*Kildysart’s Fergal Guinane. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
LOSING their talisman before their championship run has even begun is a killer blow for Kildysart but they’re anxious to ensure it isn’t a fatal one.
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Kildysart Fact File
Management: Maurice Walsh (manager), Owen Ryan (coach), Kevin Kelly (selector), John Guinane (selector), Patrick Casey (selector), Odran O’Dwyer (S&C), Kieran Connelly (medical)
Captain: Keith O’Connor
Key player: Diarmuid O’Donnell
One to watch: Cillian Kelly
Fresh blood: Conall Casey, Cillian Kelly, Jamie Sheehan, Jamie Evans
Departures Gate: None
Treatment table: Emmet McMahon (ACL), Seamus Casey (ankle),
Titles won: 1 (1889)
Last year’s run: Eliminated in preliminary quarter-final by Lissycasey.
Schedule of games:
Round 1 vs St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield on Friday July 18th in Clarecastle at 19:00
Round 2 vs Cratloe on Saturday August 2nd in Cusack Park at 17:00
Round 3 vs Éire Óg on Saturday August 16th in Páirc Finne, Corofin at 18:00
Championship power ranking (1=weak/unlikely winners, 10=strong contenders): 4
Emmet McMahon’s absence for the entirety of the club championship with a cruciate ligament injury robs spectators from watching one of Clare’s top players in full flow. For Kildysart his absence greatly derails their chances but offers an opportunity for other players to fill the big void.
For manager Maurice Walsh it is another setback in his first season following on from a poor Cusack Cup where they were relegated. “It’s in the back burner now,” he said of the league run. “We didn’t lose many of them by a cricket score, we were in most of the games till fifty minutes which was a positive. It is not nice to be relegated but we take it on the chin, we learned a lot from those games in relation to the new format of play”.
Walsh has had a split season of his own having concluded his first year as Clare U20 manager. “It’s been full on with league matches, challenge games and the O’Gorman Cup. We have been fairly busy, we’ve a small enough panel so it is difficult to get everyone out, we had three lads involved with the Clare seniors, Diarmuid O’Donnell, Rory McMahon and Emmet McMahon, both Luke McGrath and Fergal Guinane were assisting with Clare in the last couple of weeks so we were depleted in the league and for our preparations in general”.
Indeed it was his time with the U20s that led to becoming Kildysart manager with club stalwart Ger ‘Bobby’ Kelly and Shane McNeilis posing the question in February, both of whom had been part of Walsh’s county management. He said the appointment of the Clare U20 manager for 2026 will not be nailed down until the senior set-up is finalised.
Back to the Clare SFC and his Kildysart charges are facing off with his own club Éire Óg, Cratloe and they begin their campaign against St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield who Maurice was involved with two seasons ago. “It’s not an easy group, it is a group that three teams are coming out of so it will be ultra-competitive. Éire Óg are the kingpins, Cratloe as usual are a never say die team who will play till the final minute. I was with Doora/Barefield two years ago and they have fabulous players. It’s an interesting group with three teams coming out and all knowing they won’t meet each other in the quarter-finals”.
Ten months ago, a single point separated Kildysart and Doora/Barefield in the third round of the championship, Fergal Guinane was their goal scorer on the day while Luke McGrath kicked the winning point. Another tight game is on the horizon this Friday in Clarecastle, Maurice predicted. “I think it will be a very similar game whoever comes out the right side, it will be very close and very tight, there’s only a kick of a ball between the two teams”.
