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*Seamus McCaul and Conor Cleary battle for possession. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
SEMI-FINAL stage of the Clare senior hurling championship sees the battle to lift the Canon Hamilton crank up a gear.
Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg is the setting for both semi-finals which at the outset are very close to call and have the potential to be two very exciting contests.
On Saturday, it’s a repeat of the 2004 semi-final where Kilmaley and Scariff face off at 16:30 with Joe Mullins of Clonlara the match referee.
Sunday is the turn of Éire Óg and Inagh/Kilnamona to clash in the Park with throw-in scheduled for 15:30 when Whitegate’s John Bugler will fire the sliotar in.
Twenty two years ago, Scariff and Kilmaley faced off at the penultimate stage with Kilmaley prevailing 1-13 2-8 on that occasion. Donal Moloney was in charge of Scariff on that occasion and can remember “every minute” of the game where current coach Conor McNamara landed two points, current selector Ger Rodgers lined out at corner back with Michael Scanlan who is expected to feature on Saturday was brought on as a substitute.
It will be the fourth meeting in five years between Scariff and Kilmaley. All those meetings were in the group stages with the record standing 2-0 in favour of Kilmaley with the sides drawing in 2023. It was 1-31 2-18 in the third round last season while Kilmaley were 1-21 1-17 victors in their 2022 third round clash.
Scariff have been hit hard with injuries with Keelan Hartigan (hamstring) and Paul Rodgers (ankle) joining the queue for the treatment table which also includes Patrick Ryan and Liam Crotty. Harigan is understood to have made a strong recovery with Rodgers on course to maintain his starting berth in his debut senior season. “I’ve never seen a year like it, it is a great testament to the squad that we’ve been able to fill in the gaps so far and we’ll be doing that again on Saturday,” Moloney said of their injuries.
Heading into the third round, Scariff hadn’t won a game and needed to beat Crusheen by ten points, they did that and more with a 2-27 2-14 victory sealing their place in the knockout stages where they eliminated last year’s finalists Clooney/Quin. “We were as good as out bar that last minute Crusheen goal against Broadford, it gave us a lifeline and when we did the maths we had to beat Crusheen by ten points to qualify for a quarter-final, to beat Crusheen on any day is tough but by ten points was a big task, it worked out for us on the day and in the last quarter particularly. Lads have worked very hard, Broadford beat us fair and square in the first round, we were much better against Éire Óg, we should have won that game but we got caught in the last few minutes so it isn’t as if we have been performing poorly, we had a very good league up until the final too, there was very little wrong, we just needed to adjust a few things and we are where we are,” Donal told The Clare Echo.
A heartbreaking semi-final exit to eventual winners Éire Óg ended Kilmaley’s season in 2025. They’ve returned to the penultimate stage and it is the first time since 2001 that they have made successive semi-finals, reaching the last four in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001, prevailing against Scariff in 1998 before losing to Sixmilebridge for three years running.
Manager Brian Culbert is in his fourth year involved with Kilmaley, the Sixmilebridge native admitted, “We never mention about getting back to where we were last year because each year brings a new challenge, new teams and a totally different approach, you’re trying to bring new fellas forward and a new team, we’ve made changes like Mikey O’Malley going to centre back plus some small other changes to try make the team better. We’re back in a semi-final, we’ve had four tough games, all of them games could have gone either way up until the three quarter stage of each match, we’ve earned our spot and we’re delighted to be there, ourselves and Scariff are only sixty minutes away from either club ending a long spell to be in a final so we’ll both give it our best shot”.
Culbert insisted they will not lose their focus by worrying about match-ups with an exciting Scariff attack. “Rather than being safe, we like running a risk and taking a chance on a fella and giving as many fellas as much time as we can, we have twenty four senior players at the moment which is a big enough number for any club that can actively play senior. I have three or four fellas if they weren’t playing intermediate or if the intermediates were knocked out that would be in contention to come on at the weekend but different players are at different stage of their development and the best thing for them might be to stay at intermediate for another year or two before coming up, you have to be open-minded and give lads a chance, if you don’t give a fella a chance then you will never know how good is he going to be, it’s not just a thing of sticking him in for one match and leaving him alone. We played a match last week and we made sure that all the felllas in contention were getting a game and getting a full-blooded game to see where they are to put their hand up and say I can contribute next weekend”.
Mikey O’Neill is the main injury doubt for Kilmaley who last lifted the Canon Hamilton in 2004. “A few of the football lads picked up knocks but they will be fine in the main, Mikey O’Neill is the only threat, if you ask a doctor with a PhD he would tell you Mikey O’Neill hasn’t a chance of playing but anyone that knows Mikey O’Neill knows that he will decide on Saturday morning if he is ready to play, that is the type of fella he is, he is giving himself every opportunity to try and be right, it is unlikely but we will see, knowing the man that he is, he will do everything in his power if he is twenty percent right to try play, we’ll make that call on Saturday but that is the only out and out doubt”.
Champions Éire Óg put their title on the line against Inagh/Kilnamona in what will be the fifth meeting in six seasons between the clubs. It is the first time since 2021 that the clubs meet in the semi-finals which ironically was the last time Inagh/Kilnamona prevailed at the last four juncture. They met in last year’s quarter-final where Éire Óg were 3-21 1-17 winners. At the same stage of the competition in 2024 it was Inagh/Kilnamona that won 2-16 0-20 while the 2022 quarter-final went the way of Éire Óg on a 2-21 0-16 scoreline.
As Éire Óg eased into the last four of the Clare SFC semi-finals last weekend, they did so without Aaron Fitzgerald, David McNamara and Jarlath Collins. Of the trio, Fitzgerald has the least prospect of returning. “Aaron is a serious doubt and will be right up until the game, we will do a fitness test with him before the game, he warmed up with the footballers on Sunday evening and he wasn’t able to take part, he is the biggest single injury concern that we have at the moment,” manager Gerry O’Connor stated.
O’Connor pointed to their continued squad development for assisting their run to a fifth semi-final in eight years. Getting over the line to win a first championship in thirty five years has strengthened the belief of the Ennis side. “Until we got across the line and won a championship last year we were always very envious of Ballyea and Sixmilebridge, how once they won one that they were able to go and add to that, the belief and confidence that winning brings, knowing how to close out tight championship matches, you can talk about it for as long as you like but you have to go through the pain, we went through considerable pain for the bones of ten years before we got across the line, there is no silver bullet that allows you to get that belief, you have to go out and earn that, every game and victory in Clare you bloody well earn it, that is a significant advantage that we feel we would have over Inagh/Kilnamona in that regard”.
When Inagh/Kilnamona last beat Éire Óg in a semi-final, Eugene Cullinan was at the helm. He returned as manager at the beginning of this year, his charges are unbeaten in four championship outings. “I do know well how to beat them, I also know they beat us the following year, I definitely recognise there isn’t much between the two teams to be honest, it is going to take a huge effort to get over the line on Sunday against Éire Óg, we’ve gained a bit of confidence in the teams we’ve played in the group, some of the top teams in Clare, coming into the quarter-final against Cratloe, a team with some really seasoned players and a sprinkling of youth in their team, they are a very dangerous team, we had a huge battle with Cratloe, we’re hardened for the battle with Éire Óg on Sunday”.
Joining him on the sideline is ex Éire Óg manager Matt Shannon who guided the Townies to contest the 2022 decider which is sure to add some excitement to the semi-final. The Combo “have a couple of niggles and knocks but in general we feel we nearly have a full hand to pick from on Sunday”. He told The Clare Echo, “There’s definitely a pep in the step and a buzz in the camp, getting over the line against some of the top teams in Clare it does bring a bit of belief into the players, there is a confidence there that whatever the outcome will be that we’re going to get a performance on Sunday, we’re going to fight on our backs and it is going to be a real battle, we’re going to come out fighting against Éire Óg on Sunday”.
Meanwhile avoiding the drop is the sole objective when O’Callaghans Mills and St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield cross swords in O’Garney Park, Sixmilebridge on Sunday (13:00). Both sides have yet to win in their four championship outings this season, the Mills drawing with Cratloe in round two.
