*Clarecastle’s Cian Broderick. Photograph: Chris Copley
A FRESH injection of youth is to be sprinkled to the Clare senior hurling panel with manager Brian Lohan making new additions to his squad for 2022.
Lohan enters his third year as Banner boss next season with management setting out their stall for the year ahead in a meeting with the panel over the past fortnight. The Shannon man will once again be joined by Ken Ralph, James Moran and Sean Treacy in his management.
At least six new panellists have been recruited to the senior panel with the potential for further call-ups over the coming weeks.
Clarecastle goalkeeper Cian Broderick, a Harty Cup winner with St Flannan’s College in 2020 and the county U20 custodian this year has been brought up as Eibhear Quilligan’s understudy.
Fresh from an impressive club campaign for Scariff which included scoring 0-06 from play against Sixmilebridge in his first year lining out at senior, Patrick Crotty joins the panel.
For the first time since Killian Ryan was part of the 2013 panel, Ruan has a representative on the county senior squad once again with Robin Mounsey earning a call-up on the back of playing a leading role in his club reaching the semi-finals of the Clare IHC.
Smith O’Briens’ success in the intermediate championship has been rewarded with Mike Gough receiving a call to the panel. Gough lined out at centre-forward for the Killaloe club but has featured at corner back for the county minors. Kilmaley’s Bradley Higgins who was
A regular member of the Éire Óg starting fifteen over the past two seasons, Darren O’Brien now joins the county senior panel. The NUIG student has drifted between midfield and attack for the Ennis club and ties in with the management’s preference for choosing players with height when assembling a squad.
As of yet, Inagh/Kilnamona’s Conner Hegarty one of the players of the club championship has yet to receive a call with surprise also voiced that Feakle defender Adam Hogan and Newmarket-on-Fergus duo Eoin Guilfoyle and Éanna Crimmins have not been included in management’s plans.
All Star, Peter Duggan of Clooney/Quin has not returned to the panel, yet, The Clare Echo understands.
Four players have been dropped from the panel by the two-time All-Ireland winner. Both Stephen O’Halloran (Clarecastle) and Colin Guilfoyle (Newmarket-on-Fergus) made championship appearances during Lohan’s first year in charge as Clare reached the All-Ireland quarter-finals, neither of the duo got a taste of championship action this year and have been released from the panel.
Inagh/Kilnamona’s Eamonn Foudy who was sub goalkeeper to Quiligan has also been removed from the squad. The former Clare minor goalkeeper lost out to All-Ireland winner Pa Kelly to line out between the posts for his club who reached their first ever Clare SHC final this year. Éire Óg defender Liam Corry who who was added to the panel by Lohan has been let go, the defender was sent off during Clare’s National League loss to Wexford earlier this year and did not receive any game time subsequent to this. Crusheen’s Ross Hayes who rejoined the panel this year has also been informed he will not be part of the county squad next year.
*Additional reporting by Seamus Hayes
