Clare Gaa 🐐 Thread mark II

Can you not just be happy for your beloved neighbours

They would be better off taking that money and finishing off that stand they have been fuckimg about with for a decade

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Were SOB not senior for a year there recently? Some fall from grace, did they lose lads?

Did they not finish it there in the last year or two?

A badly run club for too long but thought they were getting their shit in order

They won intermediate in 2021 but went straight back down in 2022 even though they took the scalp of Inamona in the group stages. Cian Nolan went to Canada and was a big loss.

They are pretty much C grade at underage all the way up these days and with the intermediate championship now being split into 2 in Clare for 2025 they are in what is glorified Junior A with the likes of the Banner, Ennistymon and a gang of second teams.

The boys school in the town had a serious hurling man as principal but even he is struggling to make inroads.

Erra tis fucking rugby country too

What happened with the intermediate?

How many teams in each section?

Ballina seems to be prospering more than the famed Killaloe.

Most of the housing developments this century have been on the ballina side. Huge population growth on the Tipp side compared to the Killaloe side. Even when they hadn’t the playing numbers Ballina were always well run and well backed by the Mckeogh family.

Smith O’Briens have always been reliant on Bridgetown and O’Briens bridge to backbone their teams. Neither is producing much these days. Heard that SOB are planning on amalgamating with Broadford for a few years to hurl at a higher level underage

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They have restructured. There were 16 intermediate teams in 2024 but a big gap between top and bottom 5 and a number of mismatches and hammerings doled out.

Now split in two - premier intermediate and intermediate. 10 teams each.

So 7 quarter finalists and side relegated from senior along with two play off winners into premier.

SOB lost the play off so into third tier

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Jesus , times have changed .

Principal I referred to earlier is a broadford man, Kieran Corcoran, which I think may be driving it. If they can give the likes of him and Aenghus O’Brien 20 odd lads at each age group they will make hurlers out of them

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He was doing more than coaching below in Lixnaw by all accounts.

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The Banner and Ennistymon didn’t make a junior semi final last year so they are now lingering in the fourth tier (Junior A). Smith O’Briens and Ogonnelloe are the only first teams in the intermediate lower along with 10 second teams.

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You are correct. Think inamona and the bridge have second teams in premier intermediate next year.

I’m not a fan of two tiers be it at senior or intermediate. The top three tiers should be senior, inter and junior A - and so on as they drop

Huge blow

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Ah that’s a disaster for all fans. Hopefully he comes back again next year.

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Do you think that playing TK inside the last day had anything to do with that?

An unbelievable loss based on his recent form; if ye didn’t have him in the AI final, that game would have got away from ye, I think. His ability to win hard ball is unmatched.

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This incarnation of Clare senior hurling came to an end at the end of last year’s All-Ireland.

The destination was reached. There’s nowhere else to go.

Clare will finish bottom in Munster this year.

That’s just the way it is. Be happy it happened. It happened.

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A classic of the ā€˜end of a process’ genre.

Similar to Germany winning the 2014 World Cup.

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