featured in the documentary. It examined the family history through song, poetry, dance and music over the past eighty years in West Clare through the voice of Francis Killeen who has lived in this area since he was born and has reared his family.

In the Social Benefit: Music category, RCB took the top prize for Viktotiia’s weekly playlist. This unique show is aimed at fostering community ties as well as celebrating

diversity through music. It is Viktoriia’s way of connecting people through music and stories and turn an ordinary afternoon into a musical journey.

Station manager with RCB, Máiréad O’Higgins Finnegan said, “I am delighted that we have received two more gold awards, and it is a testament to the hard work of the wonderful and talented staff and volunteers here at Raidió Corca Baiscinn”. She added, “These awards recognise the valuable contribution everyone at the Station has made to our varied and wide programme of entertaining broadcasts over the last twenty six years”.

Jim Collins, co-founder and station manager of Scariff Bay Radio commented, “We are thrilled to win three golds and a standout submission award in our first full year as a fully licensed community radio station. These wins are a tribute to the 95 volunteers who contribute on a weekly basic and make Scariff Bay Community radio the success that it has become. We want to bring the best range of quality programming to our listeners and this year’s success is a sign that we are going in the right direction”.

Blast off for new boat in Bunratty Minister Dara Calleary TD, Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht along with Cllr Michael Begley, Chair Shannon MD, Jason Murphy, Director of Service, Clare County Council, Cllr David Griffin , Cllr Pat O’Gorman, members of Clare County Council , Cathal Crowe TD, Minister Timmy Dooley TD and John Lyons Bunratty Search and Rescue at the Launch of a new Search & Rescue Boat at Bunratty Search and Rescue. The boat was funded under the Community Recognition Fund 2024

Photo by Eamon Ward

24

Thursday, Jul 30, 2026 THE CLARE ECHO

Gort & South Galway

Archaeologists uncover rare Neolithic tombs and 6,000-year old articts in Galway

by Stuart Holly editor@clareecho.ie

ARCHAEOLOGISTS have rediscovered a ‘lost’ Neolithic tomb and located a second, previously unidentified, tomb during excavations at a prehistoric site revealing new evidence about the earliest farming communities in the west of Ireland.

Led by Dr Michelle Comber and Dr Noel McCarthy of the Discipline of Archaeology at University of Galway, the excavation in the Maree area of Galway has revealed two different types of megalithic tombs dating back almost 6,000 years.

Researchers believe the site represents the only known example in Ireland where a court tomb and a portal tomb are found together, offering important new evidence about the people who built them during the early Neolithic period the first farmers in this part of the world.

Court tombs were burial monuments with an open area or ‘court’ where ritual/ceremonial activities took place, while portal tombs were stone-built burial chambers marked by a large capstone.

The discovery of these two monument types side-by-side provides a rare opportunity to examine differ-

l Dr Michelle Comber and Dr Noel McCarthy, co-directors of the Maree Project, next to the newly uncovered megalithic capstone of the portal tomb and (inset) the amethyst pendant uncovered during the excavation Photo by Andrew Downes

ent approaches to burial, ritual and monument building in the Ireland of the Stone Age. Project co-lead, Dr Michelle Comber, lecturer in Archaeology at University of Galway, said: “The chance to find and excavate sites like these within the area of our larger research project provides a golden opportunity to locate - and attempt to understand - the first farmers of

this place. Working here with colleagues, students, and community members, playing a part in such important discoveries, is thrilling both professionally and personally.

“The size and scale of the tombs, and the effort required to construct them, reflect a sizeable community living in and farming this part of coastal Galway. Their location right next to each other represents

a meeting of two traditions, raising new questions about the nature of that interaction.”

Once thought destroyed, the court tomb at Prospecthill, Maree, was uncovered by University of Galway archaeological excavations this summer. One of the southernmost examples of this type of tomb, it is also one of the largest discovered, at approximately 30m in length.

Right beside the court tomb, and previously unrecorded as a burial monument, the remains of a large portal tomb were also discovered.

Its impressive capstone measures almost 4m in length and 1m thick, weighing an estimated 14 tonnes.

Archaeologists on the site also identified a large bedrock pit in which the portal tomb was constructed. This enabled the exceptional preservation of the original burial deposits, providing a rare opportunity to investigate evidence from the monument’s earliest use, offering insights into how these communities buried their dead.

The excavation uncovered stone tools, prehistoric pottery and cremated bone, including a small amethyst pendant from the portal tomb.

While quartz beads are known from a few megalithic sites, nothing like this amethyst pendant is known

from anywhere in Ireland.

Both tomb types are dated to the early Neolithic period and, despite their name, both tombs represent much more than just places of burial. They were the focus of communal gatherings and rituals, some of which involved human remains and ancestral interaction.

The discoveries have been made as part of the University of Galway research project, MAREE, which is exploring how people lived in the area over thousands of years.

The latest discoveries build on the project’s first excavation season in 2025, when archaeologists confirmed Rathgurreen Ringfort as a high-status Early Medieval settlement occupied by rulers and nobles.

That excavation uncovered trade links extending to Rome, Scotland, France and Scandinavia.

The excavation is being carried out by researchers and students from University of Galway, alongside community volunteers, and hosted by local landowner the Burke family, with support from the Royal Irish Academy and survey work by the Discovery Programme, the national archaeological research body supported by the Heritage Council.

All roads lead to 2026 Gort & District Show GORT & District Show takes place on Saturday August 8, 2026 at Gort Community Centre and Gort Community School grounds.

The show, whos main sponsor is Minihanes Super Valu, Gort, promises to be a fun and enjoyable day out for all the family as usual, with competitions in garden produce, flowers, baking, arts & crafts, childrens section and post primary section.

The All Ireland Photography final takes place with a prize fund of €500 and with photography classes for amateurs and professionals and there will be an array of photos on display.

The official opening is at 1pm with a special guest cutting the tape. There will be lots of free childrens entertainment including face-painting, bouncy castle, magic show and puppet show and live music.

The Bonny Baby competition, most appropriately

dressed lady and gentleman and Glamorous Granny competitions on the day always provide a sense of fun.

There will be crafts, art and food stands and baking and crafts demonstrations, pet farm, Sheaf Throwing with Tug O’War. The Pat O Donnell Dog show takes place again at Gort Community School hurling field grounds with access from the Ennis road/ LISK side.

There is limited parking at the Community Centre this year and no access to GRETB grounds. Therefore access at Community Centre will be given in the morning for pick up and drop off, disabled access will be prioritised there and everyone else is asked to park at LISK carpark across from the Lady Gregory Hotel.

The monster Raffle will take place on the day with cards available to buy locally and on the show day.

The Community Centre is

open for drop off of any indoor un-perishable entries on the Friday evening before the show and entrants are urged to avail of that where possible to avoid the morning rush and this gets you into a free Early Bird draw for some lovely prizes.

Cash is still king at Gort & District Show with only some card facilities on site, please come prepared!

With a gate charge of just €10 per adult and children go free, it’s a great family day out. Schedules are now available in local shops, on the Gort Show Facebook page or on the website www.thegortshow.com or by contacting gortshow@gmail.com or phone 087-4452878.

Entries for competitions are closed however Dog Show entries can be taken online in advance and on the Show Day. Anybody who enters is urged to contact the show by phone if they haven’t received their entry numbers

l At the launch of the show at Minihanes SuperValu, Gort are (l-r) Nora Connolly, Joan McAllen, Kieran Reynolds with Peter Minihane & Fiona O Driscoll (SuperValu), Deirdre O’Donnell with her dog Koda, Fiona Curley Dervan, Catherine Hassett, Seamus Killeen, Kate Grehan and Triona Nolan

before August 1.

Anybody looking to book a Trade Stand space can also

contact the email address to enquire. To take an ad in the Show day catalogue or to

sponsor the show please contact us asap.

THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

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GREEN CLARE

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Project to enhance diversity of native wildflowers

by Stuart Holly news@clareecho.ie

CLARE County Council, in conjunction with members of the Shannon community, has begun work to collect natural wildflower seed from a local species-rich donor site to enhance three wildflower meadows within the Council’s landbank.

The Shannon Town Pollinator Project is a pioneering initiative aimed at enhancing the diversity of native wildflowers in public spaces.

Funded by Clare County Council and the Local Biodiversity Action Fund, the initiative involves a two-stage process. The initial stage, which began in July, involved harvesting seed at a species-rich wildflower meadow, known as a donor site, within Shannon Airport’s landbank.

The seed is collected using brush harvesting techniques. Brush harvesting is an eco-friendly method of

l Barry O’Loughlin, Clare County Council; Sue Corcoran and Audrey Conway, Shannon Community Partnership; Mark Bryson and James Kelly, of EcoSeeds; and Tony Walsh, Shannon Tidy Towns and Clare Public Participation Network (PPN)

collecting native wildflower seeds from existing meadows.

Using a quad and mechanical harvester with rotating brushes, it gently combs only mature seeds without cutting or flattening the plants and

can be set at different heights.

This method supports the use of native wildflowers that are of local provenance to County Clare in the conservation of wildflower meadows.

The seed, which includes

wildflowers such as selfheal, greater bird’s-foot trefoil, ox-eye daisy, common spotted orchid, tufted vetch and meadowsweet, was collected from the donor site by EcoSeeds and will be taken off-

site for further processing, cleaning and drying.

The second stage will involve sowing of the processed seed to enhance wildflower meadows at Council-managed sites such as Tullyglass Hill and two other locations in 2027. These locations are known as receptor sites.

Clare County Council Biodiversity Officer Barry O’Loughlin is leading the initiative, with support from Shannon Municipal District Office and staff working in partnership with local communities, including Shannon Community Partnership, Shannon Tidy Towns and Shannon Airport Group.

The project aligns with actions under the Clare County Biodiversity Action Plan 2025-2031 and the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan.

Biodiversity Officer Barry O’Loughlin who is working with Shannon MD on meadow management said, “By

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collecting native seed of local origin from similar soil types, there is a higher chance that the seed will establish at receptor sites that need support to encourage wildflowers and provide nectar and pollen sources for declining pollinators, as well as amenity value for the people of Shannon.

There is also a reduced risk of introducing invasive species such as black grass.

SCP Shannon Community Network Sustainability Task Group member Sue Corcoran said, “Shannon Community Partnership, and in particular the Environmental and Sustainability Task Team, is proud to support the Shannon Town Pollinator Project and to work with local volunteers from Shannon Tidy Towns to help it thrive.

We welcome that Shannon has been selected for this project, which will make a real difference to biodiversity across the town.”

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Thursday, Jul 30, 2026 THE CLARE ECHO

Business & Recruitment

Budget 2027 must invest in Shannon

by Stuart Holly editor@clareecho.ie

SHANNON Chamber has called on Government to make a series of strategic Budget 2027 investments, including the establishment of Ireland’s National Aviation Apprenticeship Centre in Shannon.

Other areas the Chamber has called for action on includes major investment in Shannon Airport and OneShannonHub, accelerated delivery of the N19 Shannon Airport Access Road Scheme, funding to progress planning for the Shannon Airport Rail Link, and positioning the Shannon Estuary as Ireland’s Atlantic renewable energy hub.

The Chamber says these investments will strengthen Ireland’s competitiveness, support balanced regional development, and unlock significant long-term economic growth.

This strategic investment framework forms part of Shannon Chamber’s Pre-Budget 2027 Submission, which has been presented to Government ahead of Budget 2027. Representing more than 330 companies employing in excess of 20,000 people, the Chamber argues that targeted investment in Shannon and the wider Mid-West will deliver national benefits by strengthening international con-

l OneShannonHub plans were unveiled earlier this year

nectivity, supporting enterprise growth, improving housing supply, developing critical skills and accelerating Ireland’s transition to a low-carbon economy.

The submission is built around three strategic pillars: Connected Places: investing in transport infrastructure, Shannon Town Centre and international connectivity.

Competitive Economy: supporting housing, workforce development, aviation skills and enterprise competitiveness.

Future Growth: positioning the Mid-West as Ireland’s leading region for renewable energy, industrial innovation and long-term

economic resilience.

Launching the submission, Shannon Chamber CEO Helen Downes said: “Shannon has consistently demonstrated its importance to Ireland’s economic success. It is home to globally competitive industries, one of Europe’s leading aviation clusters, a highly skilled workforce and exceptional renewable energy potential.

Budget 2027 presents Government with an opportunity to build on these strengths through strategic investment that will benefit not only Shannon and the Mid-West, but the country as a whole.

“Our recommendations are not simply regional funding requests.

They represent an integrated investment framework that aligns directly with Government’s ambitions for balanced regional development, enterprise growth, climate action and national competitiveness. Investment in Shannon is investment in Ireland’s future.”

Among the Chamber’s principal recommendations are: Investment to deliver the OneShannonHub project and Shannon Town Centre regeneration.

Increased investment in Shannon Airport through the Regional Airports Programme and the establishment of a Regional Airports Route Development Fund.

Acceleration of the delivery of the N19 Shannon Airport Road Access Scheme.

Expansion of integrated bus services connecting Shannon and surrounding towns and villages.

Allocation of funding to progress planning and route selection for the Shannon Airport Rail Link.

Prioritisation of the Shannon Flood Relief Scheme to unlock housing development.

Increased investment in AI skills, employer-led workforce development and Skillnet Ireland.

Confirmation of Shannon as the location for Ireland’s National Aviation Apprenticeship Centre.

Enhanced supports for SME competitiveness, innovation and exports.

Strategic investment to develop the Shannon Estuary as Ireland’s Atlantic renewable energy hub.

Ms Downes added: “For more than six decades, strategic investment has transformed Shannon into one of Ireland’s most successful centres of enterprise and international connectivity. Today, the region is home to globally competitive industries, internationally recognised aviation infrastructure, a highly skilled workforce and one of European’s most significant renewable energy opportunities.

“Shannon has the capacity to make an even greater contribution to Ireland’s future prosperity.

By investing strategically in connectivity, housing, skills, enterprise and renewable energy, Government can strengthen regional growth while enhancing Ireland’s competitiveness and resilience in an increasingly challenging global economy.”

The Chamber said it looks forward to continuing to work with Government, State agencies and regional stakeholders to ensure Budget 2027 delivers strategic investment that supports sustainable economic growth, stronger communities and increased national competitiveness.

The full submission has been forwarded to Government Ministers for consideration as part of the Budget 2027 process.

Property

Open Viewing: Saturday, August 8, 1:30-2pm

89 Aughanteeroe Gort Road Ennis, Co Clare, V95 T62D

€349,000

Woodview Garruragh Tulla, Co Clare, V95 WR22

€525,000

520 Kilkee Bay Apartments Kilrush Road Kilkee, Co. Clare V15 T802

€175,000

This spacious four-bed (3 ensuite) semi-detached residence with south facing rear garden is ideally positioned towards the rear of this sought-after development on the Gort Road in Ennis.

The property has benefitted from energy efficiency upgrades including extra attic insulation and pumped external wall cavities. Set in a cul de sac, the property is within walking distance of a host of local amenities and schools.

The ground floor comprises an inviting entrance hall, a cosy living room, and a spacious kitchen/dining area with direct access to the rear garden. A large utility room and guest WC are located off the kitchen. Also on the ground floor is an ensuite bedroom.

Upstairs, there are three further bedrooms, two of which benefit from ensuite bathrooms, along with a well-appointed main family bathroom. Early viewing is highly recommended.

Sherry FitzGerald McMahon are delighted to present to the market this exceptional five-bedroom, four-bathroom detached residence set on a private 1.01-acre site in the highly sought-after area of Garruragh, Tulla.

Just 1.1km east of Tulla, the property offers a perfect balance of country living within easy reach of amenities.

Constructed in 2006, this family home is finished to an exceptional standard, offering generous accommodation, outstanding comfort, and a host of quality design features.

Electric gates open onto a sweeping tarmac driveway with kerbing, amenity lighting, manicured lawns, and mature shrubbery. The expansive rear garden features a large patio area with pergola, together with a block garage.

The interior includes a home office with a private entrance and games room/gym. Homes of this calibre in such an idyllic location rarely come to market, making this a truly unique opportunity for discerning purchasers.

This fine 2 bedroom, first floor apartment represents a fantastic opportunity to purchase a holiday home in Kilkee at excellent value.

It is ideally located within walking distance of the beach and all local amenities.

Accommodation comprises 61 sq.m. and includes and open plan living and dining area, a kitchen, store room, bathroom and two bedrooms.

Externally, there is a balcony/patio area with seating.

The property is being sold in turn key condition (with the exception of perosnal effects) making it ideal as an immediate holiday home or investment property for long or short term rentals. Early viewings are advisable.

Sherry Fitzgerald McMahon Tel: (065) 6867866 PSL 001212

Sherry Fitzgerald McMahon Tel: (065) 6867866 PSL 001212

Sherry Fitzgerald McMahon Tel: (065) 6867866 PSL 001212

27

THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

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28

Thursday, Jul 30, 2026 THE CLARE ECHO

Columnists

Changed for good - the priceless gift of friendship THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: Spreading the word of positivity RONAN SCULLY

O

N THE 30th of July, we celebrate World Friendship Day, a day that invites us to pause and give thanks for one of God’s greatest gifts, the people who have walked beside us on the journey of life.

The Book of Ecclesiastes reminds us why friendship is such a precious blessing: “Two are better than one... If either of them falls, one can help the other up.”

(Ecclesiastes 4:9–10).

A while back, my wonderful family treated me to an evening at the musical Wicked.

I think they secretly enjoy watching me reach for the tissues!

They know me well enough to realise that whenever I witness genuine love, forgiveness, kindness or faithful friendship, my heart is never far from tears.

As we shared that special evening together, I was reminded of the beautiful words from the Book of Proverbs: “A friend loves at all times.” (Proverbs 17:17).

As I watched the story unfold, I found myself reflecting, not simply on the characters, but on the people God has lovingly placed in my own life. One of the musical’s central themes is that the people who enter our lives often leave us changed forever. Without borrowing its famous lyrics, it beautifully reminds us that no true friendship leaves us exactly as we were before.

As I sat quietly, faces began to fill my mind.

My wife. My children.

My family. My friends.

My colleagues. My neighbours. Teachers who encouraged me.

Coaches who nurtured me. Parishioners who inspired me. Neighbours who showed kindness. Colleagues who believed in me.

Even strangers whose compassion arrived at exactly the right moment.

CHANGED FOR GOOD Looking back over the years, one overwhelming thought filled my heart with gratitude.

Because of them, I have been changed.

Changed for the better.

Changed by kindness.

Changed by love.

Changed by friendship.

And through every one

of those friendships, quietly and faithfully, changed by God. As I left the musical, I realised that the greatest gift my family had given me was not an enjoyable evening together.

They had reminded me once again that love is often spelled T-I-M-E. Their thoughtfulness, their generosity and simply wanting to share something beautiful with their dad became another quiet reminder that God so often chooses to love us through the people He places beside us.

ONE OF GOD’S GREATEST GIFTS One of the greatest gifts God gives us in this life is the gift of friendship. Not the hundreds of names stored in our phones or the followers we may have on social media. But those precious souls who quietly walk beside us through life’s joys and sorrows, those who have seen us at our best and our worst, and yet choose to love us anyway. Friendship is a holy thing. It is also one of the hardest things to nurture well.

Real friendship asks something of us. It asks us to listen more than we speak. To forgive more than we condemn. To encourage rather than criticise. To remain faithful when life becomes difficult. To love without counting the cost.

JESUS – OUR TRUEST FRIEND One of the most moving moments in the Gospel comes during the Last Supper. Jesus says to His disciples, “I no longer call you servants... I have called you friends.”

(John 15:15). Imagine those words. The Lord of Heaven and Earth desires not merely our obedience but our friendship. He knows every hidden fear. Every regret. Every failure.

Every dream. Every tear we have ever shed. Yet He never withdraws His love. Then He shows us what friendship truly means. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13). The Cross is the greatest act of friendship the world has ever known. Every genuine act of friendship reflects something of that same selfless love. Whenever we sacrifice our

time, our patience, our comfort or our attention for another person, we become living reflections of Christ Himself.

FRIENDS WHO HELP US BECOME OURSELVES The ancient Irish had a beautiful name for this kind of friendship. They called it Anam Cara which means a Soul Friend. A Soul Friend sees beyond our faults.

Believes in us when we struggle to believe in ourselves. Lovingly tells us the truth because they want us to become the very best version of ourselves. Encourages us to become not copies of themselves, but the unique person God created us to be.

The Book of Proverbs reminds us, “Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17).

Looking back over my own life, I can honestly say I would not be the person I am today without the friendships God has given me.

They have laughed with me. They have cried with me.

They have challenged me. They have forgiven me. They have prayed for me when I had no words left to pray. They have seen goodness in me that I could not yet see in myself.

Because of them, I have been changed for good. Perhaps the greatest gift a friend can offer is simply their presence. In today’s busy world, people often do not need perfect answers. They need someone who will simply sit beside them.

Someone who will listen without judgement.

Someone who will cry with them instead of trying to explain away their pain. Someone who will quietly reassure them that they are not facing life alone.

A WORLD LONGING FOR FRIENDSHIP Sadly, one of the greatest hidden sufferings of our time is loneliness. Many people smile in public while quietly crying in private.

There are elderly people who wait all day for the sound of the telephone. Young people surrounded by hundreds of online friends who feel desperately alone. Families carrying hidden grief.

People living with illness, anxiety, depression or loss, wondering if anyone even notices.

Perhaps the greatest ministry any of us can offer today is not another opinion. Perhaps it is simply friendship.

A visit. A phone call.

A cup of tea. A handwritten note. A warm embrace. A listening ear. A sincere question, “How are you... really?”

Saint Paul encourages us, “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2).

Sometimes the smallest acts of kindness become the greatest acts of love. We may never know how much one conversation, one smile or one unexpected visit means to someone who is silently carrying a heavy cross.

One day, none of us will be remembered for how busy we were, how much money we earned or how successful people thought we were.

We will be remembered for something much simpler. Did we love well? Did we notice the lonely? Did we forgive? Did we encourage? Did we stay when others walked away?

Did people leave our presence feeling a little more hopeful because they had met us?

Those are the things that echo into eternity.

Perhaps it is simply THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK As your thought for the week as you read this reflection, perhaps one face has quietly come into your mind.

Someone who believed in you. Someone who carried you through a difficult season.

Someone who prayed for you when you had no strength left to pray.

Someone whose friendship changed your life.

If they are still with you, tell them. Don’t wait.

Don’t assume they already know. Thank them. Bless them.

Pray for them. Then ask yourself another question. For whom is God inviting me to become that kind of friend? Who is lonely?

Who is grieving? Who is struggling silently? Who simply needs someone to notice them?

This week, don’t just think about friendship. Be one. Make

the phone call. Write the letter. Send the message. Call to the neighbour. Offer forgiveness. Spend time with someone who feels forgotten. One small act of kindness, offered with love, may become the answer to someone else’s prayer. Never underestimate what God can do through a caring heart.

29

THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2025

12 teams ready to kick into action

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

75 years of hurt came to a jubilant end for Mayo’s senior footballers, how they claimed Sam Maguire has already inspired football clubs across Clare and what a timely feat

by Andy Moran’s charges with the ball throwing in on the senior and intermediate championships this weekend. Éire Óg begin their bid for three titles on the bounce, their formidable side has already garnered four championships since 2021 but the gap between them and the chasing pack appears to have narrowed substantially.

Just what extent the distance is between the Townies and everyone else will become crystal clear by the conclusion of the group stages at the end of August.

Colm Walsh O’Loghlen’s absence deprives Éire Óg of a key attacking

outlet and leaves opposing defences with one less headache. They still have bundles of ability with Mark McInerney, Ikem Ugwueru, Ronan Lanigan and Manus Doherty to the fore.

Cusack Cup champions Lissycasey will be considered one of the strongest challengers to the throne.

David Considine has assembled a powerful management team, this factored with their exciting array of players to have excelled at county minor and U20 level and the experienced heads in their line-up offers plenty of hope.

Kilmurry Ibrickane appear to be a much stronger animal in 2026.

The return of Keelan Sexton renews their promise in attack but it is the addition of Conor Burke to their forward line that could prove to be the game-changer. Dermot Coughlan and Caoilfhionn O’Dea are among those with plenty of pedigree that

can set them apart from the rest.

Declan Downes’ fingerprints in bringing a more front-foot approach to Ennistymon has been evident and helps them come closer to fulfilling their potential. Bringing more of a scoring threat is key for their attack, the return from injury of Diarmuid Fahy is a very welcome in this regard while other big players include Cillian, Brendy and Eoin Rouine plus Seán Rynne and Liam Cotter.

Dark horses is a tag fitting for Kildysart who appear to be under the radar but have the ability to light up the championship. Emmet McMahon is back from his ACL injury, he joins arguably the most exciting collective attack of any side in the county which includes Liam Casey, Jamie Evans, Luke McGrath and Diarmuid O’Donnell.

Entering his twentieth season as Cratloe manager, Colm Collins knows how to navigate his way to the final and to take down the biggest of teams. Injuries to Cathal McInerney, Podge Collins, Tadhg Lohan and David Collins deprive them of their strongest line-up for the weekend but they have the safety net of being in Group 1 where three teams qualify for the knockout stages.

That route enabled St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield to reach the county final last season where they matched Éire Óg for large spells before the champions pulled away.

Relegation from the Cusack Cup has dampened expectation in The Parish, James Curran’s injury plus the absence of Michael Nash means it will take for them to find

their groove, they just need to pick up results before they get to full strength.

St Joseph’s Miltown just missed out in their efforts to win the Cusack Cup but the focus for Seán O’Brien and his management has been championship. They are one of the most experienced sides in the county with Gordon Kelly, Seanie Malone, Enda O’Gorman and Brian Curtin still going strong in the twilight of their careers while they have the flair of Eoin Cleary and Cormac Murray in attack. Captain Micheál Murray appears to be in the form of his career and they also have Conor Cleary and Oisin Looney to add physicality to proceedings.

Revived by new additions this season, Doonbeg are more than capable of causing plenty of upsets along the way. They have to take down some of the biggest teams to get out of the group alone but they won’t be caught for lacking determination and ambition. David Tubridy will lead their attack with Darragh Burns and Darragh O’Sullivan also carrying the attacking burden, captain Mikie Tubridy can kick two pointers all over the yard so in him they have a strong weapon.

Beaten finalists in 2023, St Breckans are not short of ambition of getting back to the biggest day. Patrick O’Neill enters his second season at the helm and their sobering quarter-final exit last season leaves them with questions to answer. With Alan Sweeney, Jamie Stack, Colm O’Brien, Cathal Morgan, Padraig Kelly and Cian Burke they certainly have the men that push them back to the business end.

Having held on in relegation battles over the last two years, Kilmihil are keen to stay away from such dogfights. To do that, they need to put together at least two wins in the group stages, they learned last year that one win won’t suffice. Ciaran Downes will be a major loss to their cause but they will be confident in their ability and certainly won’t fear any of their three group opponents.

TUS Clare Senior Football Championship: Group 1: Cratloe Éire Óg St Joseph’s Miltown Doonbeg Group 2: St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield Ennistymon Kildysart Kilmihil Group 3: Lissycasey Corofin Kilmurry Ibrickane St Breckan’s

Up from the intermediate marks and keen to make a mark are Corofin who have retained the same management that guided them to promotion. Jamie Malone brings experience and talent to lead by example while Kevin Keane, Gearoid Cahill and Damien O’Loughlin will look to forge another successful run as they did when bouncing back from intermediate to make the semi-finals in 2022. .

PICTURED: The captains pictured at Cusack Park ahead of the start of this year’s Clare Senior Football Championship

30

Thursday, Jul 30, 2026 THE CLARE ECHO

Éire Óg eye up history

by Páraic McMahon from the provincial news@clareecho.ie

SETTING out to go where no Éire Óg team has gone on in over 100 years, the quest to win three Clare senior football titles in-a-row kicks off this weekend.

They were Ennis Dalcassians when they claimed successive titles in 1909, 1910 and 1911. Now they are Éire Óg and remain the leading football force in the county.

Nobody in Clare has lifted the Jack Daly for three years on the trot since the famed Kilrush Shamrocks team of the 1970s, they were so good they have had a book published in their honour this year by Chris Dixon O’Mara.

With four titles already since 2021, this Éire Óg crop have proved their worth but three on the bounce would be special.

Such talk hasn’t been the topic of conversation in their dressing room, manager Shane Daniels pointed out. “We haven’t looked at it (threein-a-row).

When you’ve so many teams that could get in the way and we have hurling to try get through, we’ve to get through the first round and the group which is very tough so we’ll take it game by game”.

Daniels, a winner of five Clare SFC medals, tasted his first senior success as manager last season having succeeded Paul Madden in the hotseat. “It’s the same as last year for us but we’re not really thinking about targets on our back, we want to get ourselves right for the first game.

We’re coming off a hurling week so we’re trying to assess lads, keep them as fresh as we can”.

Dominant last season, their winning margins throughout the championship were 18, 10, 20, 10, seven and seven points en route to lifting the Jack Daly.

Hopes were high for the Munster club but St Finbarr’s of Cork blitzed them 3-20 0-14 in November.

On the learnings

exit, Shane told The Clare Echo, “We’ve looked back and analysed it. We looked at things we did well, we had periods where we did okay. The first 15 minutes were quite decent. We’ve tried to work on it on the training pitch but it doesn’t happen overnight, it is hard to apply all these things into practice when you don’t have your full panel available for the league and then leading into championship; it is still a work in progress”.

First up is the experienced Cratloe, the last team other than Éire Óg to lift the Jack Daly but who they defeated 2-23 0-11 last year. “Cratloe are always one of the top teams around, they are well coached and extremely well managed by Colm Collins.

You know they will always bring something different”.

Possessing a star-studded line-up that includes Clare starters, Mark McInerney, Ronan Lanigan, Ikem Ugwueru, Manus Doherty and Gavin Murray, the Ennis side can also call on former county defenders Ciaran Russell, Dean Ryan and Aaron Fitzgerald.

Denting their cause is the absence of Colm Walsh O’Loghlen who recovers from an ACL injury sustained last October. Colm had been one of their star players last year.

“Colm’s rehab is going okay, when he will get back fully on the pitch is still yet to be known.”

Also sidelined is Gavin Cooney who picked up an achilles injury in their Cusack Cup clash with Ennistymon.

For the second year running, Éire Óg find themselves in the seeded group where three of the four teams are guaranteed a quarter-final spot. Despite the clear safety net, Daniels insisted there was no extra advantage from their placing. “With the seeded group you want to finish top, you have to hope to get through, I

l COUNTY CHAMPIONS: Éire Óg’s Manus Doherty

don’t see any advantage of being in it, we still have to aim to get out of the group in top spot and if not there then second”.

Part of Paul Madden’s county management for a disappointing first campaign, Shane has managed to combine Clare and club commitments. “It has been different from what I was used to, it seems to have run smoothly, we’ve a fairly good backroom team with Éire Óg so if I missed a session they were well able to handle it. We seem to have a longer run-in to the championship than previous years, we’ve been there for five or six weeks solely now and it has been fine, we’d have wanted to go further and have a longer year with Clare but it wasn’t to be”.

Clare’s premature exit has also meant Éire Óg have had access to their county footballers earlier than normal. “We’ve had them a longer period but we had injuries with a few of them which hampered preparations, we wanted them to take holidays and take a break because it can be a long year, hopefully they are coming back in at the right time and a bit fresher. We don’t have

Photo by Gerard O’Neill

AT A GLANCE Management: Shane Dan-

iels (manager), Alan Malone (selector), David Russell (selector), Luke Moore (selector), Seanie Buckley (coach), Victor O’Riordan (S&C).

Captain: Aaron Fitzgerald Key Man: Mark McInerney One to watch: Danny Lyne Fresh blood: David Loftus, Danny Lyne, Niall Doyle, Odhran O’Farrell, Bernard Power (transferred), Departures Gate: Niall McMahon (regraded), Philip Talty (transferred) Treatment table: Colm Walsh O’Loghlen (ACL), Gavin Cooney (achilles) Titles won: 22 (1890, 1897, 1899, 1904, 1907, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1913, 1914, 1929 (as Ennis Dalcassians), 1947, 1948, 1952, 1954, 1994 as Ennis Faughs, 2000, 2006, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025) Last season’s run: County champions for second year in a row.

Schedule of games:

Round 1 vs Cratloe on Saturday August 1st at 18:00 in Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg, Ennis Round 2 vs Doonbeg on Saturday August 15th at 15:00 in Páirc na Muintire, Lissycasey Round 3 vs St Joseph’s Miltown on Saturday August 29th at 15:00 in St Michael’s Park, Kilmihil

Championship power ranking (1=weak/unlikely winners, 10=strong contenders): 9

to worry about fitness for guys training all year, we just want to see them fresh, that’s the plan we have gone with and we’ll have to wait and see how it has worked out”.

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THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

AT A GLANCE Management: Seán O’Brien (manager), Paul Tubridy (selector), Maurice Reidy (selector), Danny McAlinden (selector), Derrick Morris (S&C) Captain: Micheál Murray Key Player: Eoin Cleary One to watch: Conor Neylon Fresh blood: Eoin O’Brien, Brian Curtin, David Barry, Conor Neylon, Oisin McCarthy, Paudí Killeen, James Hogan, Sean McMahon, Daxon Greenan, Andrew Skerritt.

Departures Gate: None Treatment table: Mark Cunningham

(achilles), Eoin Devanney (hand), Titles won: 15 (1905, 1906, 1916, 1923, 1925, 1927, 1932, 1949, 1953, 1959, 1985, 1990, 2015, 2018, 2019) Last season’s run: Knocked out in the quarter-finals 1-16 0-9 by eventual winners Éire Óg.

Schedule: Round 1 vs Doonbeg on Saturday August 1st at 15:00 in Páirc Naomh Mhuire, Quilty Round 2 vs Cratloe on Saturday August 15th at 17:00 in Páirc Finne, Corofin Round 3 vs Éire Óg on Saturday August 29th at 15:00 in Kilmihil Championship power ranking: 8

Momentum builds in Miltown

by Páraic McMahon news@clareecho.ie

ST JOSEPH’s Miltown have put together the strongest panel at their disposal, it has reignited ambition and belief within their ranks of having a big say in determining the final destination of Jack Daly.

Successive quarter-final exits have left St Joseph’s Miltown outside of the top four, an extra time semi-final loss to St Breckans saw them miss out on reaching the 2023 decider.

Champions in 2019 to win two titles on the bounce, Miltown have not reached the county final since. Talk of marching behind the Tulla Pipe Band is not on the horizon yet but there’s a renewed focus as evident by their Cusack Cup campaign where they won every game, going as far as the final when Lissycasey prevailed after extra time.

Seán O’Brien was goalkeeper on the Clare SFC winning Miltown sides of 2015, 2018 and 2019. Taking on the top job in the club was always an ambition, he admitted. “I wanted the job, I’ve been involved with every age group in the club from U12 to U21.

It came up a bit sooner than I expected but I still felt now was the time to go for it”.

Eoin Cleary and Cormac Murray will be central to their plans. “I feel we have really strong forwards, we want to work on getting the ball from back to front quickly, to try and get more space for 1v1s and create opportunities for our best players to go 1v1”.

From his days as the netminder Seán was well able to give out instructions to his teammates, now in the guise of manager he said the t ransit ion from playing alongside to managing has been smooth.

Experienced players such as Brian Curtin and Eoin O’Brien (Tayto) have returned to the fold this

season while former Clare defender Gordon Kelly was back from the get-go for the Cusack Cup. “I want the best players in Miltown that are eligible to be part of the squad, whether they are 17 or around 40 years of age didn’t bother me.”

Oisin Looney, who had been based in the Middle East as a teacher, is back and available for the entire Clare SFC. They will also be able to call on Conor Cleary who alongside Looney featured for Kilmaley as they began their Clare SHC campaign with a five point win over Newmarket-on-Fergus. “Our team isn’t settled yet, we’ve a lot of tough calls and close calls to make, it is a great problem to have”.

Though they didn’t secure silverware in the Cusack Cup, O’Brien was pleased with their overall league campaign, noting that 35 players saw time on the pitch.

Absent throughout the league was former Clare U20 Seán Neylon. He has returned home after spending a chunk of the summer in the United States.

Pitted against the most recent winners of the Jack Daly, Éire Óg and Cratloe plus the ever-dogged Doonbeg, there won’t be any facile outing for O’Brien. “There’s no easy game in the group, there’s always two or three points between ourselves and Doonb e g either w ay, w e haven’t t h e greatest of records versus Cratloe or Éire Óg in recent years but we want to compete and play against the best teams to find out where we are”.

PICTURED: Cormac Murray of St Joseph’s Miltown. Photo by Gerard O’Neill

AT A GLANCE

Management: Colm Collins (manager), Fearghal Carroll (coach), Brian O’Connell (selector), Jody O’Connor (selector), Paul O’Sullivan (selector), Seán O’Dea (selector).

Captain: David Collins Key Player: Cathal McInerney One to watch: Cian O’Gorman Fresh blood: Cian O’Gorman, Ryan Boden (transferred from

Kildare) Departures Gate: Jack McInerney (travelling), Keelan O’Donoghue (travelling), Treatment table: Tadhg Lohan (hand), Podge Collins (hamstring), David Collins (knee) , Cathal McInerney (calf) Titles won: 3 (2013, 2014, 2023) Last season’s run: Reached the semi-finals but knocked out by St

Joseph’s Doora/Barefield Schedule of games: Round 1 vs Éire Óg on Saturday August 1st at 18:00 in Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg, Ennis Round 2 vs St Joseph’s Miltown on Saturday August 15th at 17:00 in Páirc Finne, Corofin Round 3 vs Doonbeg on Saturday August 29th at 15:00 in Clarecastle Championship power ranking: 8

Collins in for 20th season

by Páraic McMahon news@clareecho.ie

CRATLOE will always bring strong championship credentials so long as Colm Collins is at the helm and this season marks his 20th in the hotseat.

Positioned in Group 1 where three teams will advance to the quarter-finals, there is a safety net for Cratloe but this cushion doesn’t guarantee a spot in the knockout stages.

Colm was in action as a steward at Pairc Michael Ui hEithir in Cratloe as the venue hosted a rare Clare SHC game last weekend.

He then travelled to Cusack Park and was a nervous spectator as Cathal McInerney was forced off with a calf injury as Cratloe’s hurlers secured an opening draw with Clooney/Quin.

McInerney is one of their marquee forwards but is ruled out for the weekend, Collins confirmed. “He was in great form and playing great football so it is a pity. He had issues with his hamstring but rehabbed them well and worked very hard to get back, hopefully it won’t be too serious”.

Podge Collins remains an injury doubt with a hamstring issue that kept him out of the first round of the hurling while younger brother David who captains the side is also sidelined with a knee injury. Tadhg Lohan who excelled in attack in his breakthrough

senior campaign is another player that Cratloe will be without.

They will be able to call on Tommy Rooney, Off The Ball’s GAA correspondent, once he returns from covering the Mayo homecoming celebrations. “He has exclusive rights to Andy Moran, he has all the exclusive interviews with Andy so all journalists have to go through Tommy to get an interview with Andy so his pockets will be laden when he comes back to us,” Colm quipped. Further afield is London based Liam Markham who is eligible to line out for the side but has not featured yet.

For the second year in a row they face county champions Éire Óg in the opening round, Colm is well aware of what to expect from the Townies and hasn’t forgot their 2-23 0-11 loss to them. “They are a serious outfit, an excellent team. I had the pleasure of dealing with some of them at inter-county level, you

couldn’t come across better lads. They are a formidable outfit ... I don’t think anyone will win the senior championship without beating them.”

All teams in Group 1 will be difficult to face off with but Collins said they will have no excuses if they are not one of the three teams to qualify for the quarter-finals. “You can hardly complain about being in a group with two seeded teams, if you’re in a group of four and three teams come out you can’t complain if you don’t come out”.

A three point defeat to St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield ended their involvement at the semi-final stage last year, the toll of having to overcome Ennistymon in extra time the fortnight previous evident by this juncture.

As he puts the final touches on the preparations for his 20th campaign in charge of Cratloe’s top side, the thrill of championship is still as strong for Colm. “It’s very enjoyable when you have a great bunch of lads, guys that are very interested, that work and are prepared to listen, it is very enjoyable”.

PICTURED: Cratloe will be without star forward Cathal McInerney this weekend Photo by Gerard O’Neill

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Thursday, Jul 30, 2026 THE CLARE ECHO

Doonbeg on quest to take big scalps

by Páraic McMahon news@clareecho.ie

DETERMINATION is never lacking when it comes to Doonbeg sides at any level, they’re considered outsiders in a competitive Group 1 but that hasn’t restricted their level of ambition.

Having failed to make the quarter-finals of the Clare SFC since 2019, eighteen-time champions Doonbeg have become somewhat frustrated at watching on from the sidelines in recent years.

Brian Shanahan, a winner of seven Clare SFC medals with Doonbeg is in his second year as manager of his native club. He is not one for apologising when it comes to believing where the Magpies should be aspiring to reach.

Their cause is strengthened this year by the addition of young guns such as the promising Darragh O’Sullivan in attack while the cause has also been bolstered by the arrival of defender Gearoid White who has transferred to the club from Cooley Kickhams, his work as a greenkeeper bringing him to Trump Doonbeg in advance of the Irish Open this September.

Offering another timely boost is the return to West Clare from Aus-

tralia of Seán Conway, a former Clare minor and U20 footballer.

“He only came back on Sunday so we’ll get two training sessions into him before the weekend, it’s unlikely he’ll feature against Miltown but by the second or third round he more than likely will feature.

I’m not ruling him out featuring this weekend because he is in good shape, he is ready and available to play which is as good as we can hope for”.

Full-back James Killeen is ruled out, after impressing last year he warranted a call-up to the county squad where he unfortunately suffered an ACL injury. “James is a massive loss, he had a great year at full back, it is every hard for someone to play full back but he made that position his own, he is a huge loss, we’ve tried a few different lads full-back since but he is a massive loss”.

St Joseph’s Miltown dumped Doonbeg out of last year’s campaign in the preliminary quarter-finals so they are not short of motivation for this weekend, Shanahan outlined.

“They were unlucky not to win the Cusack Cup when they got to the final, it will be a tough game, they have the best two forwards in

the county in Cormac Murray and Eoin Cleary so we’re in for a battle, they are a big strong physical team with plenty experience at the back with Gordon Kelly, Tayto and Enda O’Gorman”.

Along with Miltown, they have the three in a row chasing Éire Óg and 2023 winners Cratloe for company in Group 1 where three teams qualify for a quarter-final.

“You would be hoping to take a scalp, if you’re not going out with that mindset then you are in trouble. We are looking to win all three games, that is the attitude you have to have in every championship game regardless of the opposition, we know when we play well we’ll give a game to anyone”.

Last year’s one point defeat to Ennistymon in the opening round remained a source of regret for Brian when reflecting on where they fell short in 2025. “Regardless of who you play you want to get off to a winning start, we left goal chances behind us against Ennistymon, we lost by a point and you hope to get off to a winning start because it takes the pressure off for second game, we’d be hoping to really get something out of the Miltown game”.

Doonbeg came as close as was so it’s like getting a new player back possible to securing promotion to for the championship, he is fitter the Cusack Cup but they lost out and sharper for us so that all helps”. following extra time and penalties to Kildysart in the Garry Cup PICTURED: Darragh Burns semi-final. “We were happy enough Photo by Gerard O’Neill with the Garry Cup as a whole, we were disappointed we didn’t get promoted, we lost to Kildysart on penalties but there was a couple of games where we played poorly like against Clondegad and we had a big lead versus Wolfe Tones but lost that game. We didn’t lose out on promotion in penalties, it was in the games that we didn’t finish off, we went a goal up against Kildysart, Management: Brian Shanahan we could have finished it (manager), Brian Dillon (coach), David off but our young learns Russell (coach), John Killeen (selector), will learn from the experi- Liam Roche (stats), Shane McNamaras (S&C) ence”.

Up front, the addition Captain: Mikey Tubridy of Darragh O’Sullivan has Key Player: Tadhg Lillis lessened the burden on the One to watch: Darragh O’Sullivan blood: David Conway, Cian shoulders of David Tubridy Fresh Conway, Ian Ryan, Darragh O’Sullivan, to create scores. “Darragh Liam Hehir, Gearoid White (transferred), has given us extra scoring Seán Conway (home from Australia) power, he has a great left Departures Gate: Paul Dillon (retired), leg on him, he freshens up Kevin Pender (retired) the attack. Gearoid White Treatment: James Killeen (ACL), is a new face, he is a good Titles won: 18 (1955, 1961, 1967, strong fella and has settled 1968, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1982, in well for us. We’ve been 1983, 1988, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1998, very dependent on David 1999, 2001, 2010) Tubridy for scores, he has Last season: Beaten by Miltown in missed a lot of games in preliminary quarter-final 1-12 0-11. the Garry Cup and if you Schedule of games: look at all the scores in our Round 1 vs St Joseph’s Miltown on August 1st at 15:00 in Páirc game we’d have had seven Saturday Naomh Mhuire, Quilty or eight different scorers Round 2 vs Éire Óg on Saturday August so the burden is off David 15th at 15:00 in Páirc na Muintire, Lisa bit with the few new lads sycasey coming into the forwards. Round 3 vs Cratloe on Saturday August Darragh Burns is a lot fitter 29th at 15:00 in Clarecastle and healthier than last year Power ranking: 6

AT A GLANCE

33

THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

Expectation lower on Parish

by Páraic McMahon news@clareecho.ie

BEATEN finalists last year, St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield head into this year’s campaign in a much different place to when they set out 12 months ago.

With a league run that saw them reach the Cusack Cup final only to lose to Éire Óg in a game they should have won, Doora/Barefield managed to get out of their Clare SFC group with just a draw to their name but took big scalps in Kilmurry Ibrickane and Cratloe to deservedly reach a first county final in 13 years.

Fast forward to the present day and The Parish’s championship preparations follow their relegation from the Cusack Cup in what was a very disappointing league from their perspective.

James Curran was a standout in their journey to the decider last season but sustained an ACL injury when with the Clare senior footballers at the beginning of the year. Michael Nash, who was also called up to the county squad, remains in the States but is expected back for the final round of the group stages.

Piece all this together and the level of expectation on Doora/Barefield’s shoulders isn’t as heavy as it should be. “This year has thrown up its own challenges as is the same with every club but we’ve had a lot of lads unavailable with involvement on the Clare panels. Getting the bit of success by reaching the county final led to lads getting called up to the Clare panel and unfortunately we ended up with James Curran doing his ACL, we also were without Tom Curran and Paddy Bugler with long-term injuries which required operations but they are coming back and we are delighted to have them,” explained manager Donagh Vaughan. He’s hopeful of seeing Tom and Bugler in action “very soon, they might make it and might not”.

Now in his fifth year as manager, Vaughan is very in tune with the panel of players in front of him. “We were poor in the league, who was available and who wasn’t did have a bearing on it. We played Ennistymon in the last round and shipped a heavy beating to get relegated to the Garry Cup. We’re well aware of where we are, nobody wanted to get relegated but that is what happened. The performance against Ennistymon will get us nowhere,” Donagh told The Clare Echo.

Ennistymon was the last competitive fixture for Doora/Barefield as it finished 1-22 1-10, they clash again in championship fare as part of a Cusack Park

AT A GLANCE

Management: Donagh Vaughan (manager), Eoin Troy (coach), Michael O’Dwyer (selector), Declan Malone (selector), Brian O’Donnell (GK coach), Joint captains: Eoghan Thynne & Cian McDonough Key Player: Joe Rafferty One to watch: James Rafferty Fresh blood: Darragh Fahy, James Rafferty, TJ Moore, John Sheanon, Kuba Ruminowicz.

Departures Gate: Darragh O’Shea (US).

Treatment table: James Curran (ACL), Liam

AT A GLANCE Management: Declan Downes (manager), Brendan ‘Beano’ Rouine (selector), Michael Rouine (selector), John Conneally (selector) Captain: Eoin Rouine Key Player: Cillian Rouine One to watch: Daniel Brody Fresh blood: Eoin Marrinan, Michael Davenport, Departures Gate: None.

Treatment table: Ciaran McMahon (back), Eoin Marrinan (ankle) Titles won: 0 Last season’s run: Defeated

by Cratloe by a point following

extra time in the quarter-finals Schedule of games: Round 1 vs St Joseph’s Doora/ Barefield on Saturday August 1st at 16:00 in Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg, Ennis Round 2 vs Kilmihil on Sunday August 16th at 13:00 in Shanahan McNamara Memorial Park, Doonbeg Round 3 vs Kildysart on Saturday August 29th at 17:00 in Páirc Cuar an Chláir, Cooraclare Championship power ranking: 8

l Injury doubt Tom Curran Photo by Gerard O’Neill double-bill this Saturday. “Ennistymon and ourselves have had many underage battles and met each other in finals on the way up, we have only played them in the league and that was a few weeks ago when we were wiped, if we don’t come with a different attitude we’ll be in trouble”.

Whether it is hurling or football, Doora/Barefield as a club struggles to keep players once they hit their mid to late 20s. Last year’s captain Darragh O’Shea is the latest exit, having taken on a promotion with work that has brought him to the United States. “It is an issue that we have, every club has the issue of lads wanting to travel, it is something we have to deal with”.

Adding some experience is the addition of John Sheanon, an All-Ireland club winner with Cuala.

Qualifying for a fourth successive quarter-final is the target for Doora/Barefield. “Our aim is to get out of the group by hook or crook, everybody wants to top the group but it’s all about getting out.”

To have led the chasing pack behind Éire Óg last season, the task in taking down the Townies is far from easy, Donagh acknowledged “There’s 11 teams in Clare that will persuade themselves the gap is closing with Éire Óg but it is a fabulous Éire Óg team that still has the anchors of Ciaran Russell, Aaron Fitzgerald, Manus Doherty, Ronan Lanigan and Ikem Ugwueru but just look at Mayo, if you use the new rules, get your presses right and take your chances then nobody is too far away”.

Clune (stomach) Titles won: 1 (1898) Last season’s run: Reached the county final losing to Éire Óg 1-16 2-6.

Schedule of games: Round 1 vs Ennistymon on Saturday August 1st at 16:00 in Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chiósóg Round 2 vs Kildysart on Saturday August 15th at 13:00 in Clarecastle Round 3 vs Kilmihil on Saturday August 29th at 17:00 in Páirc na Muintire, Lissycasey Championship power ranking (1=weak/ unlikely winners, 10=strong contenders): 7

Ennistymon won’t look past Parish

by Páraic McMahon news@clareecho.ie

WITH plenty of promise in their ranks, the time for Ennistymon to really deliver at senior beckons.

Finalists in 2018 and ‘22, they have reached the quarters for 10 of the last 11 seasons. A point separated them at Cratloe at that juncture following extra time in 2025.

As a new campaign looms, they’ve been boosted by the return to training of Diarmuid Fahy, one of the county’s top forwards. They have also welcomed back Brendy

Rouine following a groin injury. Ciaran McMahon’s loss from the fullback line will be felt but the injury front is pretty stable.

Declan Downes is in his second season as Ennistymon manager and has brought more of an attacking flair to the side. “New rules lend themselves to a more attractive style of football, our guys have embraced it,” he told The Echo, adding, “they know where they want to end up and what prizes they want to be competing for, their ambition is obvious”.

Minus the services of a large co-

hort for the Cusack Cup, Ennistymon won when they needed to including their 12 point win over St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield in the final round which consolidated their status.

Ennistymon meet the Parish again in Round 1. “They are beaten finalists so we have to respect that, they have young talent coming through and guys I’m familiar with, guys that have been on county panels and have played inter-county football. We’re under no illusions as to the challenge ahead on Saturday and we’re not looking past that”.

34

AT A GLANCE

Management: Niall Ginnane (manager), Eoin Ryan (coach), Patrick Casey, Ian Flanagan (selectors), Kieran Helihy (S&C), Kieran Conneelly (physio).

Stats: Robbie Kelly, Reuben Ginnane, Alex Garry, Siney Neenan.

Captain: Luke McGrath.

Key Player: Emmet McMahon One to watch: Liam Casey Fresh blood: James Casey, Darragh Murtagh, Liam Casey, TJ O’Donoghue, Danny Moloney, Shane Casey, Departures: Stephen Sheehan (emigrated), Conor Hassett (transferred).

Thursday, Jul 30, 2026 THE CLARE ECHO

Treatment table: Ryan Casey (dislocated shoulder), Seamus Casey (knee).

Titles won: 1 (1889) Last season’s run: Retained senior status after beating Kilmihil in relegation semi-final Schedule of games: Round 1 vs Kilmihil on Friday July 31st at 19:30 in Páirc Cuar an Chláir, Cooraclare Round 2 vs St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield on Saturday August 15th at 13:00 in Clarecastle Round 3 vs Ennistymon on Saturday August 29th at 17:00 in Páirc Cuar an Chláir, Cooraclare Power ranking (1=weak/unlikely winners, 10=strong contenders): 8

AT A GLANCE

Management: John Normoyle (manager), Sean Johnston (selector), Denis Hynes (Coach) Captain: Mikey Keating Key Player: Dan Keating One to watch: Darragh Connors Fresh blood: Darragh Connors, Sean O’Gorman, Daniel Finucane, Darragh Walsh

Departures Gate: Ciaran Downes (travel), Shane Downes (emigrated), Sean Crowley (emigrated) Treatment table: None Titles won: 2 (1944 with Cooraclare, 1980) Last season’s run: Retained their status after beating Wolfe Tones in the relegation final Schedule: Round 1 vs

Kildysart on Friday July 31st at 19:30 in Páirc Cuar an Chláir, Cooraclare Round 2 vs Ennistymon on Sunday August 16th at 13:00 in Shanahan McNamara Memorial Park, Doonbeg Round 3 vs St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield on Saturday August 29th at 17:00 in Páirc na Muintire, Lissycasey Championship power ranking: 5

Kildysart mean business

Kilmihil must avoid relegation scrap

by Páraic McMahon

by Páraic McMahon

news@clareecho.ie

HEADING into their fourth season back at the top table of Clare football, Kildysart will be keen to show what they can really offer by competing in the business end of the championship as opposed to fighting for survival.

Last season, they survived a relegation scare where they kicked four points in the space of three minutes to recover from the concession of a 59th minute goal, just edging out Kilmihil. Ironically, it’s the West Clare side that they face off with first as a new campaign dawns.

Kildysart are well aware this will provide plenty of fuel for Kilmihil. “They have a point to prove and will want to settle a score from last year, they got a late goal but we responded well with some scores to steal it by a point. We won’t be going in underestimating their ability, they are a good team,” outlined manager Niall Ginnane.

In tandem with the view that they may just be at their best when their backs are to the wall, Kildysart had to produce four wins on the trot in the Garry Cup to avoid successive league relegations, their turnaround resulted in them reaching the Division 2 final and more importantly bouncing back to the Cusack Cup at the first attempt.

Reflecting on their league run, Niall said, “We got promotion out of it which was one of our aims at the start of the year, to get back to the Cusack Cup and we did that.

We didn’t win the Garry Cup but we learned a lot so we’re on a good footing”.

Off the field, the year has had its difficulties with the club saddened by the death of Mickey McGrath. A native

of Donegal, he became heavily involved in Kildysart since moving there from New York in 2004. He spent a decade as a selector, kit man and on the field committee while always being a loyal supporter of the club. His son, Luke serves as captain of the seniors this season. “We lost a great clubman in Mickey McGrath, we’re keeping him in our thoughts all the time,” Niall said.

Niall, who captained the club when they won the Clare IFC in 2003, has succeeded Maurice Walsh as manager but has retained Adare’s Eoin Ryan as coach. During the Garry Cup, they blooded six minors with the trio of Liam Casey, Darragh Murtagh and James Casey on course to make their championship debuts this weekend. “Ideally you’d like to gradually bleed them in and not be giving them 60 minutes every day but with lads gone with the county, travelling and transfers, they were thrown in straight away and have proved to be more than capable.

“We have a couple more lads on the bench chomping to get in, it is good to have them, our senior lads have really responded to them so they have only added to the set-up”.

Liam Casey’s ability to kick two pointers alongside the presence of Emmet McMahon, Luke McGrath, Diarmuid O’Donnell and Jamie Evans creates an stimulating attacking dynamic for Kildysart. “It is an exciting attack line but there is nothing given easy so they have to go out and work on the scoring end and just like Mayo work as hard on the defensive end to stop the opposition from coming out of defence which is a huge part of the game.

We’re very happy with the calibre of forward we have”.

PICTURED: Conor Moloney

Photo by Gerard O’Neill

news@clareecho.ie

BACK-to-back wins in the final nobody wants to be in, Kilmihil have had their fill of relegation woes and are determined to avoid such a fight this season.

Unlucky to have ended up in the relegation series in 2025 having overcome Ennistymon in the second round, this win was not enough for Kilmihil to avoid a scrap for top flight status.

Fight they did and it looked like they would cause an upset against Kildysart after Shane Downes’ 59th minute green flag but they conceded a two pointer and last-minute Diarmuid O’Donnell point to end up having to do it all again, coming out the right side against Wolfe Tones in the relegation final.

Mickey Doran has stepped down as manager with John Normoyle taking on the reigns joined by former FAI CDO Denis Hynes as coach and Seán Johnston as selector.

Speaking to The Clare Echo, Seán admitted that the shortage of numbers in Kilmihil can make preparations tricky. “It is tough going, numbers are tight with us, training can be tough at times but we have quality there which is always encouraging”.

Staying out of any relegation fight is the primary focus. “That is the goal every year to avoid being in a relegation battle, we were unfortunate last year in that we managed to get

a win in our group but we still finished bottom of the group, that doesn’t happen too many teams ... We definitely want to avoid being in the drop zone this year”.

Ciaran Downes’ absence will be a blow to their challenge. Johnston said they do not expect to have the former Clare forward available for the championship.

The energetic Seán Crowley will be another loss from their first 15 but fresh faces have brought new energy.

“We’ve three or four new faces which is great to see, we haven’t had that since Ciaran came through”.

Cooraclare is the setting just as it was last year as they face off with Kildysart.

“We know what Kildysart have, they are a strong and upcoming team with plenty of county players, we were disappointed with the result in Cooraclare last year, we should have seen out the game but we didn’t and that is how we finished up in the relegation final.

“We’ve no feat going back to play them, we’re very hopeful and we will give it everything we can”.

Round two sees them

clash with Ennistymon, another side they won’t feat having got the upperhand on them in what was one of the shocks of the championship.

“We have Ennistymon again, we beat them last year but it will be another tough game. Our numbers are very tight but that means we have a very tight-knit squad, they have won together and lost together, they know what it takes, we’re hopeful and happy with our group of players”.

Of all the senior sides, they compete in the lowest league (Division 3), this didn’t deter Cratloe when they were at the height of their powers and it’s a similar approach as treating it as a completely different competition for Kilmihil.

“We got beaten in the league semi-final and really left the game after us, we should have seen out the semi-final and that would have got us promoted but we didn’t.

“The league has its ups and downs but at the end of the day, league is league and championship is championship. We only ended up with one point in the league last year and were unlucky not to make a championship quarter-final so you can’t go on league form really, we’re hoping to step it up for championship”.

PICTURED: Kilmihil midfielder, Dan Keating.

Photo by Gerard O’Neill

35

THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

Soul-searching reignites Breckans’ hopes of senior breakthrough

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

SOUL searching from a gutting quarter-final exit has strengthened St Breckans and with it their resolve to make a breakthrough.

County finalists in 2023, St Breckans have failed to get beyond the last eight in 2024 and 2025. Getting to march behind the Tulla Pipe Band on the biggest day of the club football calendar in Clare left an itch that they haven’t come close to scratching over the past two years.

Semi-final appearances in 2020 and 2021 had them knocking on the door following their intermediate success of 2019 but the the North Clare side are resolute in their belief that they can indeed knock the door down.

“We have very high ambitions in St Breckans and rightly so with the panel of players we have.

Can we win a senior football championship? Absolutely, we believe we can compete with anyone but we have to earn that every weekend we go out. First and foremost it starts this weekend,” manager Patrick O’Neill told The Clare Echo.

Patrick enters his second championship campaign as manager having succeeded twotime All-Ireland winning Kerry goalkeeper, Declan O’Keeffe.

On the lessons from year one, he remarked, “it is how fast championship comes around, it comes thick and fast so you have to adapt. To be honest, I didn’t learn too much because I’ve been around Dublin panels and I know what championship means, it is a case of using what you have.”

Trying to get on top of injuries

led to them recruiting one of the top S&C coaches in the country, Lukasz Kirszenstein who has been involved in All-Ireland SHC success for Clare (2024), Galway (2017) and Tipperary (2016). The Polish native is joined by Clarecastle’s Eoghan Wallace who deputised under him with the Clare seniors this year and is also S&C coach for Wolfe Tones’ senior hurlers.

Bolstered by additional expertise off the field, Cian Burke’s return from a lengthy injury along with welcome sight of Liam Tierney back in a Breckans jersey is a huge plus.

They’ll also be able to call on Clare U20 Donnacha O’Dwyer for the first time in the Clare SFC. “Anyone would like a Cian in their side, he has missed a lot of football in 12 months. He’s had a good Cusack Cup and is going strong in training. It is great to have Liam back as well, we have a strong panel”.

Before there was the talk of Mayo’s Kobe McDonald going down under, there lived the annual rumour that Joe McGann would be heading in the opposite direction and coming home to North Clare.

It seems that this time, it might be more than just whispers and McGann, a former Clare forward could yet make his first Clare SFC appearance since 2024.

“We have our fingers crossed that he might be back at some stage,” O’Neill told The Clare Echo. “Joe Mc is a quality player, anyone would miss someone of his calibre”.

Promoted back to the Cusack Cup last season, retaining their status was the primary focus during the league, it went much better than this and they reached

the semi-finals of the competition but were blown away by Miltown’s ability to kick two pointers.

“The Cusack Cup was huge, it gave us plenty of learnings. We took a lot of positives.

“We went to a point in the Cusack Cup that we were relatively happy with, we’re ready now for a new competition and championship football is a lot different to the Cusack Cup in terms of what we’re up against. It’s about giving lads minutes on the field, seeing their best positions and where they are at”.

Though their championship season of 2025 may be defined by their quarter-final no-show against Lissycasey, their run also included coming within three points of Kilmurry Ibrickane in the second round and that is who they face off with this Friday night.

“We were very unlucky against them, we left a lot behind us.

Kilmurry Ibrickane are favourites and there’s no denying that, they are favourites for a reason, they are one of the top teams in Clare, they have earned that.

Championship is about performing on the day, we have great belief and a great challenge for the opening day to start”.

If reaching a county final created an itch then losing to Lissycasey by nine points last year, left scars. “There was a lot of hurt from that game, there was a lot of soul searching between management and players. We understand that we went into the quarter-final with a lot of injuries and it gave some lads championship experience a year ahead on what they were expecting and that will stand to them lads”.

PICTURED: Padraig Kelly Photo by Gerard O’Neill

AT A GLANCE Management: Patrick O’Neill (manager), John McDonagh (selector), Aidan Fitzgerald (selector), Killian Malone (coach), Mikey Keating (coach), Jersey O’Loughlin (selector), Lukasz Kirszenstein (S&C), Eoghan Wallace (S&C) Captain: Rowan Danagher Key Player: Colm O’Brien One to watch: Donnacha O’Dwyer Fresh blood: Donncha O’Dwyer, Jack O’Loughlin, Rian O’Neill, Ronan Garrihy, Liam Tierney, Departures Gate: None.

Treatment table: Conor Burke (knee), Titles won: 0 Last season’s run: Exited in the quarter-finals losing 2-17 0-14 to Lissycasey Schedule: Round 1 vs Kilmurry Ibrickane on Friday July 31st at 19:30 in Hennessy Memorial Park, Miltown Malbay Round 2 vs Corofin on Sunday August 16th at 15:00 in Gurteen Round 3 vs Lissycasey on Sunday August 30th at 13:00 in Hennessy Memorial Park, Miltown Malbay Championship power ranking: 6

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Thursday, Jul 30, 2026 THE CLARE ECHO

Lissycasey looking like strong contenders

by Páraic McMahon news@clareecho.ie

COINCIDENCES and chances, Lissycasey won their first Cusack Cup in 2007, they won their maiden Clare SFC in the same year, a third league title followed last month and what they’d give to have the Jack Daly alongside the trophy for company.

David Considine was a selector for the historic success of 2007 where the warriors of Martin Daly and Colin Lynch were in central spots in their

0-11 0-6 win over Éire Óg.

Nineteen years on, Considine is back involved at senior level, this time as manager. He has assembled arguably as strong as a ticket as is available in Lissycasey.

Joe Hayes, the goalkeeper of the 2007 side, a former Clare goalkeeper, currently in charge of the county minors with experience of coaching Clare and Tipperary’s senior football sides is on board as coach.

So too is Ger Keane, a Clare great and one of the most respect-

with Ger Keane and John Joe and played at junior level with Brian, he is a Limerick man as most people know but he transferred to the club about ten years ago”.

He continued, “It’s something we were happy to do in the sense to try keep it in-house, we’ve had great success with managers and backroom teams outside the club, by that I mean success as in being competitive without winning much silverware.

“We all knew each other quite well, I worked with the lads at various different stages, if there is something I have forgotten I know the other four lads won’t have forgotten it, they are an exceptional group to work with, there is no drama, they are hard working and they want the best for the club”.

Familiar with his colleagues in management, David also knows the players inside out and was over the U16 winning side of 2012 that also won minor in 2014.

“We came very close to winning the U21 on three occasions but never won it, lost two finals and a semi-final, the semi-final was the worst, we were close but never got over it”.

Quarter-finalists for the last seven seasons, Lissycasey will be looking to really make inroads this year.

“The group got to the semi-final last year and were beaten by Éire Óg who have been lynchpins in last ed coaches in the county. John Joe McMahon has had his hand on Lis- number of years, they have won nusycasey’s success at minor level in merous titles in the last six years, recent years while Brian Geary rep- they’ve been out in front for the last resented the Limerick senior hurlers few years.

“There’s very little between the for thirteen seasons as a towering teams behind that, we could be centre back.

Reflecting on the move to form one or three of five or six, the tarthis management late last year, get is to get out of the group and if David reflected, “I’ve been involved you get to knockout football it is a with the club from a management game by game basis then, you can’t point of view in some way since be dreaming of a county final then because there are another seven 2007.

“I was a senior selector in 2007, I teams to navigate through, all you was with U21s the following year for need is a tough group, some injuries about three or four years, I was with and we’ve dual players so questions Conor Finnucane’s team from U15 get asked of the panel very fast. upwards until U21, then another We are targeting round one, then group with the likes of Daire Culligan our second round and round three, after that you’re hoping to be in a from U12 to U15.

“I’ve been with club teams every quarter-final and you’re trying to be year for twenty years, I’ve been with even more consistent for knockout the Junior As and Bs at various stag- games”.

Preparations for the Clare SFC es, I’ve had a role at every age group over the last 20 years. The position have gone as well as they could became available at the end of last with Lissycasey winning the Cuyear, I played with Joe, I’ve worked sack Cup for the third time, Thomas Collins’ two-pointer free giving them spoils over St Joseph’s Miltown. “At Management: David Considine the start of the league (manager), John Joe McMahon (coach/ we wouldn’t have set out selector), Ger Keane (coach/selector), to have silverware as the Joe Hayes (coach/selector), Brian Geary top priority, it was under(coach/selector), Megan Downes (S&C), standing we had a lot Justin Griffin (liaison officer/kit man), of lads away, between Áine Slattery (physio). different teams and injuries we were down ten to Captain: Darragh Killeen twelve lads. We wanted Key Player: Daire Culligan to build a good squad for One to watch: Conor Hill later in the year when the Fresh blood: Evan Cleary, Shane U20s and county seniors Cotter, David King, Philip Talty, (transfinished up, we wanted ferred), everyone playing to the Departures Gate: None. highest level possible and Treatment table: Aaron Griffin (knee). for good training so when Titles won: 1 (2007) the inter-county guys reLast season’s run: Knocked out in the join that they didn’t see it semi-finals by champions Éire Óg 2-10 as a drop off when going 0-9. back to the club so our Schedule of games: Round 1 versus standards were high from Corofin on Saturday August 1st at 13:00 the outset”. at Clarecastle GAA. Among their county Round 2 versus Kilmurry Ibrickane on representatives is Aaron Friday August 14th at 6.45pm in Zimmer Griffin who over the past BioMet Páirc Cíosóg. two seasons has been in Round 3 versus St. Breckan’s on Sunhis best form in saffron day August 30th at 1pm at Hennessy and blue. A knee injury Memorial Park, Miltown Malbay. means he is out of action for round one and doubtChampionship power ranking ful until the end of Au(1=weak/unlikely winners, 10=strong gust. “We’ve no idea yet contenders): 9 when Aaron will be back,

AT A GLANCE

he has been exceptional for a couple of years for Clare, this year was probably his most prominent, he is a high quality forward, he is a loss for us but we’ve had plenty of players missing during the year, we’ve to focus on what and who we have in the four walls of our dressing room on the day. We are focusing on the guys that are there and dying to play a match as opposed to who is not available. We are hoping he will be back before the end of the group stages but certain injuries need time to heal, we won’t risk him in any shape or form, he will play when he is right to play”.

Ability and promise within their squad is clear to see, fulfilling their potential is the big challenge.

“The management group over the last few years the panels had a lot of younger lads joining the squad each year which is difficult, you think you’re settling and you have four more out of minor, it takes a while to bed that into a senior team.

“Underage success is not a recipe for guaranteed success at senior, we’ve lads a couple of years out of minor for three or four years that has given us a good nucleus of a squad that you are hoping will close the gap with Éire Óg.

“We’re not talking about lifting the Jack Daly, we’re talking about getting our standards to a consistent level, we’ve lacked consistency, on any given day we could match any team in the county but we could also be drawn into a relegation battle because a lot of teams would have targeted us.

“We want to be consistent with our performances, that starts with Corofin and we’ll take no game for granted, they will target this no different to how we will, the aim is to relieve pressure and if you lose your first game it applies more pressure, that has been the focus for us, it is not really saying the end goal is winning the championship, our aim is about week to week consistent performances”.

“Every year brings along different things, age profile is the most important, we’ve a nice blend of players. Last year we had six players that were 18 joining he squad, the year before it was four and another four the year before that, getting used to playing adult football regularly at senior level can take time, coming out of underage you can still tend to play a different way.

“The new rules has changed stuff too, what you learned two years ago has changed from last year, it has gone very tactical but it is allowing more front foot football, we still have a young athletic group and hoping to take advantage of that by playing open football,” he added.

Corofin are up first this Saturday before Lissycasey take on Kilmurry Ibrickane and St Breckans. “It is a tough group, no group is easy nowadays, when the draw was made it creates some excitement, you know who you are up against, there’s nothing easy in this group.

“No matter if you were clear favourites, the first game is always the target, we won’t win a championship after the first game but you can put yourself in a tough position to come out if you don’t win it, there won’t be much between any of the four teams”.

So David Considine is back involved with Lissycasey’s senior footballers in a year where they have already won the Cusack Cup. What was that Ted Lasso again?

“Well, that’s the funny thing about coincidences, ain’t it? Sometimes they just happen”.

PICTURED: Lissycasey’s Daire Culligan. Photo by Gerard O’Neill

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THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

AT A GLANCE Management: Enda Coughlan (manager), Evan Talty (coach), Ian McInerney (selector), Lawrence Murray (S&C), Noel Dunny (selector).

Stats: David Talty, Stephen Cunningham, Paul Shanahan.

Captain: Dermot Coughlan Key Player: Dermot Coughlan One to watch: Conor Burke Fresh blood: Conor Burke, Ajay Daly, Reuben Fallon, Keelan Sexton, Ciaran Morrissey Departures Gate: Kevin Tubridy.

Treatment table: Caoilfhionn O’Dea (hamstring), Dermot Coughlan (groin) Titles won: 16 (1933, 1935 (as Quilty), 1936 (as Quilty), 1939 (as Quilty), 1963, 1966, 1993, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2020) Last season’s run: Knocked out in the quarter-finals by Doora/Barefield Schedule: Round 1 vs St Breckans on Friday July 31st at 19:30 in Hennessy Memorial Park, Miltown Malbay Round 2 vs Lissycasey on Friday August 14th at 18:45 in Cusack Park, Ennis Round 3 vs Corofin on Sunday August 30th at 13:00 in Cusack Park, Ennis Championship power ranking: 9.

Six long years for Bricks...

Management: Peadar O’Brien (manager), Mark Rafferty (head coach), Joe Shannon (selector), Luke O’Loughlin (selector), Diarmuid Daly (selector), Paul Moroney (coach) Captain: Kevin Keane Key Player: Jamie Malone One to watch: Caoimhin O’Donovan Fresh blood: Eoin

Davoren, Fionn Clancy, Oisin Tierney, Darragh McGroary, Christian Cummins.

Departures Gate: Seán O’Brien (Australia) Treatment table: Diarmuid Cahill (groin) Titles won: 0 Last season’s run: Promoted from intermediate Schedule of games: Round 1 vs Lissycasey on Saturday August 1st

at 13:00 in Clarecastle Round 2 vs St Breckans on Sunday August 16th at 15:00 in Gurteen Round 3 vs Kilmurry Ibrickane on Sunday August 30th at 13:00 in Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg, Ennis Championship power ranking: 6

Corofin out to prove they belong

by Páraic McMahon news@clareecho.ie

ABSENCE makes the heart grow fonder, in the case of Kilmurry Ibrickane time away from the Jack Daly makes them ravenous to reclaim the throne of Clare football.

It’s been six long years since Kilmurry Ibrickane won the Clare SFC, the biggest stretch for success prior to this was the gap between their 1993 and 2002 titles.

Introduced as a substitute when they overcame Liscannor in the 02 final which finished 1-5 0-6 was a certain Enda Coughlan, he would go on to enjoy a distinguished Clare career over thirteen championship seasons which included capturing a first-ever Tommy Murphy Cup in 2004.

After calling time on this career, Coughlan has taken up the mantle as manager of the Kilmurry Ibrickane senior side. He doesn’t delay in moving from playing to management, when he finished with Clare in 2016, he joined Colm Collins’ management in 2018.

Before Christmas, he was asked if he would be interested in taking over as manager of the Bricks. “I said if I could put a decent team together I’d be interested, to be honest I was thinking it would be an opportunity that would come further down the line but the call came and I said I’d go for it”.

Evan Talty, coach of the Limerick senior footballers who helped steer St Brigid’s to the All-Ireland club final last season remains involved as coach. Between them, the duo have a combined eighteen senior championships.

Entering a sixth year out of the winners enclosure has not been discussed, he said.

“The club was founded in 1914, we only have won 16 senior championships in over 100 years so there was a lot of years where we didn’t win any senior championships. We had a very good team that won a lot but we have a new team now and we’re not concentrating on when the last time we won was”.

Quarter-final exits tend to result in a shuf-

AT A GLANCE

by Páraic McMahon news@clareecho.ie

fle of the decks in Kilmurry Ibrickane, last year’s one point loss to St Joseph’s Doora/ Barefield was their second time bowing out at the last eight since 2023. Coughlan is hopeful the early exit will strengthen the motivation levels for a new campaign. “We were down big numbers but the lads performed well, Doora/Barefield were better on the day, we were unfortunate to lose one game and be out but it is a brand new year”.

There’s no shortage of players this time round. Keelan Sexton has returned after a season with Na Fianna, Ciaran Morrissey is back with the side while Conor Burke, one of the most exciting players to step out with the Clare minors is set for a senior breakthrough. “We’ll know if we have a stronger squad by full time on Friday evening. The boys played pretty well last year, we’ll see how we get on which will tell if we’re stronger or not, since the league ended we’ve been concentrating on St Breckans and will take it one game at a time”.

Injuries picked up in Clare training have curtailed the years of Dermot Coughlan and Caoilfhionn O’Dea however Coughlan is hopeful both will be okay to play, while Aidan McCarthy will also be available for selection this weekend.

PICTURED: Shane Hickey Photo by Gerard O’Neill

COROFIN have shown their ability to bounce back to senior football with a bang, repeating the trick is easier said than done.

Winners of the Clare IFC in 2021, they seamlessly acclimatised back to life in the top flight by reaching the semi-finals. Fresh from their intermediate success, the job of forging a run to the last four at senior level is a big ask but one that is within their grasp.

Manager Peadar O’Brien outlined. “We need to prove we belong in senior, it is easy say we’re too good for intermediate but until you prove it by winning games it is debatable”.

Peadar told The Clare Echo, “The last time we went up aside for our first year, we failed to prove we were good enough. We escaped relegation in our second year and got caught by Kilmihil who beat us in the relegation final in the third year”.

Group 3 will be a tight with all four teams capable of making a semi-final in their own right. However, only two advance straight to the quarter-finals with the third placed side facing off with their Group 2 equivalent to complete the last eight lineup. “We can only take it a game at a time and hope for the best. We’re hoping if we get a good start that we’d be halfway there in trying to get

out of the group” Up first is Lissycasey who are the last team Corofin have beaten in a senior championship encounter, that being their quarter-final showdown of 2022 which they won 1-19 0-16.

“It is a tough group, there’s no question about that, St Breckans have been county semi-finalists and finalists, Kilmurry Ibrickane are Kilmurry Ibrickane, they will always be there or thereabouts, Lissycasey won the Cusack Cup, they are operating at a higher level to us”.

Diarmuid Cahill is ruled out for round one and remains a doubt to feature during the Clare SFC due to a groin issue. “He is a big loss, he is a good scoring forward, whether it is points or goals, he can score. He missed the early rounds for us last year but he came back in the later rounds and made a big difference, depending on where we finish he may be available to us at some stage”.

Defender Damien O’Loughlin missed out on Corofin’s first round defeat to Tubber in the Clare PIHC but his fitness will be monitored until closer to throw-in.

Offering a timely lift is the more regular presence of Jamie Malone. He had been flying back from the Middle East for their knockout championship outings last season but is back in Corofin and ready to lead the charge. “It is a boost when any quality player comes back into the fold, Jamie has quality and he has ability, as they say class is permanent and that is Jamie,” Peadar commented.

Dual demands can be a juggling act for players and managers, there’s an extra iron in the fire with Corofin’s relegation from the Clare SHC giving them an additional group game in the Clare PIHC to contend with.

“It is tricky because there’s an extra game in the hurling than we normally had...we’re lucky to have the hurling bye between the Lissycasey and St Breckans game but at the same time it is too early in that we’ll have two played with potentially five to play every week without a break, that is five depending on when you finish up, we could be in a quarter-final, a preliminary quarter-final or a relegation battle”.

PICTURED: Jamie Malone Photo by Gerard O’Neill

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Thursday, Jul 30, 2026 THE CLARE ECHO

Intermediate teams profiled GROUP 1: CLONDEGAD Management: James Murrihy (manager), Enda O’Halloran (selector), Mikey Conway (selector), Niall Gavin (selector), Patrick O’Connor (selector), Shane McNamara (S&C), Mike Mcmahon (video), John Hehir (stats), Michael Callinan (stats) Captain: Tadhg Ó hUallacháin Key Player: Morgan Garry One to watch: Cian McAllister Fresh blood: Cormac Reidy, Eoin O’Connor, Cian McAllister, Thomas Hehir, Sean O’Malley, Oisin Vaughan.

Departures Gate: Barry Toner (transferred), Niall Lynch (regraded), Podge McMahon (regraded), Declan O’Loughlin (regraded), Mossy Gavin (regraded), Colin McNelis (regraded) Treatment table: Kieran McDonnell hamstring, Evan Flynn ankle, Eoghan Gavin hamstring Titles won: 2 (1944, 2011) Last season’s run: Defeated in the semi-finals 2-12 0-16 by eventual winners Corofin Schedule of games: Round 1 vs Wolfe Tones on Saturday August 1st at 14:00 in Gurteen Round 2 vs Liscannor on Sunday August 16th at 14:00 in Páirc Cuar an Chláir, Cooraclare Round 3 vs Shannon Gaels on Sunday August 30th at 15:00 in Páirc Cuar an Chláir, Cooraclare Championship power ranking: 9 James Murrihy (manager) “Reaching the Garry Cup final was great preparation for the championship but while you have competitive games like that, all eyes are on you and people know you’re putting your cards on the table and people can see you in full flow. From our perspective, it is a different competition.”

Morgan Garry will be a key player for Clondegad

WOLFE TONES Management: John Riordan (manager), Derek Ranger (coach), Barry Murphy (coach), Mike Riordan (selector), Terry O’Neill (selector), Mark O’Sullivan (selector), Seán Flanagan (selector), Seán Kelly (selector), Aoife Hogan (physio).

Captain: Jayme O’Sullivan Vice-Captain: Aaron Brennan Key Player: Jayme O’Sullivan One to watch: Damien Lyne Fresh blood: Aaron Shinners, Kevin Hanley, Shay Waller, Robert Cahill Departures Gate: Darragh Lohan, Brian Murphy Treatment table: Aaron Brennan (back), Tadhg Fitzgerald (shoulder) Titles won: 6 (1973, 1975, 1990, 1996, 2014, 2024) Last season’s run: Relegated from the Clare SFC, lost relegation decider to Kilmihil.

Schedule of games: Round 1 vs Clondegad on Saturday August 1st at 14:00 in Gurteen Round 2 vs Shannon Gaels on Saturday August 15th at 18:00 in Gurteen Round 3 vs Liscannor on Sunday August 30th at 15:00 in Clarecastle Championship power ranking: 7 John Riordan (manager) “The goal for everyone is to be promoted. We’ve used 30 players in the Garry Cup, we’re trying to transition the team and introduce young lads to the fold.

The group stages will be tricky, we’ve Clondegad who are favourites to win the championship in our first game, if we get a result against them we’ll be in a good place but it is not the end of the world if we don’t win but we’re still hopeful of making the quarter-finals”.

SHANNON GAELS Management: Peter O’Connell (manager), Barry Harte (coach), Padraig Neylon (selector), Brian O’Shea (selector), Martin Keogh (selector), Dermot Kelly (selector).

Captain: Jack Reidy Key Player: Thomas Kelly One to watch: Colm Downes Fresh blood: Peadar Kelly Departures Gate: Niall Ellis (regraded), Tomas Cleary (regraded), Keith Ryan (regraded), Joseph Hehir (regraded).

Treatment table: Darragh Bohannon (hamstring), Matthew Reidy (collarbone), Jack McCarthy (ACL), John Ryan (thumb) Titles won: 2 (1999, 2002) Last season’s run: Reached the quarter-finals for the second year running Schedule of games: Round 1 vs Liscannor on Sunday August 2nd at 14:00 at Shanahan McNamara Memorial Park, Doonbeg Round 2 vs Wolfe Tones on Saturday August 15th at 18:00 in Gurteen Round 3 vs Clondegad on Sunday August 30th at 15:00 in Páirc Cuar an Chláir, Cooraclare Championship power ranking: 6 Peter O’Connell (manager) “The ambition would be to hopefully get out of the group and the first game is going to be absolutely pivotal, we’ve played Liscannor a few times in the league and again this year it was a draw. There’s genuinely nothing between us, we’re similar clubs”.

LISCANNOR Management: Martin Guerin (manager), John McDonagh (coach), Bryan McMahon (selector), Stephen Roche (selector), Seamus Blake (selector) Captain: Darren Nagle Key Player: Darren Nagle One to watch: Tom Hanrahan Fresh blood: Rian McCullough.

Departures Gate: Diarmuid Commane Treatment table: Rian McCullough (ACL), Titles won: 2 (1988, 2000) Last season’s run: Defeated Ennistymon 1-11 0-7 in the relegation semi-final to consolidate their status Schedule of games: Round 1 vs Shannon Gaels on Sunday

clubs had us for starters and more of them had us for their main course but we got as far as dessert with Miltown.

We played a lot of junior players in the Cusack Cup, they got experience from that level and that intensity, it was an eye opener for us and for the boys who played Garry Cup last year.

Photos by Gerard O’Neill

August 2nd at 14:00 in Shanahan McNamara Memorial Park, Doonbeg Round 2 vs Clondegad on Sunday August 16th at 14:00 in Páirc Cuar an Chláir, Cooraclare Round 3 vs Wolfe Tones on Sunday August 30th at 15:00 in Clarecastle Championship power ranking: 5 Martin Guerin (manager) “We’d be hoping to qualify out of the group. I think with this being my first year back with them, I’d like to improve them as much as we can, we want to try help raise the standards be it how we play and our preparation. We’re working off a very small panel, I know everyone on the west coast will say that but there’s not many in Clare that can that they have five players over the age of 40 on their team”.

GROUP 2 BANNER Management: Shane Mernagh (manager), John O’Sullivan (coach), Tom Meehan (selector), Thomas Meenaghan (selector).

Captain: Eoin Walsh Key Player: Seán McMahon One to watch: Seán Hegarty Fresh blood: Sean Hegarty, Ben O’Halloran, Departures Gate: Caleb Walsh (regraded), Ben O’Halloran (regraded), Aaron Kelly (regraded), Tomás O’Halloran (regraded), Mufana Flynn (regraded) Treatment table: Niall Walsh (achilles), Titles won: 0 Last season’s run: Reached a first-ever semi-final at the grade, lost to Cooraclare. 0-12 0-11 Schedule of games: Round 1 vs Naomh Eoin on Friday

July 31st at 19:30 in Páirc na Muintire, Lissycasey Round 2 vs Coolmeen on Sunday August 16th at 16:00 in Páirc na Muintire, Lissycasey Round 3 vs Kilrush Shamrocks on Saturday August 29th at 13:00 in Páirc Mhichíl Uí Éithir, Ballynacally Championship power ranking: 8 Shane Mernagh (manager) “The aim of the club as a whole is to be progressing step by step, we made the quarter-final in 2024, the semi-finals in 2025 so now the next step is getting to a final. Progression is the aim of the whole club, there has been a lot of work done over the last three years with Tom (Meehan) as manager and his predecessor, we’re building on from that.

“I don’t think the Banner have ever beaten Naomh Eoin in championship yet but we have to break hurdles to get to where we want”.

NAOMH EOIN Management: Seamus Boland (manager), Aiden Moloney (coach), Evan Garvey (S&C) Captain: Conor Tevlin Vice-Captain: Tomás Bonfil Key Player: Owen Lynch One to watch: Adam Haugh Fresh blood: Paddy Donnellan (transferred) Departures Gate: Seamus Boland (retired) Treatment table: Conor Tevlin (broken foot), Sean Bonfil (ACL) Titles won: 0 Last season’s run: Knocked out by Clondegad in the quarter-finals following successive semi-final appearances in 2023 and 2024.

Schedule of games: Round 1 vs Banner on Friday July 31st at 19:30 in Páirc na Muintire, Lissycasey Round 2 vs Kilrush Shamrocks on Sunday August 16th at 13:00 in Kilkee Round 3 vs Coolmeen on Saturday August 29th at 13:00 in Páirc Cuar an Chláir, Cooraclare Championship power ranking: 7 KILRUSH SHAMROCKS Management: John Fennell (manager), Eamon Hehir (selector), Michael Griffin (selector), Patrick Crowe (S&C).

Captain: Stephen Ryan Vice-captain; Conor Fennell Key Player: Seán Fennell One to watch: Eoin Shannon Fresh blood: Eoin Shannon, Shane Mulqueen Departures Gate: Gearoid O’Brien (emigrated), Sean Canney (travelling) Treatment table: Ciaran Bermingham (knee).

Titles won: 4 (1937, 1952, 1955, 2018) Last season’s run: Defeated by Cooraclare in the quarter-finals 3-14 0-13 Schedule of games: Round 1 vs Coolmeen on Sunday August 2nd at 16:00 in Kilkee Round 2 vs Naomh Eoin on Sunday August 16th at 13:00 in Kilkee Round 3 vs Banner on Saturday August 19th at 13:00 in Páirc Mhichíl Uí Éithir, Ballynacally Championship power ranking: 8 John Fennell (manager) “The bottom line is we dined with seven senior clubs in the league, some of the

COOLMEEN Management: Johnny Bridges (manager/coach), Noel Meaney (selector), Kevin Val McMahon (selector), Michael McGuane (selector), Warren Kelly (S&C) Captain: Mark Meaney Key Player: Cathal O’Connor One to watch: Oran Meaney Fresh blood: Oran Meaney, Michael McMahon Departures Gate: None Treatment table: JJ Carrigg (back) Titles won: 2 (1959, 1966) Last season’s run: Reached the quarter-finals, knocked out by the Banner.

Schedule of games: Championship power ranking: 5 Johnny Bridges (manager) “I met the players for the first time in November and of the key things they took from getting to the quarter-finals last year was that they wanted to get fitter and stronger. I’ve brought in Warren Kelly to do S&C, he has experience of playing rugby with St Senan’s RFC and Thomond in the AIL so he came on board with me in November, we’ve been training since then in the gym and were back on the pitch since February”.

“Our aim in the first round is putting in a performance against Kilrush, we will hope to get a victory and try push towards a quarter-final.

GROUP 3 COORACLARE Management: Martin Daly (manager), Thomas Downes (S&C), Tommy Courtney (forwards coach), Peter O’Dwyer (GK coach).

Captain: Gary Donnellan Vice Captain: Aaron Townsend Key Player: Brian McNamara One to watch: Fresh blood: Eoin, Jack Morrissey (home from Australia) Departures Gate: None.

Treatment table: Shane Lillis (ACL), Jack Carey (groin), Gary Donnellan (knee).

Titles won: 5 (1927, 1941, 1943, 1954, 1957) Last season’s run: Reached county final for first time since 2022 but lost to Corofin 2-14 2-9 Schedule of games: Round 1 vs Michael Cusacks on Saturday August 1st at 18:00 in Hennessy Memorial Park, Miltown Malbay Round 2 vs Ennistymon on Saturday August 15th at 17:00 in Páirc Naomh Mhuire, Quilty Round 3 vs Killimer on Sunday August 30th at 17:00 in Captain Tubridy Park, Kilrush Championship power ranking: 8 Martin Daly (manager) “Last year went well for us, we had a very young side, we were delighted to get to the final and we knew we were up against it. We played well on the day but Corofin were more experienced, they were the better side and deserved to win.

This year Cooraclare will be viewed by some people as favourites because we made the final but the intermediate championship is a strange one, there’s six or seven teams who can beat each other, you’re guaranteed of nothing at intermediate, this year is no different”.

MICHAEL CUSACKS Management: Colm Clancy (manager), Tomás Kerin, Thomas O’Loughlin, John Hynes (all selectors) Captain: Taidgh Geoghegan and Jack McGann Key Player: Sean McNamara One to watch: Aidan McNamara Fresh blood: Aidan McNamara Departures Gate: Ronan Monahan Treatment table: NoneTitles won: 1 (1983) Last season’s run: Lost out to Coolmeen in preliminary quarter-final Schedule of games: Round 1 vs Cooraclare on Saturday Au-

gust 1st at 18:00 in Hennessy Memorial Park, Miltown Malbay Round 2 vs Killimer on Saturday August 15th at 13:00 in Hennessy Memorial Park, Miltown Malbay Round 3 vs Ennistymon on Sunday August 30th at 17:00 in Páirc Finne, Corofin Championship power ranking: 5 ENNISTYMON Management: Brendan ‘Beano’ Rouine (manager), Tom Aherne (selector), Shane Talty (selector), Michael Rouine (selector) Captain: TBC Key Player: Niall Canavan One to watch: Louis Griffin Fresh blood: Louis Griffin, Jody McMahon, Departures Gate: Jack O’Regan (regraded), Mattie Kinch (regraded), Aaron McNulty (regraded), Killian Malone (regraded), Danny Rouine (regraded) Treatment table: Eoin Marrinan (ankle) , John Murphy (ankle) Titles won: Last season’s run: Overcame O’Currys in relegation final 1-12 2-6 to seal their status.

Schedule of games: Round 1 vs Killimer on Sunday August 2nd at 17:00 in Páirc na Muintire, Lissycasey Round 2 vs Cooraclare on Saturday August 15th at 17:00 in Páirc Naomh Mhuire, Quilty Round 3 vs Michael Cusacks on Sunday August 30th at 17:00 in Páirc Finne, Corofin Championship power ranking: 5 Brendan ‘Beano’ Rouine (manager) “It’s the same as the last number of years for us, it’s in the hands of the Gods until our seniors have played and all their subs have been used that we’ll know who really is available for us. We could lose some of our top intermediate players before we’ve the first round played, that’s a really big challenge for us as we’re the only club with a second string in the intermediate, it brings challegnes but there’s also the advantage that anyone we might use for the seniors is playing at the next level up to senior”.

KILLIMER Management: Seán Haugh (manager), Derek Flavin (selector), David Kelly (selector), Michael Gilligan (selector), Seán Rouine (S&C), Shauna Melican (physio).

Captain: Odhran Cunningham and Liam Culligan Key Player: Odhran Cunningham One to watch: James Meehan Fresh blood: Bobby O’Driscoll, James Meehan, Davy Foran Departures Gate: Richard Carmody, Sean Reynolds.

Treatment table: Liam Culligan (suspended), Jack Kelleher (hamstring), Bryan Grogan (abroad), Luke Callinan (thigh), Kevin Hassett (knee) Titles won: 0 Last season’s run: Secured promotion after winning the Junior A championship Schedule of games: Round 1 vs Ennistymon on Sunday August 2nd at 17:00 in Páirc na Muintire, Lissycasey Round 2 vs Michael Cusacks on Saturday August 15th at 13:00 in Hennessy Memorial Park, Miltown Malbay Round 3 vs Cooraclare on Sunday August 30th at 17:00 in Captain Tubridy Park, Kilrush Championship power ranking: 5 Seán Haugh (manager) “It’s a very tough group for us, Ennistymon were in an intermediate semi-final not too long ago, Michael Cusacks have been promoted to the Garry Cup and consolidated themselves at intermediate level last year with their performances. They are both seasoned teams in intermediate and then we have Cooraclare, one of the powerhouses of Clare football, you can see with county minor and U20 teams, there is a lot of Cooraclare representation on those teams and Brian McNamara is flying it on the senior panel.

“They will all fancy their chances to progress from the group so Killimer are up against it. It is a big step to go from junior to intermediate”.

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THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

W NO

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E OP

Bursary Awards 2026

3 X €1,500 Bursary Awards available in 2026 T&Cs Apply. St Francis Credit Union is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

CLONLARA VS ST JOSEPH’S DOORA/BAREFIELD SCAN HERE FOR TUS CLARE SHC GROUP 1 ROUND 1

MATCH REPORT

Clonlara 0-22 St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield 0-18 Venue: Wolfe Tones GAA Grounds, Shannon Referee: Kevin Corry (Sixmilebridge) COMPILED BY SEAMUS HAYES

STORY OF THE GAME CLONLARA Frees For: 10 (5/5) Wides: 8 (3/5) Scores from play: 0-15 Spread of scorers: 9 Top scorer: Micheál O’Loughlin (0-7 7f) Bookings: David Fitzgerald (6); Colm Galvin (15) Own puckouts won: 16 out of 25 (64%)

ST JOSEPH’S DOORA/BAREFIELD Frees For: 10 (5/5) Wides: (4/3) Scores from play: 0-11 Spread of scorers: 6 Top scorer: Pádraic O’Donovan (0-6 3f 1SC) Bookings: Fionn Kelleher (8).

Own puckouts won: 23 out of 32 (72%)

SCAN HERE FOR

TUS CLARE SHC GROUP 1 ROUND 1 Inagh/Kilnamona 0-29 Ballyea 0-19 Venue: Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg Referee: Niall Malone (Éire Óg) COMPILED BY GEARÓID HOWLEY two points at that stage, there was definitely a shift in momentum going into that final quarter, I think we really kicked on”.

Robbie Hogan, Ballyea senior hurling manager: Hogan aware that first round loss leaves Ballyea on the backfoot “Everyone goes out with the intention of trying to get the win on the first day, but we know what we’ve to do now anyway, that’s it. We were in the same position last year, so we’ll just knuckle down and keep working hard for the next few weeks”.

“It’s just one of those days, things didn’t go right for us, we were in a good position towards the end of the first half against the wind and it just went from four points to eight points. That penalty save was a big turning point in the game, it would’ve brought us back to two.”

“That penalty save was a big moment, it lifted the crowd and they went up the field and tagged on a couple of points as well. It wasn’t the only part of the game, we had other areas we weren’t happy with. It’s a great man that steps up and takes them. Credit to Foudy there, they got joy off his puckouts too, he’s an inter-county goalie and he’s going to chisel that ball out with intent”.

STORY OF THE GAME INAGH-KILNAMONA: Frees for: 13 (4/9) Wides: 10 (6/4) Spread of scorers: 7 Scores from play: 0-21 Top scorer: Aidan McCarthy (0-13, 8f) Yellow Cards: Sean Rynne (58) Own puckouts won: 15/25 (60%)

APPLICATION FORM

Donal Madden, Clonlara senior hurling manager: “We were put to the pin of our collars this evening but anyone that would write Doora/Barefield off would do so at their peril. Look at the Clare minor and under 20 teams of recent years and their involvement there.

They have huge numbers and huge underage talent coming”.

“There are no handy games in the Clare championship. They are training since last January and they are not going to come here and be rolled over. We knew the battle that was coming and we are just delighted to get over the line and we showed a lot of character in doing so”.

“People care. We are proud of where we are from and they are proud of where they are from. Players aren’t going to lie down. They manned up. People shake hands after and move on. I have fierce respect for Doora/Barefield”.

“The impact from the bench was huge, Bryan McLeish got a vital point when introduced and he has been doing that. We have a massive test now in two weeks time. We will go back and re-group. It’s fantastic. I have been involved either playing, coaching or managing for over 20 yesars and every game is tough.

It’s what we live for. We showed a lot of character and courage today. We weren’t going to come and win by ten points, its championship hurling”.

“It’s nonsense to say we haven’t character. How can you question the character of the likes of Ian and Colm Galvin, Jathan and Dylan McMahon, Alan Murnane, Oi-

INAGH/KILNAMONA VS BALLYEA MATCH REPORT

Eugene Cullinan, Inagh/Kilnamona senior hurling manager: “We’re delighted to get off the mark. That’s what the first round is all about, getting two points on the board and we got a performance as well which we were delighted with”.

“A lot of the stuff we’ve been working on came off.

Matt Shannon has a lot of work done with them in their structure and style of play. Our spine of the team really held up well. Éamonn Foudy in goals made a couple of great saves and was very influential from his puckouts. Shane Woods at full-back did a real man-marking job on Tony Kelly, James Hegarty at centre-back was a real presence there, Kealan Guyler at centre-forward got a lot of assists, scored three points and got onto a lot of breaking ball”.

“Sixteen points in thirty minutes of hurling is great shooting, we did leave a couple more behind us too, but there was a tricky breeze out there so it’s understandable that you’re going to miss a few. I was delighted with our first-half performance”.

“It was a real turning point in the game (Éamonn Foudy penalty save) because Ballyea had come into that second-half strongly and they had a bit of momentum built. They were with the breeze as well and that was a big help for both teams when playing with it. That penalty would have brought it back to

Sport

BALLYEA: Frees for: 14 (7/7) Wides: 7 (2/5) Spread of scorers: 7 Scores from play: 0-11 Top scorer: Tony Kelly (0-8, 8f) Yellow Cards: Gearóid O’Connell (26 & 58) Red Cards: Gearoid O’Connell (58) Own puckouts won: 23/39 (59%)

sin O’Brien and others. They have championship medals, they have All stars, club championships, All-Irelands in their pockets. What a hurler John Conlon, He loves where he is from and we are so proud of him, proud that he is one of ours. We had David Fitzgerald back after a cruciate injury. We have a lot of injuries. Hopefully we will have more back the next day. We will try and win a second round next and see where that will take us”.

Damien Kennedy, St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield hurling manager: “Look, this could have gone either way. All I can say is we asked those lads to go out and give a performance for St. Joseph’s today and by God they did it. I know we came out the wrong end but it wasn’t a four point margin, it could have gone any way. What more can I say”.

“We have to look at the bigger picture. We are not here for moral victories. We might be young but we are not happy with that result. We are sickened over it.

There was, at the very least a point for us there. It didn’t happen but these lads are going to have to bounce back. We have another massive game in two weeks against Inagh/Kilnamona and we have to re-group”.

“It’s hard to take this but we have to regroup, It will be hard. We know these lads can hurl, there are no issues from a hurling perspective. We just have to get them over the line. We have to re-group. This is history now and has to be parked. We have to re-group and go again, it’s as simple as that”.

Clare New York team honour late coach Sconey by qualifying for final

by Seamus Hayes A WEEK after the death of team coach Anthony ‘Sconey’ Kilmartin from Newmarket-on-Fergus, the Clare hurling team in New York qualified for the New York senior hurling championship final when they accounted for Westmeath on Saturday.

They will face Tipperary in the final next Saturday following their 3-24 2-17 victory over Westmeath.

There was a strong Clare involvement with the side which is managed by Joe Egan from Quilty who is assisted by Mike Kennedy from Kilmaley and Kevin McMahon from Éire Óg who serve as selectors.

Former Galway hurler, Johnny Glynn is assisting with the coaching following the

tragic death of Sconey.

Clare players in the side include Éanna Barry (Clooney/Quin) who is the team captain, Séimí Gully (Clonlara) who is the goalkeeper, Sean Collins (Banner), Tadhg Connellan (Éire Óg), Cian Barron (St. Joseph’s Doora/Barefield), Ryan Mulligan (St. Joseph’s Doora/Barefield), Finn O’Reilly (St. Joseph’s Doora/Barefield), Cian O’Dea (Kilfenora), Killian O’Connor (Corofin), Darren O’Connor (Newmarket-on-Fergus) and Mikey McMahon (O’Callaghans Mills); Club chairman, Sean Dilger from Clarecastle paid tribute to the late Sconey before the game highlighting his work as team coach.

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THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

ÉIRE ÓG VS CRUSHEEN

SCAN HERE FOR MATCH REPORT

TUS CLARE SHC GROUP 2 ROUND 1: Éire Óg 4-18 Crusheen 0-18 Venue: Gurteen Referee: Fergal O’Brien (Broadford)

COMPILED BY SEAMUS HAYES

Gerry O’Connor, Éire Óg senior hurling manager: “We weren’t looking any further than this opening round, We knew Crusheen were going to be a huge challenge physically, they always are, they are a proud hurling team and they will always turn up”.

“They started really well and they had the aid of the breeze. We probably got a goal from a penalty, against the run of play and that took a bit of the bite out of them”.

“Darragh Stack managed the game brilliantly against the wind. We varied our puckouts, We were able to go long and short, we were able to get out and get ball into our full forward line”.

“We were still disappointed with some things. We had six or seven poor wides in that first half. We didn’t seem to be able to gauge the fact that the wind was across the field”.

“Overall we are happy with the way we managed the first half. We are disappointed that we didn’t create as many goalscoring opportunities as we would have liked considering the full forward line we have.

We have been working an awful lot n getting ball into our full forward line. We like to think we have a very good potent attacking force in there”.

“It’s important to get over the first hurdle and get

embedded in the championship. We have another big game in the park in two weeks time against Scariff. They will be very wounded after their result in the first round. The Rodgers brothers could have had four goals between them in the first fifteen minutes. I don’t think the score really reflected how good Scariff are”.

Gerry O’Grady, Crusheen senior hurling manager: “Goals were the difference. They were ruthless in terms if they got a goal chance. There was some very good forward play from them in terms of how they opened us up. I have to commend them”.

“There was a big wind in it and being down at half time it was always going to be an uphill challenge in the second half. We held it together fairly well in that second half all things considered”.

“We are building a new team and it takes time.

There was a very good effort from the lads today.

We kept it going, kept the heads up and kept trying.

Any mistake we made was punished and we must be able to take the learnings from that. No matter what the result we have to take learnings, reflect on the game, see what went wrong and see what improvements can be made for round two”.

STORY OF THE GAME ÉIRE ÓG Frees For: 12 (7/5) Wides: 11 (6/5) Scores from play: 3-12 Spread of scorers: 9 Top scorer: Danny Russell (2-6 6f 1’Pen) Bookings; Oran Cahill (36) Own puckouts won: 22 out of 28 (79%)

CRUSHEEN Frees For: 15 (6/9) Wides: 10 (6/4) Scores from play: 0-8 Spread of scorers: 6 Top scorer: Ross Hayes (0-11 9f 1’65) Bookings: Donal Tuohy (8) Own puckouts won: 20 out of 33 (60%)

Huge blow for Scariff as Rodgers breaks bone

by Páraic McMahon

SCARIFF have been dealt a major blow for their Clare SHC with star forward Mark Rodgers sustaining a broken bone in his arm.

An already tough year on the injury front for the 2023 Young Hurler of the Year has unfortunately got worse with the forward suffering the break during Scariff’s first round defeat to Broadford in the TUS Clare SHC. Mark sustained the injury during the early stages of the second half five point loss to Broadford. He finished 0-6 in the tie but was restricted in his second half due to the injury which clearly hampered his involvement.

It comes on the back of an inter-county season where a dangerous high-challenge by Tipperary’s Willie Connors left the 2024 All Star sidelined for over a month and ruled him out of Clare’s sixteen point loss to Cork before returning in the thirteen point All-Ireland quarter-final victory over Dublin where he landed five points.

Rodgers is now in a cast as he begins his recovery, it is hoped that surgery will not be required but feared that he will not be featuring for the club again this season. It comes as a huge blow to Scariff who find themselves needing a win to reignite their championship campaign. The absence of their captain and talisman would make this task much more difficult.

They face county champions Éire Óg in the second round of the Clare SHC, the fixture is scheduled for 16:00 in Cusack Park on Saturday 8th.

Speaking to The Clare Echo following Friday’s defeat to Broadford before the extent of Rodgers’ injury was confirmed, Scariff manager, Donal Moloney said, “it’s bad, we will have to get him to the hospital.

It happened early on as well. Hopefully he will make a quick recovery. Whatever about hurling, he has had such a difficult season and he was really looking forward to this championship but, unfortunately that’s hurling, those are the breaks”.

Mark Rodgers Photo by Joe Buckley

Crusheen’s Cian Dillons keeps tabs on Éire Óg’s David Reidy

BROADFORD VS SCARIFF TUS CLARE SHC GROUP 2 ROUND 1:

Broadford 0-27 Scariff 0-22 Venue: O’Garney Park, Sixmilebridge Referee: Jarlath Donnellan (Wolfe Tones)

Photo by Ruthie Griffin

SCAN HERE FOR MATCH REPORT

COMPILED BY SEAMUS HAYES

STORY OF THE GAME BROADFORD Frees For: 15 (5/10) Wides: 6 (4/2) Scores from play: 0-16 Spread of scorers: 8 Top scorer: Diarmuid Moloney (0-12 10f 1’65) Bookings: Paddy Donnellan (10), Eoghan Gunning (22), Darren Chaplin (29).

Own puckouts won: 20 out of 29 (69%)

SCARIFF Frees For; 11 (6/5) Wides;- 7 (5/2) Scores from play; 0-11 Spread of scorers: 7 Top scorer: Paul Rodgers (0-8 5f 1SC) Bookings: Keelan Hartigan (25 and 60); Matthew Crotty (28), Daniel Treacy (32) Red Card: Keelan Hartigan (60) Own puckouts won: 24 out of 33 (73%)

Paddy Meehan, Broadford senior hurling manager: “Our third quarter in all of our games including the challenge matches we have been very very strong.

Our fitness levels helped. We have done a massive amount of training this year and I think it stood to us in the run in. We had the strength to finish well and having the likes of Shane Taylor and Eoin Donnellan to come in to steady the ship made a huge difference. Shane Taylor got three points at vital times”.

“We were worried a bit because they were controlling the middle of the field. Mikey Vaughan coming to the middle of the field made a huge difference to us. Conor O’Donnell had to make way for Shane Taylor and Vaughan coming to midfield. He didn’t deserve to be replaced but it was just a move we had to make. He had a lot of possessions in the first half”.

“This is a combination of three years work,. We were very unlucky against Scariff three years ago, very unlucky against Clooney/Quin in the first round last year. A bit of lady luck and a super display from us today got us over the line”.

“The focus from now is on round 2. We will take every game as it comes. We are looking to get to the quarter finals knock out stage and see where it takes us”.

Donal Moloney, Scariff senior hurling manager: “A good few things went wrong for us but fair play to Broadford, they stuck at it and played really really well and full credit to them. They were very good today.

‘That’s very hard to take but I am not going to take from Broadford and talk about those things (decision to disallow their first half goal). We had five goal chances and that one was in the net. Jarlath (Donnellan) blew it up, we can’t argue with it. It is what it is. Fair play to Broadford in terms of what they did”.

“We are on the back foot now, that’s the reality. We have to knuckle down. We have good players, they have put in a significant shift already this year and they will do so again. Today was Broadford’s day” Asked about Mark Rodgers’ injury he said, “it’s bad, we will have to get him to the hospital. It happened early on as well. Hopefully he will make a quick recovery, whatever about hurling. He has had such a difficult season and he was really looking forward to this championship but, unfortunately that’s hurling, those are the breaks”.

“The focus now switches to champions Éire Óg in the next round. We must take the learnings from today. Our next game won’t be easy but we will look forward to it”.

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THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

CRATLOE VS CLOONEY-QUIN TUS CLARE SHC GROUP 3 ROUND 1

Cratloe 1-18 Clooney-Quin 0-21 Venue: Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chiosóg, Ennis Referee: Kieran Liddane (Sixmilebridge)

Sport

Diarmuid Ryan and Peter Duggan face off Photo by Gerard O’Neill

SCAN HERE FOR MATCH REPORT

COMPILED BY EOIN BRENNAN

STORY OF THE GAME CRATLOE Frees For: 14 (6/8) Wides: 12 (7/5) Scores from Play: 1-10 Spread of Scorers: 6 Top Scorer: Rian Considine (1-8 6f 1’65) Yellow Cards (1): Shane Gleeson (47) Own Puck-Outs won: 22 from 25 (88%) Alan Neville, Cratloe senior hurling manager: “Looking at the game in its full context, we started well and on then frontfoot with a number of great goal chances but we didn’t take them. So going in at half-time three or four points up, Clooney had that bit of momentum for the second half with the wind but I’m actually delighted with how our lads came out, stuck to the process and stayed in the game for as long as they could, “Obviously getting ahead with that Rian Considine goal in injury-time, you’d like to have seen it out but you have to give credit to Clooney-Quin too, they kept their heads and got a couple of great scores to get something out of the game.

“I suppose they [Clooney-Quin] would have been disappointed that they squandered a good few points towards the end of the game so over the course of the game when you take in the goal chances we left after us in the first half and the points they left behind in the second half, maybe a draw was a fair enough result.

“Look, when you go out in the first round of a championship, of course everyone wants to win but performance is a huge aspect and we did get a very good performance from our lads and a very good

CLOONEY-QUIN Frees For: 13 (6/7) Wides: 12 (3/9) Scores from Play: 0-12 Spread of Scorers: 7 Top Scorer: Peter Duggan (0-9 9f) Yellow Cards (0): None Own Puck-Outs won: 24 from 32 (75%) show of character too in their ability to stay in the game.

“Eoin Carey, Cathal Lohan, Marc O’Brien, Riain McNamara and Jamie [Moylan], all of those lads came to the fore and they’re three years into their development now as senior hurlers so it’s time now that they do step up and continue to take on that responsibility.

“At the end of the day though, you can get away from Diarmuid Ryan’s performance. I thought his battle with Peter [Duggan] was immense the whole way through but we got to free him up in the last ten minutes and he was outstanding.

“It’s as you were for the second round now as we have to raise our game again to play the Mills who had been on an unbelievable run up until the Feakle match.

“They’ll be disappointed by that performance but that would be repeated it again as you can be sure that they’ll raise their game again to the levels they were performing in the Clare Cup. “They’re going to be extremely hard to beat so when we meet up next Tuesday after the football, we’ll try and put our best foot forward and see where it takes us.”

PLAYER OF THE WEEK Shane McGrath

FEAKLE VS O’CALLAGHANS MILLS TUS CLARE SHC GROUP 3 ROUND 1

Feakle 0-28 O’Callaghans Mills 0-18 Venue: Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg, Ennis Referee: Eoghan O’Leary (Whitegate) COMPILED BY EOIN BRENNAN Ger Conway, Feakle Manager “We’re delighted. I’ve always said that the first round in Clare is fierce important as a win gives you a great platform for the rest of the group while if you lose you’re in knock-out territory for the rest of your campaign.

“It’s vitally important for us that we have all our players every time we go out because we wouldn’t have the same depth of squad that some of the bigger clubs would have. So to have the likes of Con [Smyth], Ronan [O’Connor], Shane [McGrath] was out injured last year as was Eibhear [Quilligan], the whole campaign with injuries last year was just a freak really with the amount of them that we had to deal with so it was brilliant to have them all again for this first round.

“Shane is phenomenal, he’s one of the top performers in the championship year in and year out which is coming up to around 14 or 15 years at this stage.

“His leadership, commitment, skill, accuracy and freetaking is beyond question, we were just surprised how much room he was given. Look, if Shane is in that type of mood and scoring form, we’re always going to be in with a shout in any game.

“For us, we’ve got to park this result and concentrate on Clooney-Quin. We played them in the Park in last year’s quarter-final and obviously they won that so we’ve a big task ahead of us so we just need to put our heads down over the next two weeks and try to ready for that huge test.”

STORY OF THE GAME

MCGRATH’S PERSONAL BEST SEES HIM WIN PLAYER OF THE WEEK A PERSONAL BEST of 0-19 from Shane McGrath sees him collect the St Francis Credit Union / The Clare Echo player of the week following the first round of the Clare SHC. Feakle’s sharpshooter scored a whopping 0-19, more than the entire O’Callaghans Mills side as they prevailed in the East Clare derby 0-28 0-18 on Saturday evening.

It’s the highest tally McGrath has ever hit at senior level. He scored 0-8 from play as Ger Conway’s side reminded everyone that they continued to be a strong force in the top flight.

FEAKLE Frees for: 17 (5/12) Wides: 5 (3/2) Spread of scorers: 8 Scores from play: 0-17 Top scorer: Shane McGrath (0-19 10f 1’65) Bookings: Adam Hogan (31), Oisin Clune (36), Ronan O’Connor (46), Own puckouts won: 21 from 26 (81%)

O’CALLAGHANS MILLS Frees for: 15 (5/10) Wides: 8 (3/5) Spread of scorers: 5 Scores from play: 0-9 Top scorer: Jacob Loughnane (0-10 8f) Bookings: Conor Cooney (26 & 51), Red Card: Conor Cooney (51).

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Sport

THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

KILMALEY VS NEWMARKET-ON-FERGUS

CRATLOE VS CLOONEY-QUIN TUS CLARE SHC GROUP 4 ROUND 1

TUS CLARE SHC GROUP 4 ROUND 1:

Conor Cleary was an influential figure for Kilmaley once again Photo by Gerard O’Neill

SCAN HERE FOR MATCH REPORT

Wolfe Tones 2-21 Sixmilebridge 3-16 Venue: Páirc Micheál Uí hEithir, Cratloe Referee: Joe Mullins (Clonlara)

Kilmaley 1-22 Newmarket-on-Fergus 1-17 Venue: Páirc na Gael, Ruan Referee: John Bugler (Whitegate)

COMPILED BY EOIN BRENNAN

STORY OF THE GAME WOLFE TONES Frees For: 10 (3/7) Wides: 15 (6/9) Scores from Play: 2-14 Spread of Scorers: 8 Top Scorer: Aaron Cunningham (0-8 4f) Yellow Cards Darragh Lohan (19), Rory Hayes (42) Own Puck-Outs won: 20 from 32 (63%)

SCAN HERE FOR MATCH REPORT

COMPILED BY EOIN BRENNAN

STORY OF THE GAME KILMALEY Frees For: 13 (7/6) Wides: 8 (6/2) Scores from Play: 1-11 Spread of Scorers: 7 Top Scorer: Tom O’Rourke (0-12 11f 1’65) Yellow Cards (5): Joe Casey (25), Martin O’Connor (30), Mikey O’Malley (48), Darragh McMahon (Waterboy) (56), Joe Carmody (61) Own Puck-Outs won: 15 from 27 (56%)

NEWMARKET-ON-FERGUS Frees For: 17 (9/8) Wides: 9 (4/5) Scores from Play: 1-6 Spread of Scorers: 6 Top Scorer: Peter Power (0-11 11f) Yellow Cards (2): Colin Guilfoyle (13), Mikey McInerney (33) Own Puck-Outs won: 16 from 30 (53%)

Brian Culbert, Kilmaley Manager “What a battle so we’re delighted to come it because you just don’t know when it comes to first rounds. I’ll be the first to admit that I was petrified about this game as you’re really uncertain of what other teams are like and what they’re going to come with in the first round.

“We spoke all week about how hard this was going to be but it’s not actually until you’re in the middle of it that you realise how hard it actually is so I think it took us a long time to settle.

“Newmarket were awesome in the first half and worked us off the field and made it so difficult for us so Ii actually took us to regroup at half-time and commit to work harder as it was just such a battle.

“With ten minutes to go, it was still level so the goal probably the score that gave us a bit of life to see out the rest of the game.

“Conor is a true leadership and had been unlucky in the first half that a lot of ball was just falling out of his hand. So we knew that it just needed to stick and in the end so many scores came off him in that second half and obviously that crucial 1-1 to get us over the line.

“We had previously worked hard to build up a five point lead and then Newmarket hit us for five points in a row but we just had to dig in and try and stop the rot.

“It was just so hard to win ball in that middle third because there was just so many bodies there. Look, Newmarket were awesome and as I said beforehand and I still believe that any two out of the four in our group came come out of it still because I’d say all three matches are going to be a battle like that.

“Shannon for us is going to be the same or even harder and we’re really going to have to improve again if we are to match Wolfe Tones the next day.”

Barry Keane, Wolfe Tones senior hurling manager: “Just to win Round 1 in such a tough group is great. We expected a battle with the derby element and we got one but in fairness to the lads, we had an outstanding first half performance but for the management team I think the biggest take for us is how we hung on in there as we showed a bit of grit and really stuck at it. Even when the ‘Bridge came back at us at the end and got it back to a point, the next play saw Shan [Aron Shanagher] just pull the ball out of the sky so it was pleasing that we showed that bit of composure when the pressure was really on. So overall there’s a real sense of relief but really delighted too with the way the lads performed.

“We got off to a dream start and that’s something that every team wants but the bottom line going into this first round was that we weren’t quite sure where we were as a group.

So to then hit the ground running and hit it so hard, we were just so thrilled but then so annoyed that we conceded some soft goals and left the ‘Bridge right back into the game.

“But we got back on track, Seanie Murphy got a great goal to settle us again and we went in six up at half-time to give ourselves that cushion and be able to reset again which was huge for us.

“We knew the threat the ‘Bridge were going to bring in the second half so to have that bit of a buffer was very important and I think we build on it from there.

“Okay it did get a little nervy for a finish but the lads just dug deep and never looked like letting slip the advantage they fought so hard to earn.

“That first half display is how we consistency want to play at from now on. Now that’s not going to be achievable every day but that’s the aim now to hit those highs. And we’ll need

Tulla, Tubber, Ruan & Whitegate off to winning starts in Clare PIHC

SCAN HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE

Ruan’s Ryan Power takes on Smith O’Briens defender Micheál Ryan William Halpin of Tulla shields the ball from Colin Brigdale of Clarecastle

Photo by Gerard O’Neill

Photo by Gerard O’Neill

SIXMILEBRIDGE Frees For: 12 (5/7) Wides: 13 (7/6) Scores from Play: 3-7 Spread of Scorers: 6 Top Scorer: Jamie Shanahan (0-10 8f) Yellow Cards: None Own Puck-Outs won: 26 from 37 (70%)

to because every team in Clare is excellent and we know we have to reach those highs again is we are to match Kilmaley the next day and then see where that takes us”.

John O’Meara, Sixmilebridge senior hurling manager: “To be fair Wolfe Tones were full value for their win. They got a great start so we were really chasing the game from minute one and it took us a while to adjust to them.

“I thought we got back into the game reasonably well. We closed up shop and scored a few goals to actually get the lead back to just two.

“And even though we conceded a couple of scores coming up to half-time, the breeze was strong and therefore the deficit was well manageable going into the second half.

“But credit Shannon, they really closed us out after the break and overall were full value for the win. It’s hard to know coming into the first round really where you’re at. I mean we did prepare well but it just didn’t happen for us on the day.

“Look, we had chances at the end to get something out of the game and perhaps tried to orchestrate a goal when maybe we didn’t need to. We could have taken a couple of point coins down the home straight so we did have the chances to get a result but I think in fairness to Shannon, we wouldn’t have deserved it as they were the better team.

“You need two wins to get out of the group so we’ve two games left now and we need to win both really. It would have been great to get a win in the first round, even for confidence, but the reality is that we were always going to have to win the second match either way so that’s the task ahead of us now against Newmarket.”

43 THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

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Sport

President’s prize day at Dromoland

by Seamus Hayes news@clareecho.ie

DROMOLAND Castle hosted the President’s (John Casey) prize at the weekend when the winner was Tony O’Brien with 58 points. He had two to spare over Brian McMahon with 56 points followed by Gavin O’Reilly with a similar score.

They were followed by Dermot O’Neill with 55 points, Kenneth Arthur, Sean G McMahon, Ciaran Farrell, Liam Hayes each with 54 points and Mike Tobin with 53 points.

The gross was won by Brian Shally with 32 points.

Other prize winners on the day were Con Woods (Past President) with 35 points, Shane T. Collins (handicaps 20 and over) with 35 points Richard Woods (front 9) with 20 points, John Coffey (back 9) with 21 points, James O’Neill (Junior) with 37 points and P.J.Holmes (Guests) with 34 points.

The president’s prize to the ladies was won

by Leslie O’Flynn with 39 points, one more that Mary O’Donnell. They were followed by Siobhan Dyar, also with 38 points, Mary Arthur, 38 points and Joan Dunne with 37 points. Mairead Toomey won the gross while the nines were won by Joan Ryan with 21 points and Jean Colleran with 20 points. Karina Doyle was nearest the pin while the winner Leslie O’Flynn also had the longest drive.

The ladies weekly 18 hole stableford competition was won by Sinead Burke Keogh with 48 points from Siobhan Doohan with 38 points with Colette Colleran in third place with 31 points .

The 9 hole competition was won by Niamh McDermott with 20 points.

Winners of the mixed scramble were Jimmy McManus, Dorothy Brennan and Fergus O’Brien from Mary Arthur, Peter and Jason Ronan with third place filled by Jason Mulderrig, Pat Quinn and Michael O’Riordan.

In the senior men’s weekly competition the winners were Jimmy Neville and Martin Fitzgerald from Don Barrett and Willie Fuller with third place

filled by Hugh O’Neill and Denis Minihane.

Kilrush Golf Club: The Central Sports ladies 18 hole stableford competition at Kilrush last week was won by Mary Bolton (19) with 41 points.

Geraldine Burke (19) with 38 points won category 1 from Anne Marie Donnellan (17) with 34 points.

Category 2 was won by Mary G. Nolan (22) with 39 points with second place going to Clare Pyne (26) with 35 points.

Imelda Griffin (49) won category 3 with 40 points and she was followed by Kathleen Haugh (38) with 37 points.

The Brew hardware open singles was won by Tom Browne (1) with 38 points and he had two to spare over John Donnelly (16) with third place filled

by Ken O’ Grady (15) with 35 points.

Shannon Golf Club: The M & F Transport sponsored Michael Quinlan medal was played for at Shannon at the weekend when Jody McDermott (17) emerged as the winner with 67. He won on a countback from Ian Richardson (11) with third spot filled by Mark Ward (21) who also had 67.

They were a stroke ahead of Rob Young (18) who was followed by Derek Collins (19) with 69 with Derry O’Neill (15) in sixth position, also with 69.

John Dolan (+2) won the gross with 71.

Category A was won by Joe Finlay (8) with 70 from Sean Óg Murnane (4) with 72.

Eamonn Healy (13) won category B with 69 followed by Gerard O’Halloran (9) with 70 while category C was won by Michael McCormack (20) with 72 and he had a stroke to spare over John Geary (19).

Wednesday’s men’s open singles was won

by Conor McMahon (11) with 41 points from Liam Hogan (13) with 39 points with third spot filled by Edmund Ryan (19, also with 39 points. Mike Kitson (1) won the gross with 35 points.

Last week’s men’s green tee challenge was won by Michael Sweeney (10) with 41 points from

Fintan Ward (12) with 38 points with third spot filled

by Conor O’Callaghan (15) also with 38 points. Graham Culleton (7) won the gross with 30 points, Conor O’Callaghan (9) won the men’s 9 hole competition with 22 points.

East Clare Golf Club: The ladies 18 hole stroke medal competition at East Clare last weekend was won by Catherine Minogue (21) with 66 while the category winners were Evelyn Skehan (21) with 68, Maria Kennedy (28) with 67 and Ann Harte ( 36) with 71.

In the Eileen Murphy competition the winners were Siobhan Shanahan and Eileen Donnellan with 39 points.

The winners of the ladies Wednesday competition were Breda McCarthy, Terry Mulvihil and Helen Conway from Ursula Hogan and Marie A. Kelly.

Last week’s senior men’s competition was won by Dominic Stuart, Martin Quinn and Jim Lynch from Michael McInerney, Pat and Brian Corry with third spot filled by John Nihill, Jim Bradley and Pat Fitzgerald.

Open Week at East Clare continues until Monday next, August 3rd.

Woodstock Golf Club: Captain Pat Barry’s prize will be played for on this Friday, Saturday and Sunday with the tp 21 qualifying for a play off o n Sunday evening.

Last week’s AMR open singles at Woodstock was won by David Conroy (33) with 48 points while the gross was won by Eoin Glynn, Lahinch (+2) with 35 points.

Category 1 (+ to 10) was won by Morgan Lahiffe (7) 40 points from Darragh Murphy, Ennis (5) with 39 points.

Chris McGrath (11) with 39 points won category 2 (11 to 18) on a countback from Noel Crowe (17) whole category 3 (19+) was won by Andrew Mulligan (19) with 44 points.

Winners in the 2’s competition were Ken O’Shaughnessy (11th), Martin Lyons (6th) and Noel Crowe (6th).

Thursday’s mixed scramble was won by

Gerry Kelly, Vincent O’Grady and Edel Clune with 26.3 from Ross Kenny, Liam O’Connor, Sean Howard and Kathleen McEnery with 27.

Last weekend’s v par competition was won by Neilus Butler (15) with 9 up while the gross was won

by Michael Canty (8) who finished level.

Johnny Clune (8) with 4 up won category 1 from Sean Crowe (2) who had a similar score. Category 2 was won by Carl Hale (18) with 9 up from Pat Solon (17) with 5 up while category 3 was won by Michael O’Neill (25) with 6 up.

The ladies July medal was played for last week when Niamh O’Regan (12) won category A with 71 nett while category B was won by Mags Nash (30) with 69 nett.

Lahinch Golf Club: The Moy cup mixed foursomes competition is scheduled to begin with the qualifying round on Tuesday August 11.

Timesheet booking for this prestigious event will open on Tuesday next August 4 at 9am.

A condition of this competition requires men to tee off at the 1st and following odd numbered holes, with ladies to tee off at the 2nd and following even numbered holes.

Eight pairs will qualify for matchplay on Wednesday morning August 12. Four winning pairs will continue matchplay on Thursday morning August 1 with the winning 2 pairs will compete for the final on Thursday afternoon August at 2p.m. The social mixed foursomes will not be on for the next 3 weeks, but will return on August 21 with the final event set for August 28.

Ennis Golf Club: Mark O’Brien scored a hole in one on the re-developed second hole at Ennis when playing in lady captain, Mary T. McMahon’s prize to the men last week.

The past week has been extremely busy at Ennis golf club with a selection of competitions taking place throughout the club’s open week..

Captain Noel Pilkington’s prize to the ladies was an 18 hole singles

strokeplay event which was won by Claire Ruane (25) with 67 nett and she was one ahead of Úna O’Reilly (33) with third place filled by Mary Gardner (37) with 69. Suzanne Deane (15) won the gross with 85.

Division 1 was won by Patricia Moroney (18) with 71 nett, division 2 by Geraldine O’Rourke (30) with 69 nett and division 3 by Mary Curley (49) with 70 nett.

The 9 hole singles strokeplay was won by Anne Casey (17) with 30 nett from Therese Lillis (24) with 32 nett while Clare Pyne (14) won the gross with 49.

The categories were won by Della Burns (12) with 42 nett, Mary Woulfe (17) with 37 nett and Marian Irwin (21) with 33 nett.

Presentation of prizes takes place on this Sunday August 2.

Lady Captain Mary T. McMahon’s prize to men was played for last week when Michael M Vaughan (20) captured the honours with 59. He won from Fintan McEvoy (26) with 65 and he was followed by third Darragh Murphy (7) with 67 with fourth place filled by Jim O’Neill (27) with 68. the gross was won by John McInerney with 72 while the category winners were Ian Myatt (10) with 66, Andrew Turner (14) with 67, Flan Glynn (20) with 68 and Michael O’Grady (25) with 66.

The Mr. Binman sponsored mixed foursomes competition was won by Anna Marie and Ross Darmody with 45 points and they were two ahead of Noel Pilkington and Claire Ruane. In third place with 40 points were Mary Curley and Michael Studdert followed by Bernard Hanrahan and Patrice Ryan with a similar score.

The winner of the open singles sponsored by the Old Ground Hotel was Aaron Burke (17) with 44 points and he was three ahead of Leonard Coote (28) with third place filled

by Dean Lee (17) with 40 points. Gary Collins (Shannon) with 29 points won the gross while the best ladies score was provided by Bridget Hoey (27) with 37 points.

The Moloney Fuels

sponsored ladies fourball was won by Anne Kelly (23) and Maureen Lynch (27) with 48 points and they were three ahead of Mairead Bergin (15) and Frances Feighery (27). In third place with 44 points were Deirdre Collins (41) and Elizabeth Bermingham (32) followed by Monica Finnerty (28) and Marie McGuire (24) with 43 points.

The winners in the men’s competition were Flan Downes (11) and Barry Lee (15) with 47 points and they were three ahead of Paul (18) and Martin White (16) with 44 points.In third place, also with 44 points were Frank Landy (11) and Ronan Horgan (10) followed by Frank Sheedy (22) and Michael Kerin (19) also with 44 points.

In the senior singles Martina Corbett (33) with 45 points was the ladies winner from Mary Curley (47) with 41 points.

In the men’s section the winner was David Boylan (44) with 46 points and he was two ahead of Joseph O’Brien (17). In third place with 43 points was Ollie Kennelly (26) followed byGerard Hannon (26) with 41 points with fifth spot filled by Eamnn Kelly (23) with 39 points.

Friday’s ladies singles sponsored by Martin Ward golf was won by Maureen Lynch (30) with 41 points from Ethna Murphy (32) with 39 points. The men’s winner was Kieran Tuohy (18) with 44 points from John M Lillis (22) with 39 points while third place was filled by Allyn Dalton (22) also with 39 points.

Dave Kenneally won the gross with 35 points.

The competition on Saturday was a team of three rumble sponsored

by Campion Insurance which was won by John C McNamara (12), Oliver O’Loughlin (11) and Michael O’Reilly (20) with 85 points. They had five to spare over Anne Kelly (22), Phil Butler (28) and Sinead Hegarty (19). In third place, also with 80 points, were Flan Downes (11), Barry Lee (15) and Mark O’Brien (15) followed by George Power (25), Donal Hurley (24) and Michael Cusack (26) with 79 points.

The Michael O’Reilly Oil sponsored ladies scram-

ble on Sunday was won

by Judith Brassil, Martina Corbett and Josephine Tone with 59 and they were ne ahead of Ann A Gallery, Helen Gallery and Dorothea Madden with third place filled by Phil Butler, Nuala Corry and Sinead Hegarty, also with 60.

The winners in the men’s section were John Gavin, Flan Glynn and John C McNamara with 55 followed by Brian O’Gorman, Adrian and David Rushe with a similar score. In third place with 56 were Vincent Corbett, Declan Hanley and Ollie Kennelly.

The ladies 9 singles winner was Marie Dilleen (27) with 28 points from Sinead Ginnane (26) with 23 points.

In the men’s section the winner was Ricky Brigdale (15) with 19 points from Simon Daly (8) with a similar score.

The Ladies Revive Active team lost out to Woodstock on a score of 1.5 to 3.5. The Ladies Burren Cup team were victorious against Glenlo from Galway on a score of 4 to to 1 and they will meet Barna in the semi-finals of the competition. The men’s Cashman Cup team were beaten by Woodstock(3/2) on Friday at Ennis.

Gort Golf Club: Last weekend’s men’s 18 hole singles stableford competition at Gort, sponsored by Smyths Toys was won by Jimmy Hannigan (24) with 42 points. The category winners were Jean Luc Bellevergue (11) with 39 points, John McGrath (18) with 40 points and John O Connor (26) with 41 points. The gross was won by Joe Moran (1) with 31 points. David Mulligan (16) with 43 points won the Friday open singles while the gross was won by Shane Kennedy (10) with 32 points.

44

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Thursday, Jul 30, 2026 THE CLARE ECHO

To place a notice email kieran@clareecho.ie CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL SEAFIELD ROAD, QUILTY WEST TLD., QUILTY, CO. CLARE Take notice that Michael Keating Dip. Arch. (phone 0858421780 / www. michaelkeating.ie), on behalf of Sinead Burke, intends to apply to Clare County Council for full permission to renovate existing semidetached cottage and to construct an extension to the rear of same, demolish existing shed, and carry out all ancillary site works at Seafield Road, Quilty West Tld., Quilty, Co. Clare.

The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of the Planning Authority during its public opening hours.

A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the Authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the Authority of the application.

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL CLOGHAUNINCHY, QUILTY, CO. CLARE Take Notice that Karen Hogan intends to apply to the Planning Authority for Planning Permission to construct a dwelling house, garage and proprietary wastewater treatment system along with ancillary site works and services at the above address.

The planning application may be inspected, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the Offices of the Planning Authority during its public opening hours and that a submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the Authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the Authority of the application.

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL CLONLEA, KILKISHEN, CO. CLARE Planning permission being sought by James & Mairead Shanahan

to (a) renovate existing cottage, (b) widen existing site entrance and (c) construct private dwelling house with attached garage, connect to existing infrastructure services and all associated site works at the above address. The Planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours.

A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application.

Opening hours 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL BALLYMACKEA MORE, QUILTY Take notice that Thomas Darcy intends to apply to the Planning Authority for permission to revise house design & ground floor plan of Ref No P22/136 and to change applicant name as pertinent to condition No 2(a) of Ref No P22/136 to Thomas Darcy at the above address.

The Planning Application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours.

A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee, €20, within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application and such submissions or observations will be considered by the planning authority in making a decision on the application. The planning authority may grant permission subject to or without conditions or may refuse to grant permission.

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL BALLYNAGUN WEST, CREE Take notice that Miriam Considine

intends to apply to the Planning Authority for permission to erect dwelling house, garage, foul sewer treatment plant, percolation area and new site entrance at the above address.

The Planning Application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours.

A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee, €20, within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application and such submissions or observations will be considered by the planning authority in making a decision on the application. The planning authority may grant permission subject to or without conditions or may refuse to grant permission.

Clare County Council, Planning Department, New Road, Ennis, Co Clare during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the further information or revised plans may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee, not later than 2 weeks after the receipt of the newspaper notice and site notice by the planning authority.

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL CLOGHAUNBEG, CROSS Take notice that Eugene de Croock intends to apply to the Planning Authority for permission for the change of use of 2No existing residential dwellings to short term letting accommodation including all associated site works and services at the above address.

The Planning Application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning CLARE COUNTY authority during its COUNCIL FURTHER public opening hours.

INFORMATION / A submission or REVISED PLANS observation in relation Planning Ref: to the application may P26/60274 be made in writing to D e v e l o p m e n t the planning authority Description: t o on payment of the demolish shed, to erect prescribed fee, €20, new dwelling house, within the period of foul sewer system, 5 weeks beginning percolation area and on the date of receipt new site entrance by the authority of Location: the application and Tullig, Cross such submissions or Take notice that observations will be Conor Downes has considered by the lodged significant planning authority in further information in making a decision on respect of planning the application. The application P26/60274. planning authority This information and may grant permission planning application subject to or without may be inspected conditions or may or purchased at a refuse to grant fee not exceeding permission. the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the Planning Authority of

Planning

Notices AN CHUIRT DUICHE THE DISTRICT COURT District Court Area of Kilrush District No. 12 PUBLIC DANCE HALLS ACT, 1935 SECTION 2 NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR A PUBLIC DANCING LICENCE TIGL IRELAND ENTERPRISES LIMITED APPLICANT NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR A PUBLIC DANCE LICENCE TAKE NOTICE that TIGL IRELAND ENTERPRISES LIMITED having its registered office at Trump International Hotel and Golf Links, Doonbeg, in the County of Clare intends to apply to the Annual Licensing District Court at Kilrush in the County of Clare on the 15th day of September 2026 at 10:30 a.m. for the grant of a Licence to use a particular place, to wit: the “Function Venue/Wedding Pavillion” adjacent to the Trump International Hotel and Golf Links, Doonbeg County Clare in the Court Area and District aforesaid for public dancing.

Dated this 27th day of July 2026.

Signed: - Houlihan Burke & Company Solicitors for the Applicant, Suite 1, Áras Smith O’Brien, Bank Place, Ennis, Co. Clare.

AN CHUIRT DUICHE THE DISTRICT COURT District Court Area of Kilrush District No. 12 PUBLIC DANCE HALLS ACT, 1935 SECTION 2 NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR A PUBLIC DANCING LICENCE TIGL IRELAND ENTERPRISES LIMITED APPLICANT NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR A PUBLIC DANCE LICENCE TAKE NOTICE that TIGL IRELAND ENTERPRISES LIMITED having its registered office at Trump International Hotel and Golf Links, Doonbeg, in the County of Clare intends to apply to the Annual Licensing District Court at Kilrush in the County of Clare on the 15th day of September 2026 at 10:30 a.m. for the grant of a Licence to use a particular place, to wit: Trump International Hotel and Golf Links, Doonbeg County Clare in the Court Area and District aforesaid for public dancing.

Dated this 27th day of July 2026.

Signed: - Houlihan Burke & Company Solicitors for the Applicant, Suite 1, Áras Smith O’Brien, Bank Place, Ennis, Co. Clare.

(AN CHUIRT DUICHE) THE DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT COURT AREA OF ENNIS DISTRICT NO. 12 IN THE MATTER OF:THE PUBLIC DANCE HALLS ACT, 1935 SECTION(s) 2, 8 AND IN THE MATTER OF:THE FIRE SERVICES ACT, 1981 THE LICENSING ACTS 1833 TO 2010 THE INTOXICATING LIQUOR ACT, 2000 AND IN THE MATTER OF:THE LICENSING (COMBATING DRUG ABUSE) ACT, 1997 THE DISTRICT COURT RULES, ORDER 86 IN THE MATTER OF AN APPLICATION OF:TIMBERTOES ULC APPLICANT NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR A PUBLIC DANCE LICENCE TAKE NOTICE that TIMBERTOES ULC having its registered office at Clare Road, Ennis, Co. Clare intends to apply at the Annual Licensing Court sitting at The Courthouse, Lifford Road, Ennis in the County of Clare in the Court area and District aforesaid, on the 25th September 2026 at 10:30 a.m. or so soon thereafter as this application may be taken in its order in the Court list, for the grant of a Licence to use a particular place to wit: “TREACY’S WEST COUNTY HOTEL” and situate at Clare Road, Ennis, in the County of Clare in the District aforesaid, for PUBLIC DANCING. Dated this 27th day of

July 2026.

Signed: Houlihan Burke & Company Solicitors for the Applicant Suite 1, Aras Smith O’Brien, Bank Place, Ennis Co. Clare

46 THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

Quiz

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Tuamgraney Quin Ennis

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Maeve Binchy Iris Murdoch Mollie Keane

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Iris Murdoch

Can you spot the difference? Spot the 7 differences.

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Tuamgraney Roisín O’Donnell (Nesting) November 2024 Conversations With Friends The Gathering

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36 Parnell St Ennis, Co. Clare ennis.arccinema.ie

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THE CLARE ECHO Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

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Sudoku is a logic puzzle where you have to populate the grid with numbers. A number can appear only once in each row, column and house. Each puzzle can be solved using logic from the given information and requires no guesswork.

7

HOW TO PLAY

Sudoku is a logic puzzle where you have to populate the grid with numbers. A number can appear only once in each row, column and house. Each puzzle can be solved using logic from the given information and requires no guesswork.

2

5

1 9

1/1

4 7 3 6 8 2

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Ninja

7

9

3

Netsuke

4

8

Sushi

Tatami

7

6

3

Manga

2

Shogi

2

3

4

Koto

1

Satsuma

5

Kimono

Samurai

6

9

Kendo

9

7

Karaoke

Samisen

6

Kanban

2

8

4

Ikebana

5

6

8

Haiku

9

Raku

9

Gobang

2

5

1/1

Geisha

1

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Futon

4

1

Sake

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6

Bonsai

SUDOKU

How to play

Origami

Daruma

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The Clare Echo Crossword

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Daily Quick Crossword: 3 October 2022 ,10/3/2022 Michael Curl Creator Notes: A free daily online crossword that's not too difficult - just right for solving in your coffee break. http://bestforpuzzles.com

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d for casinos

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y famed for casinos

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CROSSWORD ANSWERS

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7

DOWN 1 Collieries (5) 2 Withdraw (7) 3 Dutch cheese (4) 4 Nevada city famed for casinos (3,5) 5 Express in speech (5) 6 Stretch out (6) 11 Amiable (8) 12 Self-centred person (6) 13 Savings (4,3) 15 Game bird (5) 17 Float along (5) 18 Mark left by wound (4)

speech (5)

6

ACROSS 1 Wonderful (10) 7 First letters (8) 8 Cab (4) 9 Wet thoroughly (4) 10 Erudite (7) 12 Amused (11) 14 Bunch of flowers (7) 16 Second-hand (4) 19 The Orient (4) 20 Broken down, worn out (8) 21 Dramatist (10)

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Daily Quick Crossword: 3 October 2022 ,10/3/2022 Michael Curl Creator Notes: A free daily online crossword that's not too difficult - just right for solving in your coffee break. http://bestforpuzzles.com

n out (8)

d (4)

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on (6)

10/3/22, 12:03 PM

47

Sudoku is a logic puzzle where you have to populate the grid with numbers. A number can appear only once in each row, column and house. Each puzzle can be solved using logic from the given information and requires no guesswork.

WORD SEARCH

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PUZZLE

2

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