*Corofin’s Damien O’Loughlin. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
HAVING kept their senior status by relegating O’Callaghans Mills, the primary focus for Corofin is ensuring they retain their place in the top tier.
The Clare Echo’s coverage of the Clare SHC is brought to you by The Temple Gate Hotel.
Corofin Factfile:
Management: Liam Donoghue (manager/coach), Pa Burke (selector), Pat Curtis (selector).
Captain: Gearoid Kelly
Key player: Conor Leen
One to watch: Killian O’Connor
Fresh blood: Evan Doolin, Seanán Kirby,
Departures Gate: Eoin Davoren (emigrated)
Treatment table: Marc O’Loughlin, Adrian Shannon, Diarmuid Cahill
Titles won: None
Last year’s run: Defeated O’Callaghans Mills in the relegation final.
Championship power ranking: 5
Schedule of games:
Round 1 vs Inagh/Kilnamona on Saturday July 24th in Gurteen at 19:00
Round 2 vs Broadford on Saturday August 9th in Cusack Park at 17:00
Round 3 vs Clooney/Quin on Sunday August 24th in Clarecastle at 14:00
One of the key factors for Corofin to having a good run in the senior hurling championship will be avoiding injury.
As a dual club with a huge number of players on both teams, they are in action every week from now for as long as they remain in the title race.
“We have a very high percentage of players on both teams, it’s 85% or over and then we have junior teams in both codes so almost every player in the club play hurling and football. In our premier team in both codes, its mostly the same players”, explained Pa Burke, a member of the senior hurling management team and also club chairman.
It took the club some time this year to put a management team in place. Former Clarinbridge and Galway hurler, Liam Donoghue, brother of the current Galway senior hurling team manager Micheal, took on the manager’s role in Februrary and he is also the team coach.
Crowned intermediate champions in 2023, they had to survive a relegation play off with victory over a fancied O’Callaghans Mills outfit, last year to retain their senior status.
Retaining their senior status is their main target this season “We are not looking past Inagh/Kilnamona in this weekend’s opening round. Of course we would like to qualify from the group to the knockout stage.
With such a high percentage of dual players, avoiding injury is important. For the majority of our players there is no break. Its week on week on and it’s a very tough schedule from that point of view”, Burke told The Clare Echo
Despite the late start in finalising their management, Corofin made an impressive start to their Clare Cup campaign winning their opening two games against Scariff (2-22 to 1-14) and Wolfe Tones (0-20 to 1-15).
Results wise things didn’t go too well after that losing to Kilmaley, Newmarket-on-Fergus, O’Callaghans Mills who avenged their relegation play-off loss from last year, Clonlara and Cloone/-Quin
There is no shortage of skillful hurlers in their group, led by All-Ireland winning corner back Conor Leen. He will be joined by Clare under 20 player James Organ while Gearoid Cahill, team captain Gearoid Kelly, Cillian McGroary. Killian O’Connor and the O’Loughlins have all shown what they can offer.
Diarmuid Cahill and Marc O’Loughlin are major doubts for this week’s game due to injury and all involved will be keeping their fingers crossed that they will be able to play some part in this tie.
That said it’s a tall ask to beat one of the competition’s fancied sides in Inagh/Kilnamona but Corofin will be the first to accept that they have nothing to lose. They carry the underdogs tag into this game in which they will be looking for a return to the form they showed in the early rounds in the Clare Cup.
