This article is from page 87 of the 2008-01-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 87 JPG
AFTER an almost flawless start, Clare now await the winners of Thursday’s preliminary round be- tween LIT and Cork. UL provided sturdy resistence on Sunday but the real test of this young Clare side will come this Sunday when they face far more experienced opposition in the form of either Fitzgibbon Cup hold- ers LIT or perennial superpowers Cork.
The current strike involving the Cork footballers and hurlers means that the Cork County Board is con- sidering fielding an Under 21 side in Thursday’s rescheduled fixture but
this will only happen if the proposal is agreed to by the striking players and manager Gerald McCarthy. It’s a perilous situation for the Rebels who are unwilling to send an alternative senior side in case it enflames the sit- uation further. However, the county board equally does not want to give a walkover either for the first time in their history.
This situation can only benefit LIT who are currently the Fitzgibbon and Higher Division 1 League holders. Managed by Davy Fitzgerald, assist- ed by Cyril Farrell, LIT are on a rich vein of form as they prepare for this year’s Fitzgibbon Cup campaign. Drawn in a potentially tough group
with UL and WIT, the Waterford Crystal competition provides ample competitive preparation for that tour- nament and therefore, LIT will be keen to progress. They have exited at the quarter-final stage for the last two years but with confidence high in the camp, they will be optimistic of go- ing a lot further this year.
Aside from Davy Fitzgerald’s in- volvement, there are also several Clare connections on the playing side. Enda Collins (Killanena), Gary O’Connell (Wolfe Tones), Jona- thon Clancy (Clarecastle), James McInerney (Newmarket-on-Fergus), Bernard Gaffney (Newmarket-on- Fergus) and Blaine Earley (Tubber)
have all featured prominently for the college this year while they also can call on Ivor White (St Josephs Doo- ra/Barefield), Conor Tierney (Kilna- mona), Eamon Glynn (Kilnamona) and Andrew Fahy (Whitegate). All will want to make an impression on the new Clare management team if they can overcome the Rebels on Thursday. Add in Galway stars Joe Canning and Niall Healy and on pa- per at least, they should prove to be a very tricky obstacle to the Banner’s advancement.
Whoever emerges from the re- scheduled fixture will be worthy opponents but Clare side will be de- termined to remain in the competi-
tion with coveted league places up for grabs for their first round game against Galway on February 10.