*Ikem Ugwueru punches the ball from Tom Walsh. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
ÉIRE Óg’s senior footballers are determined to continuing progressing in Munster but must rectify “stupid mistakes”.
A fourth win in seven Munster outings since 2021 has secured Éire Óg’s place in the Munster SFC club semi-finals on November 23rd where they will face the winners of Clonmel Commercials versus St Finbarr’s.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Éire Óg manager Shane Daniels outlined that they are anxious to push on in the province. “We knew it was going to be a really tough game, every year they (Rathgormack) have been in Munster they have given teams really tough games, our lads worked for it and they had to be up for it, it is great to win which is what we wanted to do. Every year we’ve won a championship in the last couple of years we have won a game in Munster so we’ve won another game now, it is a matter of taking the next step”.
Sunday’s four point win over Rathgormack was their first outing in four weeks since they defeated St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield in the Clare SFC final. It is the second time that the Townies have had to contend with a gap of one month between championship outings this season, having had a four week window from last group win over Kildysart and their quarter-final with St Joseph’s Miltown.
Such a window can make it difficult to hit championship levels from the get-go. “You can train all you like but it is the championship feel. They might look at it as a negative but they had a real competitive game last week which means you are sharp straight away, it took us a few minutes to get into it but for patches we were really good, other patches we made stupid mistakes, we’ve loads to assess and work on for the next day”.
Still unbeaten in all championship games in 2025, there is plenty that Éire Óg need to improve on, Daniels insisted. “Every day I’ve talked to you after a game I’ve said we have stuff to work on and we do. I don’t think that will stop, we’re delighted that we have another two weeks to work on stuff again”.
All of Cian Howard’s kickouts in the opening half were won by Éire Óg whereas things became somewhat shaky all over the field in the third quarter. “There was a period in the second half where it took us a long time to get our hands on the ball and we are a really good team when we get our hands on the ball, a couple of things went astray and you won’t win every kickout in a game but overall we were happy enough with our kickouts. When we get hands on ball, we’re a really good team”.
Daniels was confident Éire Óg would produce a strong finish. “We’re very confident in our bench that they can come on and make a difference, it’s hard because you are asking guys to come on and have an immediate impact which is hard at times but we’re lucky, Aidan McGrath had a great turnover, Niall McMahon made a great block, Jarlath Collins started winning breaks and giving us primary possession, Jack Joyce always makes an impact, we’re really happy with our bench and we will need that impact going forward all the time”.
Mark McInerney was the star man for the Townies, kicking 0-16 over the hour. “We all know Mark’s quality, it is about getting him the right ball in the right area, for large parts of the game we did that, some of Mark’s scores were phenomenal with kicks from fifty or sixty metres out going over the bar, we know he can do that”.
Focus is predominatly on hurling in the Ennis club this week as they face Loughmore-Castleiney on Sunday in the Munster SHC club semi-final. Those not lining out with Gerry O’Connor’s side and involved in the football panel will not be resting, Shane outlined. “The football only crowd will work very hard for seven days and the lads will focus on their game against Loughmore, we will meet again and have a couple of good sessions before the semi-final, it is nothing we’re not used to”.
