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*Experienced defenders Ciaran Russell & Gordon Kelly will cross paths this weekend. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
FOUR TEAMS remain in contention to lift the Jack Daly but by Sunday evening the final pairing will be known for the 2026 Clare senior football championship.
Diehards of gaelic football will be nowhere else on Sunday other than Cusack Park which hosts a double-header of the semi-finals.
There was no such common sense by the fixture gurus when it to the last four clashes in the Clare intermediate football championship with the two ties clashing on Saturday evening.
Champions Éire Óg meet St Joseph’s Miltown for the second time in this year’s championship on Sunday (13:00) while it is a rare clash between Kildysart and Kilmurry Ibricakane (15:00), two sides that have managed to avoid each other since the Shannon Estuary side won the intermediate in 2022.
A successive double is off the cards for Éire Óg following their defeat to Inagh/Kilnamona in Sunday’s Clare SHC semi-final. Midfielder David McNamara sustained a suspected fractured rib which rules him out of the weekend’s football while Aaron Fitzgerald is a major doubt for the Townies. The duo are “definitely possibly out” according to Éire Óg manager Shane Daniels. He said, “We’re fully focused at the moment coming on the back of a disappointing weekend for the hurlers so we have a job to do with our medical team to get lads right and fresh”.
There’s still plenty of talent to call upon for the Ennis side with Ronan Lanigan, Mark McInerney, Ikem Ugwueru, Manus Doherty, Ciaran Russell, Dean Ryan and Oran Cahill all good to go. “The motivation of our dual players over the last number of years has been phenomenal, they go out every week and play games every week, they want to win every game they play, it is a short turnaround between last Sunday and the Sunday coming, their heads will be fully focused on trying to get a win, they have been amazing with what they have been doing for the club over the last few years, their focus has never changed or shifted, we’re extremely lucky to have that crop of players,” Daniels added.
Buoyed by their extra time win over Ennistymon in the quarter-finals, St Joseph’s Miltown are looking to carry forward that momentum into the last four. Seán O’Brien and his management have a fully fit squad to pick from as they look to atone for their thirteen point loss to Éire Óg in round three. “There’s things we would have been targeting since last February that we didn’t get right on that day, no matter what even days when we’ve won games we’ve come out with things that we weren’t happy with, we will try and learn from that and hopefully improve on a couple of areas”.
A chance to knock out the champions is an opportunity and not something to be fearful, the three-time Clare SFC winner stated. “Some teams can be daunted by it but when you start off at the start of the year being realistic about it you are thinking in January or February that you will have to face down Éire Óg at some stage if you want to win, from the start of the year you knew it was a possibility so lads should be excited about the opportunity rather than being fearful, we’ve got to a late enough stage in the competition and we get to have a cut off them, anybody that is serious about doing anything should be looking at it as an opportunity and not be afraid of an opponent”.
Thirty nine years since their last semi-final appearance when they lost 1-11 1-8 to Doonbeg, it is new territory for Kildysart but the unfamiliar surroundings won’t faze them. “We set out our stall at the start of the year and we set out our expectations, we’re where we planned to be, we’re taking it one game at a time from here on, the lads are really enjoying going down training in the dark as I said to them it is a good sign to be going training in the dark and putting the lights on, it means we’re doing something right and they know that too, there’s a great team bond there all year and they are all looking forward to putting their best foot forward on Sunday with no fears,” manager Niall Ginnane outlined.
Kildsyart kicked up a storm in the quarter-finals with eight two pointers as they eliminated neighbours Lissycasey. They have no injury worries ahead of their joust with Kilmurry Ibrickane. Niall outlined, “we’ve used the squad well, we’ve brought on four or five subs in every game, we’re making it a twenty man game not just fifteen, we’re happy enough that we have twenty for the day”.
Clare vice captain Dermot Coughlan is at risk of missing out on Sunday’s semi-final due to a knee injury, Kilmurry Ibrickane manager Enda Coughlan confirmed. “I do know there is damage to his knee, we’re waiting on scan results, it will be tight depending on what the scan shows up, we’re hopeful it is not very serious but it could be enough to keep him out of Sunday, we won’t know till later in the week”. Goalkeeper Ian McInerney and Aidan McCarthy are yet to get the all clear to feature this weekend.
Taking all their chances is the sole objective for the Bricks as they look to get back into the county final after a one year absence. “Without a doubt, the four team in the semi-finals all have a lot of games behind them, both semi-finals should be tough, we’ve seen a good bit of Kildysart and they are unbeaten in the championship, they have put up big scores in the last two games so we’re under no doubt it will be a tight game like all of the games this year”.
Sunday evening finishes off with St Breckans and Kilmihil battling to consolidate their senior status in Clarecastle (17:00). Suspensions leave the Spa without Colm O’Brien, Cathal Guerin along with injured duo of Padraig Kelly and Tristan O’Callaghan who were red-carded for contributing to a melee in their play-off loss to Cratloe. Kilmihil have been out of action since losing to St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield in the third round of the Clare SFC but remained determined to avoid the drop for the third year on the trot.
Relegation in the Clare IFC is first on the cards with Michael Cusacks and Coolmeen in action at 14:00 in Clarecastle on Saturday. Ex Wolfe Tones manager Johnny Bridges has departed his role as manager of Coolmeen following the group stages and they have been out of action for over a month while Cusacks lost out to Liscannor in the relegation play-off a fortnight ago 0-12 1-8.
Then it’s decision time as it becomes impossible for neutrals to attend both Clare IFC semi-finals. Kildsyart hosts the meeting of Naomh Eoin and Wolfe Tones at 16:00 with St Michael’s Park in Kilmihil the setting for the clash of Banner and Kilrush Shamrocks.
Naomh Eoin and Wolfe Tones last faced off in the 2024 final when the Shannon side prevailed 2-11 2-7. There has been a high turnover of Tones key personnel since then but they have made the last four following wins over Shannon Gaels, Liscannor and Killimer. They’ll be relying on Darragh Leahy, Jayme O’Sullivan, Eoghan Casey and Daithí Lohan to keep their hopes of an immediate bounce back to the senior grade alive.
Reaching the semi-finals for the third time has been a more tricky route for Naomh Eoin who eliminated favourites Clondegad in the quarter-finals having had to navigate via the preliminary play-off when overcoming Ennistymon following defeat to Banner, a draw with Kilrush Shamrocks and victory over Coolmeen. Niall Bonfil, Conor Magner, Adam Haugh, Fionn Doherty and Owen Lynch have been in flying form for the Loop Head Peninsula side.
Vying to make the Clare IFC finals for the first time are Banner who meet Kilrush Shamrocks for the second time in this year’s run. A 1-22 2-13 win at the end of August saw Banner claim top spot in Group 2 and they have impressed across their four games. They reached last year’s semi-finals where they were knocked out by Cooraclare. Ronan Kilroy, Thomas Meenaghan, Eoin Walsh, Shane Meehan, Conor Rynne and Seán McMahon have been performing well for the Ennis club.
Fresh from eliminating Cooraclare by a margin of five points, there is an ignited belief within Kilrush Shamrocks of advancing to a first intermediate final since 2023. John Fennell’s side won’t be able to offer as much space to the Banner attack as they did over a month ago while also relying on Seán Fennell, Dylan O’Brien, Darragh Bolton, Conor Fennell and Stephen Ryan for big performances.
