Clare Ladies Football Board Press Release

Clare Ladies Football Board Press Release

Friday December 8th will finally see the curtain come
down on the 2006 Clare Ladies Football season with a gala medal
presentation in honour of the successful Suzuki National League
and Munster Junior Championship winning Clare teams. On what should
be a great occasion former Ladies Football Association president
Mick Fitzgerald of Kerry will be at hand to present the players
with their awards.

2006 will go down as a year when the Clare ladies intercounty team
reversed the downward spiral that had beleaguered the Banner representatives
in the previous few years and to end the year with two pieces of
silverware in the locker is a great testament to manager Deirdre
Murphy and her backroom team.

Credit the players also from captain Majella Griffin to diminutive
corner forward Áine Kelly for the commitment and pride they
showed in the county jersey. Their loyalty and hard work really
paid dividends and the whole squad can look forward positively towards
2007 with a realistic chance of progressing even further.

Clare were singularly unlucky in 2006 to
lose out to Sligo by a single point in the All Ireland Junior semi-final.
Unfortunate injuries to key players in the early stages of this game
surely denied Majella the chance to lead her team out in Croke Park
on All Ireland Final’s day.

 

A new championship format has been devised for 2007 and Clare will
be regraded as an Intermediate team and will contest an All Ireland
series comprised of two groups of five teams. Each team will play
against each other in a round robin qualifying stage with the group
winners progressing to the All Ireland semi-finals and the second
an third teams in each group progressing to a quarter-final playoff.
The fourth and fifth teams in each group will be eliminated from
the 2007 championship and the bottom two teams will also playoff
against each other with the loser being relegated to Junior for
the following season. Exciting times ahead then for the Clare ladies.

The 2007 Clare management have already met
and a plan is being formalised for the 2007 season. The panel selection
is expected to resume this side of Christmas with the holding of a
series of trial games and formal training will begin in earnest in
early January. The Clare management will be buoyed by the high standard
of our domestic championships in 2006 and with the fact that Cooraclare
and Coolmeen performed well in the Munster intermediate and junior
club championships. St. Joseph’s Miltown also ended the year strongly
gaining Clare Minor Championship success and Clare Senior League honours.
Thus Deirdre and her team will be hoping that these successes can
be translated into a stronger Clare county team in the year ahead.

Tickets for Friday’s gala event are still
available. Priced at €25.00 each please contact Deirdre Murphy
@ 087-2408927 if you wish to attend. A disco will follow the gala
dinner and awards presentation and admission to the disco is €10.00
and tickets will be available at the door on the night.

 

Meanwhile The Banner Ladies Football Club has just announced the
date of its annual social and awards night. This eagerly anticipated
annual event will be held on January 19th at the West County Hotel.
As there will again be a cap on numbers attending please reserve
your ticket early by contacting any club committee member. Prices
are €25.00 for adults and €15.00 for juveniles up to U-16’s.

Dr. Paul McKenna,

PRO Clare Ladies Football