*Senior hurling liaison officer Martin O’Brien and Clare GAA Head of Operations Deirdre Murphy. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
CLARE GAA has received an allocation of 16,000 tickets for the All-Ireland SHC final while the organisation will hold two fundraising functions in advance of the decider and plans have been unveiled to utilise Caherlohan as a community facility.
Indeed Caherlohan, Clare GAA’s centre of excellence was the venue for the July meeting of Clare GAA on Tuesday evening. The meeting had an earlier than usual start of 6.15p.m. because of the All-Ireland final media night at 8pm at the Temple Gate hotel
Details of fundraising functions ahead of next week’s All-Ireland final, the allocation of tickets and the junior championship draws for 2024 were amongst the items dealt with while end of season reports from the county’s under 20 hurling and football managers were read to the meeting.
All-Ireland fundraising functions:
Two pre All-Ireland final fundraising functions will be held next week by Clare. The Inn at Dromoland will be the venue on Thursday next, (July 18th) for a breakfast function at €250 per person, the price includes receiving a coveted ticket for the All-Ireland final.
Twenty four hours later, the Croke Park Hotel will host a similar event.
Plans are at an advanced stage for the post All-Ireland final banquet which will cater for 480 people while there will be an ‘after party’ function on the same night which will have a capacity of 550 patrons.
All-Ireland tickets:
Clare has received an allocation of 16,000 tickets for Sunday week’s All-Ireland hurling final and almost 14,000 of these will be distributed through the clubs, Head of Operations Deirdre Murphy told this week’s board meeting.
The break down is 10,000 stand and 6,000 terrace tickets. Cork’s allocation is the same, Ms. Murphy replied when asked before stressing to delegates the importance of downloading and paying for tickets when members are allocated their codes.
If a draw, there will be a replay:
Should Sunday week’s All-Ireland senior hurling final end in a stalemate it will go to extra time and if the teams are still level it will then go to a replay. Should the sides finish level again after extra time in the replay, the outcome will then be decided by a penalty shoot out, delegates were informed
Junior championship draws:
Junior B hurling (Top 2 in each group advance to quarter finals
Group 1: Smith O’Briens; Clonlara, Sixmikebridge, Tubber, Ruan;
Group 2: St. Joseph’s Doora/Barefield, Broadford, Ballyea, Parteen/Meelick, Newmarket-on-Fergus
Group 3: Inagh/Kilnamona, Kilmaley, Corofin, Clarecastle,
Group 4: Éire Óg, Tulla, O’Callaghans Mills, Feakle
Junior C Premier hurling; (Top two in each group advance to quarter finals
Group 1: Éire Óg, Scariff, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Inagh/Kilnamona;
Group 2: Wolfe Tones (1), Cratloe, Sixmilebridge, Bodyke
Group 3: Banner, Whitegate, Crusheen, Wolfe Tones (2)
Group 4: Clonlara, Ogonnelloe, St. Joseph’s Doora/Barefield, Clooney/Quin.
Junior C hurling (Each team plays each other with the top two contesting the final)
Kilkee/Bealaha, Clonbony, Ennistymon, Killanena
Junior B Premier football; (Top 2 in each group plus the best two third placed teams to qualify for quarter finals)
Group 1: Kilrush, Ennistymon, Lissycasey, Moy;
Group 2: Parteen/Meelick, St Joseph’s Miltown (1), Doonbeg, Kildysart;
Group 3: Wolfe Tones, Éire Óg, St Joseph’s Miltown (2); Kilmihil;
Junior B football (Top two from each group to sthe semi-finals)
Group 1: Killimer, Corofin, Clondegad, O’Currys
Group 2: Michael Cusacks, Banner, Cooraclare, Wolfe Tones;
Fixture schedule:
Because of Clare’s qualification for the All-Ireland senior hurling final, the start of the domestic championships has been deferred for two weeks and this will led to the county final dates going back to the end of October.
Informing the delegates of this at Tuesday’s meeting, chairman Kieran Keating advised “it will be a squeeze to run an under 21 championship but this is something we will have to have a discussion on at our next meeting. There was a proposal last year for a round robin format but this will be difficult to complete pre-Christmas. There is no easy solution”, he said.
Cusack Park closure:
Cusack Park will be closed for two weeks after the All-Ireland final, Deirdre Murphy informed this week’s meeting. “It will be closed for the last week of July and the first week of August to allow for over seeding”, the delegates were told
Caherlohan a community facility:
Outlining details of further development planned for Clare GAA’s Centre of Excellence at Caherlohan, Clare GAA Head of Operations Deirdre Murphy stressed “we want more community use of the facilities here so that is why we have been in communication with the Tulla Pipe band, Community Games, Tidy Towns, Clooney/Spancilhill community group. We want this to be open day and night with people coming here day and night. There will be farmers markets, a sensory garden and bee keeping”, explained the Clare official when telling delegates that permission has been sought for further development of pitches 5, 6 and 7, extending the gym, a video analysis room, providing floodlighting at pitches 3 and 4 and the erection of a stand at pitch 3. “We need all these facilities to cater for our teams and for camogie and ladies football,” she said.
“The estimated cost of the development is €5 million and if our grant application succeeds it will provide 70%. Our application is ranked at number 3 by the GAA at present while we are ranked in first place by the County council for the Clare projects”. Murphy added, “we are very anxious to make our facilities available to clubs”.
U20 managers reports:
End of season reports from the county under 20 football (Michael Neylon) and hurling (Terence Fahy) managers were read to this week’s meeting by chairman Kieran Keating.
Miltown’s Neylon reported that preparations had commenced in December and some seventy players were invited to trials with the panel finalised by late January. Preparation games were played against Sligo, Roscommon, Mayo, Longford, Offaly, Wexford and Laois. For all of these games the counties fielded two teams on the day. He thanked the clubs who provided pitches for training and games, the Clare football supporters club for their help and the County Board.
He went on to outline Clare’s game schedule having expressed satisfaction that the new format had resulted in Clare having six championship games and he added that it is very important that this format continue. The new format is very much welcomed, the Miltown clubman said in his report.
Meanwhile Terence Fahy’s under 20 hurling report outlined that six trials were held after Christmas and he outlined the work done at a number of venues across the county, Caherlohan, Dr Daly Park in Tulla, Sixmilebridge and Clarecastle GAA complexes.
The Whitegate clubman reported that the squad “got a large infusion of players from last year’s All-Ireland winning minor team”. He listed the names of a number of players who were ruled out due to injury. He outlined the outcome of the games in the round robin series. He went on to thank the board for support throughout the year, the Academy under Donal Moloney, and Kieran McDermott, the senior management under Brian Lohan. He said the most pleasing aspect was the retention levels.
He had “a special word of thanks for the lads in San Francisco who gave us $30,000 dollars in January 2022 to spend on these players”. He thanked Pat Keogh, Tony Killeen and Caroline O’Connor in Club Clare for their support. He also thanked the management team for their efforts. Fahy went on to say that Clare also participated in a development squad for 18/19 year olds and played three matches.
Newmarket-on-Fergus delegate Pat Keogh described Fahy’s report as “excellent” as did P.J. Fitzpatrick from Sixmilebridge who asked if the report could be circulated to the clubs while
Paddy Smyth of Éire Óg noted “he gave an excellent report last year also”.
Replying to a query as to whether or not the outgoing under 20 managers would be continuing in the roles for next year, chairman Kieran Keating said he “expects they will continue”.
Central Council delegate Robert Frost said “they should be encouraged to stay on” and he proposed that they would be asked to continue in the roles.
