*Harry O’Gorman. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
SIX MEMBERS of the Clare U20 football side have been added to a training squad with the county’s senior footballers.
As previously reported by The Clare Echo, U20 footballers were likely to get the call to join the Clare senior squad following the conclusion of their Munster championship and that has come to pass within the last week.
Clare’s U20s exited phase two of the Munster championship with defeats to Waterford and Kerry having drew with Cork. Earlier wins over Tipperary, Waterford and Limerick sealed their passage into phase two.
With a high amount of injuries in the senior squad, Paul Madden and his management have brought in six members of the U20 team to boost numbers at training, to allow the option of internal games and to also give a taste of the senior set-up to the U20s. They will not be named on the matchday twenty six for any of Clare’s games in the Tailteann Cup.
Captain Daire Culligan had been earmarked to join the senior squad following the U20s campaign and he has received the call to join the training panel alongside fellow Lissycasey men Michael Kelly and Conor Hill, Seán Fennell of Kilrush Shamrocks, St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield’s Diarmuid Boyle and goalkeeper Harry O’Gorman.
Evan Cahill who was midfield on the U20 side has been part of the senior squad since Peter Keane’s time as manager last year.
Madden confirmed to The Clare Echo that they have added six U20s to their training squad. “They are in to gain experience on how the senior set-up works and to see how they fit into the environment and culture. They have been in for two sessions so far and we’ll take it week by week with them. It is important to try bridge the gap between U20s and seniors, they are players for the future”.
He added, “we picked the lads that are overage for next year, guys in specialist positions and two others. There is a lot of talent within the U20 panel”.
Culligan has captained Clare at minor (2023) and U20 (2026) level. He was one of the standout performers for Lissycasey as they reached the last four of the Clare SFC in 2025. He is a third year student at Mary Immaculate College where he is training to become a primary school teacher, he represented the college in the Trench Cup alongside Cahill where they lost to Trinity College in the final. He scored 4-21 across Clare’s six outings in this year’s Munster U20 championship and played every single minute for Dermot Coughlan’s side.
A shoulder injury had ruled out Conor Hill for the early stages of the U20 championship. He made his first appearance in phase two when entering the field of play for the final five minutes during Clare’s 1-10 apiece draw with Cork. He was brought on with thirty eight minutes played in Clare’s 2-14 2-13 loss to Waterford and started at wing back in the comprehensive nineteen point loss to Kerry. In 2025, he started all of Clare’s six championship ties in the U20 championship. He is a Leaving Certificate student at St Flannan’s College and sustained the shoulder injury when lining out for the school’s Harty Cup team.
Adding to the Lissycasey contingent is wing back Michael Kelly. He was ever-present as number seven in Clare’s six outings in this year’s U2O championship. He started all but one of the championship encounters last year where he lined out at corner back. Kelly is a student at the University of Limerick and has been part of his club’s senior team since 2024.
Diarmuid Boyle’s ability to limit Kerry senior panelist Tomás Kennedy to a point from play during the recent clash of the counties impressed the Clare senior football management which has led to him linking up with the training squad. The St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield defender was introduced for his club in the final ten minutes of last year’s Clare SFC final defeat to Éire Óg. He was a central pillar in the U20 defence, operating at full-back.
Behind him was Harry O’Gorman who didn’t look out of place in what his first involvement with a county squad. The Cooraclare custodian kept clean sheets in Clare’s wins over Waterford and Limerick in phase one and pulled off a plethora of saves throughout the competition. A student at Kilrush Community School, he is also preparing for his Leaving Certificate. With Stephen Ryan out of action, his elevation sees him training alongside Tristan O’Callaghan and Tom O’Brien with goalkeeper coach Bernard Power.
An ability to kick two pointers from all types of angles has Seán Fennell firmly fixed on the radar of Clare football supporters. His year began with an impressive 1-6 haul to lead Clare to victory over Tipperary in Quilty and over the course of the U20 championship, the Kilrush Shamrocks clubman kicked a total of 1-23.
