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*Ryan Taylor will be a leading light for Clooney/Quin. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
CLOONEY/QUIN are in a much better place so far as injuries are concerned for this year’s Clare SHC and so the expectation surrounding what they can achieve is much greater.
The Clare Echo’s coverage of the Clare SHC is in association with The Temple Gate Hotel.
Clooney/Quin Factfile
Management: Fergal Lynch (manager), Francis Browne (selector/coach), Derek Quinn (selector/coach), Victor O’Riordan (S&C), Stevie McHugh (stats), Mike Browne (stats), Ciara Grogan (stats), Don Hayes (stats), Ed Manley (stats), Dr Maire Quigney (doctor), Kathleen Doyle (medical), Maureen Duggan (medical), Dan Palache (logistics), Liam Keating (logistics)
Captain: Jimmy Corry
Key player: Peter Duggan
One to watch: Dara McNamara
Fresh blood: Matthew Corbett, David Cahill, Sean McNamara, Darragh McInerney, Pa Finneran, Jerry O’Connor
Departure Gate: Eoin O’Brien (injured), John Conneally (overseas)
Treatment table: None
Titles won: 1 (1942 as Clooney),
Last year’s run: Beat O’Callaghans Mills in relegation semi-final to hold onto senior status
Championship power ranking; 8
Schedule of games:
Round 1 vs Broadford on Saturday July 26th in Shannon at 1.30p.m.
Round 2 vs Inagh/Kilnamona on Sunday August 10th in Cusack Park at 15:00
Round 3 vs Corofin on Sunday August 24th in Clarecastle at 14:00
The success of a number of Clooney/Quin teams in winning titles at underage level has, understandably, led to hurling patrons across the county including the club in a short list of possible winners of the Clare senior hurling championship in the next year or two.
That was also the case last year but they went into the race for the Canon Hamilton trophy without a number of players due to injury and they ended up battling to avoid relegation.
“This year we are in a better place in terms of having players available, Last year we were hampered with injuries but things are better this year. We have a lot of work done and we are well prepared”, manager Fergal Lynch told The Clare Echo.
That said, the All-Ireland senior hurling winner with Clare in 2013 who is in his second season in charge stressed “we can’t look past the first round. The focus is win our next game. Our focus is on getting the best performance from out of the players and that will also apply for those players who don’t make the first team. They will be doing the same when they line out with the club’s next adult team”, Lynch outlined.
One has to go all the way back to 1942 for Clooney’s only senior championship title win in Clare.
The team is captained this year by Jimmy Corry whose father Mike achieved senior championship success with his native Sixmilebridge.
Peter Duggan and Ryan Taylor helped Clare win the All-Ireland senior title in 2024 and they are key players for Clooney/Quin who have provided a number of players to the Clare minor and under 20 sides in recent years.
An indication of the youthful talent coming through in Clooney/Quin can be gleaned from a list of six players who have joined the senior panel this year and most, if not all, will see action at some stage in the race for the Canon Hamilton trophy.
“We have a large pool of players to pick from and they are all battling for places in the senior side”, the primary school principal at Scoil na Mainisteach in Quin stated.
In their six game league programme they had three wins and a draw but just missed out on a place in the quarter finals. They played most of their league matches without players who were part of both the Clare senior and under 20 panels.
This week the focus is very much on Saturday’s opening group game which is against Broadford at Shannon. It’s a difficult test for Clooney-Quin who will carry the favourites tag into the game.
