*Shane Meehan of Banner and Cooraclare’s Pearse Lillis in action during last year’s semi-final. Photograph: James Downes
TWELVE teams take off in their quest to win promotion to Clare football’s top competition but the second tier brings with fierce competitive and tight group fixtures that will play out over the next month.
Winners of the Clare intermediate football championship (IFC) take home not just the Talty Stores Cup but promotion back to the senior ranks, climbing that ladder is far from easy.
Clondegad fresh from winning the Garry Cup are among the leading contenders for glory in the Clare IFC. James Murrihy’s side head into championship on form and boosted by the presence of Morgan Garry, Cillian Brennan and Seán McAllister on the county side along with improving fortunes at underage level for the club.
Relegated from the senior ranks last season, Wolfe Tones will look to bounce back immediately. They face off with Clondegad in the first round in what will be a barometer as to who is going where.
Joining them in Group 1 are Shannon Gaels and Liscannor, they face off this weekend with the loser tipped to end up in a relegation battle.
Cooraclare’s run to the final sees them at the front of the pack also, they’ll be expected to finish top of Group 3 but will need a full deck when it comes to the knockout stages, by this juncture Martin Daly will hope to have one of the county’s top footballers Brian McNamara back in the country.
Alongside the Milesians are Michael Cusacks, Killimer and Ennistymon, all three will fancy their chances against each other and rightly so. Cusacks have secured promotion to the Garry Cup for next season, Killimer are heading to Division 3 fresh from overcoming Coolmeen in the league final while Ennistymon will be strong, provided they don’t lose too many players to their senior side.
Reaching a first ever semi-final last season marked continued progress for the Banner. They have proven they are a rising force and they have ambition to match.
However they find themselves in the toughest group alongside Kilrush Shamrocks, Naomh Eoin and Coolmeen. The ability of the Shams and Naomh Eoin to land two pointers really strengthens their cause and strengthens the belief that they will be in the shake-up for honours. Johnny Bridges’ addition to the Coolmeen management will fuel their desire to go further than last year’s quarter-final.
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
“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. It is only three weeks since we played the Garry Cup final, when you’re in a final you try to go and win it so that has brought its own level of expectation off the back of winning the league going into a new competition. The overall thing is while we were playing Kildysart in the Garry Cup final, the bigger focus has always been on Wolfe Tones in the first round”.
“No more than anyone else in the competition, anyone entered in it wants to win it. They were a strong senior club for ten years and people will arguably say even the hurling folk in Clare that the intermediate football championship is the hardest championship in the county to win, there’s a lot of good teams down there. Clondegad have been down here for three years and have a massive desire to get out. Being in the U21A final last year and competing in A at underage shows even for me as outsider that there is talent and ambition here”.
“When I was over Corofin and we won the championship there was sixteen in the senior and eight in the intermediate, if we do the maths there’s now twelve in each championship and over a period of time it has definitely led to a higher standard, it is a really tough competition to win”.
James Murrihy (manager)
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
“The goal for everyone is to be promoted. We’ve used thirty 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”.
“We had three draws in the Garry Cup, we could have won two of them games if not three, the teams we drew with might say the same though. We had two wins, three draws and two losses so with the amount of new players we tried, the amount of players we used and our injuries we were very happy with the league. That said, we weren’t happy with the first twenty minutes versus Kildsyart when we didn’t turn up but we have to learn from those mistakes”.
“We said it when the draw was made and we were in the first group that we knew it would be tough. Clondegad are very good, I’ve been watching them for the last few years, James Murrihy has been doing a very good job with them, he has had them in transition too, they have introduced a lot of players and they are beginning to show that all the good signs are there for them, they have a very good squad of players and guys with the experience of Cillian Brennan, Morgan Garry and Seán McAllister from being on the county panel”.
John Riordan (manager)
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 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
“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 forty on their team”.
“Every group that we’d be drawn in would be tough, we wouldn’t be ranked too highly after coming up from junior a few years ago and with our age profile. We have Shannon Gaels first up before we can even begin to look at Clondegad and Wolfe Tones. We’re not looking past the Shannon Gaels game, we can’t and we’ve to try give it our best shot, we’ll prepare well and hopefully on the day the lads will perform”.
“If we get an injury or two it really weakens our team a good bit, the games have been competitive, we’ve been competitive in the league”.
Martin Guerin (manager)
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
“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 in terms of that numbers are limited enough, both teams have had a big effort put in and you never know until the first round, it is hard to predict how things will go for both clubs”.
“The first game is always important but particularly when we have Clondegad and Wolfe Tones in the next two games, it’s the same for Liscannor though, it is a huge game for the two of us this weekend. I think we’re fairly evenly matched and it’s a case of small things going right for whoever wins it and whoever loses it will be because small things have gone wrong so it is a case of which of us can get more right”.
“We have a young team, we’ve only two or three lads maximum starting that are over thirty, the rest are from twenty seven downwards, we brought through five or six last year in 2025 and they have become pivotal parts of the team”.
There’s a good few more to come through next year, we feel we’re developing, we feel that we are developing, we got promoted from Division 4 last year and we retained our status in Division 3 which was important but the first round of the intermediate championship is more important, that is where you are judged and that will tell if we are developing or not. We have a group of very committed players, they really give it everything and I am looking forward to Sunday from my own point of view because I believe in them and I think they will perform”.
Peter O’Connell (manager)
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
“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, the basis of the foundation is good so I’m only trying to build on what is already there. We will aim to get to the final, we all want to get there but we have to take it one game at a time, we can’t take it as a given that we will either just because we made the semi-finals last year”.
“It’s been a very enjoyable campaign so far but there’s pressure with it and it is a lot of work, I’m not doing it for myself, I’m making sure we give the players the best platform to success, you always put pressure on yourself to leave no stone unturned so the players can succeed, we give them the platform and they drive it on, it has to be player driven and I’m only trying to facilitate that”.
“Getting promoted to the Garry Cup was one of our main aims at the start of the year and to be playing teams at a higher level. No disrespect to any of the teams in Division 3 but the Garry Cup is more competitive, we want our younger players coming through to play at a higher level, the big aim was promotion, winning the final and getting the cup topped it off. We put a big push on league promotion, we move now to the next step after getting promoted, we won’t go overboard about it but we are delighted to be in the Garry Cup next year”.
“I’ve seen Naomh Eoin play a few times, we can’t take anything for granted with them, if you don’t match the team you’re playing in terms of workrate then you are on the backfoot, 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 is our first hurdle, if we don’t match them then it will be a very tough game, we know Naomh Eoin won’t give us anything easy so we have to have everything done to a tee in terms of workrate and effort, then the football will come into it. It will be a tough test but if you want to win you have to face tough teams”.
Shane Mernagh (manager)
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
“Moving to management has been good, it’s different and it gives you a different perspective. I’m a lot more involved than I thought I’d be but I’m enjoying it”.
“We were disappointed to lose out in the quarter-finals last year but Clondegad were better on the day and we couldn’t have any complaints, they were the better team and better outfit. They are still the team to beat”.
“We’ve a range of players that can play inside, the two pointers have helped us and it gives a massive boost in that you can score without having to draw out the opposing defence, we have lads that can do that and lads that can be a threat by staying inside so we can play both ways”.
“We want to compete, our first objective is getting over the Banner, we want to play well and progress again. Banner got to the semi-final last year, Kilrush are not far away from winning it and Coolmeen are always close to us so it is a very tough group”.
Seamus Boland (manager)
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
“The bottom line is we dined with seven senior clubs in the league, some of the 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. We went through the majority of the Cusack Cup with seven or eight of last year’s team but we got stronger with the likes of Stephen Ryan, Ross Cullinan, Don O’Driscoll and Darragh Bolton coming back to the fold”.
“The biggest lesson we took from the Cusack Cup is we have the ability and we had the ability for thirty minutes in every one of those games to stay with teams and create problems for them but the other lesson was our fitness levels are not where they should be but that was understandable with the panel of players we had available. The other lesson was from the past two years, we had a brilliant Garry Cup campaign last year, we went unbeaten but we peaked for the Garry Cup final and it steadily went downhill from there, that was no fault of the management, the appetite was gone from the players and the will to win was gone, players seemed to be content with winning a league, having some silverware on the counter and a medal in their back pocket. The bigger picture was championship but that became second rate”.
“As Andy Moran said before the All-Ireland final, did anyone expect Mayo to beat Kerry, he asked the media straight out following the semi-final and none of them backed Mayo. We’re no different in Clare, we’re now in a position where we deserve to be which is not a ranked team and we have two seeded teams above us in our group. We’re in fifth place and we’re the fifth or sixth best team at intermediate level. The onus is off us in one sense, the pressure isn’t there from the general public or the people of Kilrush, the players are hoping to answer the questions from last year. The general feeling among the Clare public is Clondegad, Wolfe Tones, Naomh Eoin and the Banner are in the mix and I haven’t yet mentioned Cooraclare”.
John Fennell (manager)
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:
Round.1 vs Kilrush Shamrocks on Sunday August 2nd at 16:00 in Kilkee
Round 2 vs Banner on Sunday August 16th at 16:00 in Páirc na Muintire, Lissycasey
Round 3 vs Naomh Eoin on Sunday August 29th at 13:00 in Páirc Cuar an Chláir, Cooraclare
Championship power ranking: 5
“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”.
“The big thing as I’ve always said is the first game. It will be a big test for us versus Kilrush. The plan was to go up in the league, we got to the league final against Killimer and lost by a point. 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. We’ve Banner and Naomh Eoin to come but we’re not looking past the first round with Kilrush which will set the tone for the year. All the players want to push on and get into a semi-final and county final but we have to take it one game at a time”.
“I’m happy to have avoided my own club Wolfe Tones. It’s probably going to happen at some stage that we will come up against them because if we’re to beat the best then we’ll have to play them, it’s good to avoid them in the first couple of games so we can try get momentum going, if we do progress to the quarter-finals or semi-finals then we’ll have to come up against them but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it”.
Johnny Bridges (manager)
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: Aaron Townsend
Fresh blood: Eoin Murphy, 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
“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 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, there’s so many teams in it all fighting to get up to senior. We’re in a nice tough group so our first objective is to play Michael Cusacks and beat them, we’ve to take it one step at a time”.
“Anyone you talk to in football circles will try say Cooraclare are the favourites but we have a few injuries picked up on every team in the club from intermediate to junior. Anyone can beat anyone in this competition, we understand people from the outside might be tipping Cooraclare but we’re level headed inside the four walls of our dressing room and we know we’ll be caught if we don’t work hard. Every team wants to win the competition but our first target is Michael Cusacks and then trying to get out of our group, we know if we under-perform against anyone we’ll be caught”.
“This is my fourth year with Cooraclare and I must admit everyone has really bought into the system and our set-up. We said we needed to knuckle down after the final, we knew we got to a certain level but it wasn’t good enough and we lost, so we’ve had to get extra percentages to get over the line. The ante will be upped by all teams but the Cooraclare lads have given great commitment, Thomas Downes has been brilliant on the S&C side and the lads have bought into it,. S&C is not a magic wand, it helps but it takes year to get to the level you need to, it will be a help to us this year”.
Martin Daly (manager)
Michael Cusacks
Management: Colm Clancy (manager), Tomás Kerin (selector), Thomas O’Loughlin (selector), John Hynes (selector)
Joint captains: Taidgh Geoghegan and Jack McGann
Key Player: Sean McNamara
One to watch: Aidan McNamara
Fresh blood: Aidan McNamara
Departures Gate: Ronan Monahan
Treatment table: Conor McGann (hamstring), Oisin McNamara (knee)
Titles won: 1 (1983)
Last season’s run: Lost out to Coolmeen in preliminary quarter-final
Schedule of games:
Round 1 vs Cooraclare on Saturday August 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
“Our aim is to further consolidate our status at intermediate like we did last year. We got a late two pointer against Ennistymon to get a draw which was enough to get us through the group on scoring difference. It will be tight again this year”.
“We have a chance for sure of qualifying but we are very caught on numbers, we’ve six or seven lads unavailable for the first round so we will probably only have two or three lads on the bench. We have injuries and on top of that, Seán McNamara is still in America and isn’t back to us yet”.
“Getting promoted from the league was positive but Cooraclare have been playing at a higher level to us and it will be a huge challenge”.
Colm Clancy (manager)
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: 2 (1991, 2005
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
“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”.
“As with every year once we get up and running we’ll have a tough group and this year is no different with Killimer, Michael Cusacks and Cooraclare. Killimer are up from junior and won their league so they have momentum, we have had battles with them over the years when we were both in junior and they have been some great contests, they will be well prepared and they always give a honest account of themselves so we’ll have to try deal with that”.
“Cooraclare and Michael Cusacks will both be fancied to go deep into the championship. We’re under no illusions that it is a tough group so we have to take it one game at a time. We got to the semi-final in our first year back at intermediate and we’ve been in relegation trouble every year since, there are very tight margins between getting out of the group and ending up in a relegation battle”.
“We’re proud of the fact that we are the only club in Clare to have a second team at this level. We know how difficult it is to stay up here, it brings a challenge in our preparation, if you do need players to step up for the seniors and if they are playing at a level below senior then they’re close to it, we’ve pulled lads up before and they are match fit, they are playing at a good level in intermediate”.
Brendan ‘Beano’ Rouine (manager)
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
“It was a big thing to win the Junior A last year and get back up to intermediate. The lads have been here in this exact position before and it hasn’t worked out when they were relegated straight away. They have been putting in a good effort to make sure they stay in intermediate for a second year”.
“The last time it was something very new and they didn’t have the continuity of management that won the Junior with them staying on. We tried to keep the same management so we’re not starting from scratch, we still have a young team, the majority of lads are 23, 24 or younger, the same lads were 21 when they went up the last time”.
“It was good to get the victory in the Division 4 final but the league is league, a lot of teams were missing players during the league, Coolmeen were right there to the end and Killimer were lucky to get over the line by the bare minimum, Coolmeen were experienced and well organised”.
“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, it’ll be about hitting the ground running, otherwise the pressure will be on”.
Seán Haugh (manager)
