Jaysus that klare crowd are some shower of dithering gombeens, they canât even recognise that they havenât a pot to piss in. Theyâve had numerous fund raising days set up by their executive but the stupid cunts wonât support them and then wonder why the house is falling down with no supports. The last time those turnip munching kunts put their hands in their pocket for anything GAA was back in â08 and even at that it was just to bring a few coppers out to fling at an innocent referee and umpires. An awful shower to have at our games. I hope the Limerick and Galway lads dig a trench in unison along the border and when they have it deep enough, weâlll blow the bridge at killaloe and let the savages drift off into the Atlantic and good riddance to the cunts
A resident of Sewerview no doubt
Is there a reason why Clare people are the maddest off all the Irish?
Think Donegal have them beaten in that one
PoitĂn?
Deed itâs not, we all have a drop of that from time to time, Iâd say itâs the close proximity to the Atlantic wind blowing every last molecule of a brain cell from between their two ears away, never to be used again.
Was Niall OâConnor the lad who was messing with the sliothars before a championship game vs Cork about 3 or 4 years ago?
He was.
They are driven shtone mad by all the shtones where the fields should be.
Fallout after Covid-19 cases causes further tension at Clare
During last Monday nightâs most recent episode of the edgy soap opera formerly known as the monthly meeting of the Clare county board, a conversation about the two Clare players cited as close contacts after two Wexford hurlers were diagnosed with Covid-19 a couple of days after playing a league game against Clare was cut short by chairman Jack Chaplin. He said he had only just found out about and did not possess enough information to discuss it.
It seemed a strange response. It was nearly a week since the two positive tests in Wexford had been reported, followed by a third on Friday, followed by days of public debate around the implications for clubs and counties everywhere of the HSEâs decision to identify two opposing players on the field as close contacts. Clare manager Brian Lohan had insisted the Clare players were identified by Wexford players; Wexford chairman MicheĂ l Martin had kicked back against that and Clare GAA released a statement on Monday morning seeking to defuse the mood. At a time when almost every conversation within Clare GAA is heightened with tension, Monday night was an opportunity for every faction within to share some common ground. That moment was allowed to pass.
While the wider implications for teams across the country focused on why Wexford were not immediately obliged to isolate their players despite sharing dressing rooms, accommodations and other indoor spaces across that weekend while Clare had two players picked out, the questions in Clare spiralled off in a different direction. Why were two Clare players singled out? If one of them, according to another Clare statement on Tuesday, was described merely as wearing a red helmet, who identified that player conclusively?
Martin had cited an obscure minor challenge game between Clare and Galway as an example of video footage being used to identify close contacts. In an interview on Clare FM on Wednesday Dr Rose Fitzgerald from HSE Midwest said âwe havenât been reviewing matches that I am aware ofâ. Who provided the playersâ contact details? Given the apparent anomalies around the case, could Clare GAA officials have extracted more clarity from the GAA and the HSE about the decision?
At national level the GAA last week reiterated the HSEâs responsibility for defining casual and close contacts and how their own protocols were designed to minimise the risk of infection, not eradicate that risk. With little clarity available from the HSE or anyone else, the Gaelic Players Association amplified the same point in a note to members this weekend.
In Clare, the entire affair is rinsed through again with the same toxicity infecting the most mundane elements of Clare GAA business. While Martin was first to the crease when questions arose around Wexfordâs involvement, the Clare executive largely held back, leaving Lohan out front. That caused tension: was Lohanâs role to manage a crisis or the Clare hurlers?
Compared with the first statement released by Clare on Monday, the second statement the following day, drafted by the Clare management and released by Clare GAA, was spikier, doubling down on Lohanâs insistence both Clare players had been identified by Wexford sources. Was that a renewed statement of unity between the board and the hurling management, or were the board merely serving their obligations to back Lohan?
The analysis behind every decision is now informed by that damaging tension at the heart of Clare GAA. At the same county board meeting, the good news of a donation totalling âŹ4,000 to fund meals for the Clare under-20 hurlers was also turned on its head. The money was gathered by Niall OâConnor, son of former Clare joint-manager Gerry OâConnor and a central figure in the forming of the independent strategic review committee currently sifting through the workings of Clare GAA. âIâd like to thank Niall OâConnor,â county treasurer Michael Gallagher said. âBut I would have to ask, delegates, what was his motive for that? Was it for the good of the under-20 hurlers or was it to embarrass the county board?â
Gallagher went on to sift through other incidents involving OâConnor, including departing from the Clare minor hurling management âfor no reasonâ. It was subsequently clarified that the shifting of the GAA seasons meant OâConnor, as a senior club hurler with Ăire Ăg, Ennis, could not commit to the Clare minors. Despite requests from delegates and vice-chairman Kieran Keating to retract his remarks, Gallagher refused. No apology or retraction had been made by the end of last week. None is expected any time soon.
The reaction locally to Gallagherâs criticism was ferocious, irritating some clubs to the point Gallagher could face calls to resign at next monthâs meeting. There is also suggestions of a vote of no confidence in the entire board executive. In response on Monday night to Gallagherâs comments, Paddy Smyth, secretary of OâConnorâs club, called for âchangeâ within the board. âA new model has to be created,â he said. âIt is time to reinvent.â
The board was weakened last week by the departure last week of Colm Browne, the head of Clareâs master fixtures committee and a highly respected official. At least one other prominent member of the executive was also reportedly on the verge of resignation. The first meeting of the GAAâs national audit and risk committee also took place a few weeks ago with Clare GAA on their agenda.
Clare stand at a point where it seems the light at both ends of the tunnel has disappeared, but one speck has emerged through the positive relationships established between the board and the independent strategic review committee installed earlier in the year. Their recommendations, expected later in the year, could give Clare a potential road map back to stability.
Get that right, and the noise currently distorting every conversation will fade away â but all sides need to give some ground. Clare GAA might be at the darkest point of a difficult year, but there remains a way out of this.
Covid timeline
May 16 Wexford play Clare in an Allianz Hurling League tie
May 19 Confirmation two Wexford players tested positive for Covid-19
May 21 Two Clare players deemed close contacts by the HSE. None of the Wexford squad deemed close contacts
May 22 Third Wexford player tests positive, Wexford squad isolated. Match against Kilkenny postponed
May 23 Clare manager Brian Lohan says two isolating Clare players were identified by Wexford players
May 24 Wexford chairman MicheĂ l Martin describes Lohanâs comments as âfactually inaccurateâ and âoutrageousâ. Clare GAA confirm two players in isolation and wish the Wexford players âa speedy recoveryâ
May 25 Martin insists again no Wexford players identified any Clare player; the GAAâs Feargal McGill says identifying two Clare players as close contacts was decided by âthe Midwest HSEâ
May 25 Clare GAA respond saying âthe issue is how they were identified as close contactsâ
May 28 Wexford and Kilkenny get the all-clear to play their postponed league game today. Both Clare players test negative for Covid-19
Not wanting to drag the shit out of this, but the wexford panel went into isolation when the two players were confirmed positive. Iâm not sure why it keeps being repeated in Clare that no players were deemed close contacts or they only isolated after the third case. Clare donât know who was named as close contact in wexford and the journalist is wrong in his timeline here of when they went into isolation. Clare came out in a furious manner going after wexford and the two players, my opinion is that this ire was misdirected and they should have been clarifying with the HSE and Gaa why players are now deemed close contact in an outdoor setting playing a match when this was not the case so far. Even if the wexford lads had said they were shifting their opponent, the HSE should be determining how they define close contact. An opposing team shouldnât be the factor that causes players to have to isolate
Fair play to the boys in NY.
and Kilrush!
If West Clare isnât firing a few quid at football, theyâre fucked altogether.
Tubsâ eye is in today 
Water break killed our momentum.
Definitely, recovered our momentum a bit towards the end thankfully. Cork were leaving plenty space at the back in the first half, letâs see will they keep on with that.
Cork are no great shakes, I fancy ye to take them