Clare Hehir. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
The availability of Clare Hehir has been a massive boost to Clare camogie in 2025.
Having missed out on last season due to travel, the Inagh-Kilnamona player has been one of the team’s stars throughout the recently concluded league which saw Clare defeated in the final.
The versatile player who is expected to be given a defensive role this week, readily accepts that Clare’s meeting with Wexford in “a very important game for us”.
Speaking this week ahead of the championship opener she said “we knew when the fixtures came out that this is a big one. The first two rounds against Wexford and Limerick make it a mini league for us. We had a decent enough league campaign and training has been going well for us. A win would be huge for us. Looking at the fixtures Wexford, Limerick and ourselves have the same thing in mind and we are all targetting each other”.
Hehir played against Wexford in the league earlier this year. “It was a great game, very even and I am expecting pretty much the same this week. They are a strong physical team and they always provide a tough battle and I don’t see it being any other way this week”, she said.
Clare believes that “a win for Clare this week would be very important. It’s been a target for us since early in the year given what we are looking to achieve. A win at the start of the championship is always important. Without such a result it will leave us with a mountain to climb and achieving the result we want is in our own hands”.
The Banner star is delighted to have home advantage for this game. “It’s always great to have games as home and I hope that our supporters will row in behind us and come out in big numbers this week. Cusack Park is a wonderful venue with great facilities”.
Asked it if will it be skorts or shorts on Saturday Clare replied “we have had all the discussion. Our delegates are going to congress on Thursday and we have voiced our opinions and now it’s time for us to focus on what will be happening on the pitch on Saturday”.
