*Emmet McMahon. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
CLARE footballer Emmet McMahon is to miss out on the entire club championship with Kildysart through injury.
In what comes as a major blow to the county cause, Emmet is unlikely to feature for Clare in next year’s Allianz National Football League after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
He is ruled out of Kildysart’s club campaign which begins against St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield on Friday evening in Clarecastle. Their Group also includes the most recent champions in reigning Clare SFC holders Éire Óg and the 2023 winners Cratloe.
McMahon picked up the injury during the closing stages of a challenge match in Limerick on Thursday of last week.
Kildysart manager, Maurice Walsh told The Clare Echo, “it’s an awful blow. It was in the last thirty seconds of a challenge game we played in Limerick, there was nobody around him, whatever way he landed on that foot, he pulled up straight away and we knew he was in trouble in straight away”.
Walsh said they received confirmation this week following an MRI scan that it was an anterior cruciate ligament injury. He is expected to meet with a surgeon this week, with an operation likely to be scheduled for August.
Speaking on The Water Break, former Kildysart footballer, Ger ‘Bobby’ Kelly said the loss of Emmet would be felt by any club team in Ireland. “He would be a huge loss to any team in the country, it is just unfortunate with the timing it has happened. All you can do is get on with it from a Kildysart point of view, the show has to go on, there is a huge game coming up this week so it is up to the leadership group to drive the whole thing on and I’m sure at this stage they have adjusted to the realisation that Emmet just won’t be available this year. It is full steam unfortunately without him”.
Peter Keane’s uncertain future as Clare manager will now have to take cognisance of the fact that he will be without one of his top players for the beginning of 2026 as the county looks to end a three year run in Division 3 of the Allianz National League.
A sixth senior inter-county championship campaign concluded for Emmet with Clare’s defeat to Louth in Portlaoise last month. He had missed out on the Monaghan game in the second round of the All-Ireland series through injury.
