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*Inagh/Kilnamona captain, Aidan McCarthy. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
A STAR-studded Inagh/Kilnamona are wary that their first round derby with Corofin could take on “a life of its own”.
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Inagh/Kilnamona Fact File
Management: Tomás Kelly (manager), Milo Keane (selector), Damien O’Halloran (coach/selector), Hugh Paddy O’Byrne (selector), Conor Shannon (S&C), Shane O’Connell (physio)
Captain: Aidan McCarthy
Key player: Aidan McCarthy
One to watch: Fred Hegarty
Fresh blood: None
Departure Gate: Jason Griffin (long term injury);
Treatment table: Josh Guyler, Jack Mescall, Shane Woods all out for the early stages.
Titles won: None
Championship power ranking; 8
Schedule of games:
Round 1 vs Corofin on Saturday July 24th at Gurteen at 7p.m.
Round 2 vs Clooney/Quin on Sunday August 10th in Cusack Park at 15:00
Round 3 vs Broadford on Sunday August 24th in Cusack Park at 14:00
Inagh/Kilnamona have been on almost everybody’s short list of likely winners of the Canon Hamilton trophy throughout the past decade but they Mid-Clare club has yet to have their name inscribed on the famous trophy.
They have come so close in modern times and on a number of occasions could and, possibly, should have crossed the winners line.
Last year they had the heartbreak of losing a penalty shoot out to Sixmilebridge in the semi-final while, for the past two seasons, they have had to be content with the runners up spot in the Clare Cup (senior league) final.
In his second year in charge manager Tomas Kelly says they “are not in a position to be looking past the first round or the first set of games. Our form in the Clare Cup was up and down. We are looking for a level of consistency in our performances, starting with the first game in the championship this weekend”.
There is no doubting but that they have a huge pool of talented hurlers in the club but a number of team managements in recent years have struggled to get a settled starting fifteen.
They played the concluding stages of the league without a number of players one would expect to be in their starting line up. Keith White, Shane Woods and Josh Guyler have been absent due to injury while Sean Rynne, Connor Hegarty and David Fitzgerald have been out of the country. Guyler, Woods and Jack Mescall are expected to be absent for the early stages of the competition.
David Fitzgerald, Eamonn Foudy and Aidan McCarthy have been key members of the Clare senior squad in recent years while Sean Rynne, Fred Hegarty and James Hegarty have been impressing with Clare underage sides.
Kelly told The Clare Echo, “We are not looking past our first-round game against Corofin. It’s a derby game and they can take on a life of their own. Lots of teams competing for this title are evenly matched. The standard of players coming through is very high and if you are off by a percentage on any day any team can beat you. It’s very much on the day with these games. There is very little between any of the teams”.
“We have played in patches in the league and we must take learnings from those games. We must learn to react to adversity and learn to limit the damage Corofin have shown that on their day they can beat any team. They showed they were able to deal with adversity last year”, he added. Tomás is currently a member of the Clare under 20 backroom team.
Clare hurling followers are divided as to what is All Star David Fitzgerald’s best position. Is it in the halfback line, midfield or in the half forward line. There is no doubting his ability and Inagh/Kilnamona followers will certainly be looking to him to lead their charge along with Aidan McCarthy, Sean Rynne, Connor and James Hegarty and Eamonn Foudy to mention a few.
