# Clare county football team

The Clare county football team represents Clare in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Clare GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Munster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.
Clare's home ground is Cusack Park, Ennis. The team's manager is Peter Keane.
The team last won the Munster Senior Championship in 1992, but has never won the All-Ireland Senior Championship or the National League.

## History

Clare has won two Munster Senior Football Championship (SFC) titles. The county competes in Division 2 of the National Football League.

### 1917: First Munster SFC title and only All-Ireland SFC final

Clare won its first Munster SFC in 1917, defeating Cork on a scoreline of 5–4 to 0–1. This was after losing deciders in 1912 and 1915 to Kerry and in 1916 to Cork. Clare then faced Galway in the 1917 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) semi-final and won by a scoreline of 2–1 to 0–5. However, in the 1917 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final, Clare narrowly lost to Wexford by a scoreline of 0–9 to 0–5. Wexford had won the All-Ireland SFC in 1915 and 1916 and would complete a four-in-a-row in 1918.

### 1954: Not part of the Munster championship

Due to 1 sided defeat to Kerry by 6–10 to 0–2 in Ennis in the 1953 Munster SFC semi-final, it was decided that Clare would not be part the 1954 championship.

### 1979: "Milltown Massacre"

A low point for the county team was the so-called "Milltown Massacre" in 1979. During a game played in Milltown Malbay, Clare lost to Kerry by a scoreline of 1–9 to 9–21, a difference of 35 points. Tommy Tubridy, the father of David, played in that game.

### 1990–1994: John Maughan and second Munster SFC title

Clare football's greatest day since 1917 arrived in 1992 when, under the stewardship of Mayo native John Maughan, the county won its second Munster SFC by defeating Kerry in the final at the Gaelic Grounds, Limerick, by a scoreline of 2–10 to 0–12. This victory was aided in no small part by two second half goals from Colm Clancy and Martin Daly. This victory was also historic in that it is the only year from 1936 to 2020 (when Tipperary won) that neither Kerry nor Cork won the Munster SFC. Clare's luck would run out however, and in the 1992 All-Ireland SFC semi-final, the team lost to Dublin by a scoreline of 3–14 to 2–12. Full back on the team of 1992 was Seamus Clancy, brother of full-forward Colm, and he was rewarded for his performances in the 1992 championship with a place on the All-Star team of that year.

### 2013–2023: Colm Collins

Collins led Clare from Division 4 to Division 2 of the National Football League.
Clare qualified for a 2016 All-Ireland SFC quarter-final by defeating Roscommon.
The team qualified for another All-Ireland quarter-final in 2022 after beating Roscommon again; they lost to Derry in the quarters.
Collins left.

### 2023–: After Collins

Kerryman Mark Fitzgerald was appointed in September 2023. Fitzgerald guided Clare to a third-place finish in the NFL, before leading the team to the 2024 Munster SFC final. He stepped down on 13 September 2024 to take up a role with the Kerry under-20 football team. Peter Keane, former Kerry manager and Fitzgerald's fellow Kerryman, replaced him.

## Support

Clare has its own supporters' club, which is separate from the supporters' club of the county hurling team.

## Panel

Clare squad vs Derry in the All-Ireland Quarter-Final at Croke Park on 25 June 2022
| No. | Player | Position | Club |
| 1 | Tristan O'Callaghan | Goalkeeper | St Breckan's, Lisdoonvarna |
| 2 | Manus Doherty | Right Corner Back | Éire Óg, Ennis |
| 3 | Cillian Brennan | Full Back | Clondegad |
| 4 | Cillian Rouine | Left Corner Back | Ennistymon |
| 5 | Cian O'Dea | Right Half Back | Kilfenora |
| 6 | Ciarán Russell | Centre Back | Éire Óg, Ennis |
| 7 | Jamie Malone | Left Half Back | Corofin |
| 8 | Darren O'Neill | Midfield | Éire Óg, Ennis |
| 9 | Cathal O'Connor | Midfield | Coolmeen |
| 10 | Pearse Lillis | Right Half Forward | Cooraclare |
| 11 | Eoin Cleary (c) | Centre Forward | Milltown Malbay |
| 12 | Emmet McMahon | Left Half Forward | Kildysart |
| 13 | Podge Collins | Right Corner Forward | Cratloe |
| 14 | Keelan Sexton | Full Forward | Kilmurry-Ibrickane |
| 15 | Aaron Griffin | Left Corner Forward | Lissycasey |
| No. | Player | Position | Club |
| 16 | David Sexton | Substitute | Kilmurry-Ibrickane |
| 17 | Eoghan Collins | Substitute | Ballyhaunis (Mayo) |
| 18 | Gavin Cooney | Substitute | Éire Óg, Ennis |
| 19 | Ciarán Downes | Substitute | Kilmihil |
| 20 | Darragh McDonagh | Substitute | St. Joseph's, Miltown Malbay |
| 21 | Joseph McGann | Substitute | St Breckan's, Lisdoonvarna |
| 22 | Ciarán Morrissey | Substitute | Kilmurry-Ibrickane |
| 23 | Brendan Rouine | Substitute | Ennistymon |
| 24 | Alan Sweeney | Substitute | St Breckan's, Lisdoonvarna |
| 25 | David Tubridy | Substitute | Doonbeg |
| 26 | Daniel Walsh | Substitute | Kilmurry-Ibrickane |

## Management team

    Unanimously ratified in November 2024:
* Manager: Peter Keane
* Coach: Eoin Curtin
* Selectors: Peter Tormey
* Strength and conditioning coach: Shane O'Rourke
* Goalkeeping coach: James Hanrahan (appointed January 2025)

## Managerial history

Clare have a history of appointing "foreign" managers, with John Maughan, from Mayo, proving to be the most successful; Maughan led Clare to the 1992 Munster SFC (a first in 75 years). Other outsiders to manage Clare include Frank Doherty (Galway) and the Kerrymen Donie Buckley (who managed jointly with Michael Brennan from Galway), John Kennedy, John O'Keeffe, Mick O'Dwyer and Páidí Ó Sé. However, Colm Collins (from Clare GAA club Cratloe) began managing the team in 2013 and lasted so long that RTÉ called him "an icon of stability" in 2022, in contrast to less successful managerial appointments elsewhere. Following the departure of Collins, Clare returned to appointing outside managers: Kerryman Mark Fitzgerald was followed by Kerryman Peter Keane.
| Dates | Name | Origin | Provincial titles | National titles | Championship record |
| 1990–1994 | John Maughan | Crossmolina (Mayo) | 1992 McGrath Cup 1992 Munster Senior Football Championship 1994 McGrath Cup | 1991 All-Ireland Senior B Football Championship 1992 NFL Division 2 | P6 W2 D0 L4 |
| 1994–1998 | John O'Keeffe | Austin Stacks (Kerry) | 1995 McGrath Cup 1997 McGrath Cup | 1995 NFL Division 2 | P5 W1 D1 L3 |
| 1998–2000 | Tommy Curtin | St. Breckan's, Lisdoonvarna | 2000 McGrath Cup | — | P4 W2 D0 L2 |
| 2000–2002 | Pat Begley | Ennistymon | 2000 McGrath Cup | — | P5 W2 D0 L3 |
| 2002–2005 | John Kennedy | Ballylongford (Kerry) | 2002 McGrath Cup | 2004 Tommy Murphy Cup | P12 W5 D1 L6 |
| 2005–2006 | Donie Buckley | Castleisland (Kerry) | — | — | P8 W3 D0 L5 |
| 2005–2006 | Michael Brennan | St. Grellan's (Galway) | — | — | P8 W3 D0 L5 |
| 2006–2007 | Páidí Ó Sé | An Ghaeltacht (Kerry) | — | — | P3 W1 D0 L2 |
| 2007–2009 | Frank Doherty | Caltra (Galway) | 2008 McGrath Cup | — | P5 W1 D0 L4 |
| 2009–2012 | Micheál McDermott | Kilmurry-Ibrickane | — | — | P7 W1 D0 L6 |
| 2012–2013 | Mick O'Dwyer | Waterville (Kerry) | — | — | P2 W0 D0 L2 |
| 2013–2023 | Colm Collins | Cratloe | 2019 McGrath Cup | 2016 NFL Division 3 | P33 W16 D1 L16 as of 8 November 2022 |
| 2023–2024 | Mark Fitzgerald | Kerins O'Rahilly's (Kerry) | — | — | P5 W1 D0 L4 |
| 2024– | Peter Keane | St Mary's (Kerry) | | | |

## Players
### Notable players

* Gary Brennan
* Gordon Kelly

### Records

* David Tubridy became top scorer in National Football League history against Cork in May 2021, his total score in the competition after this game (22–412, i.e. 478 points) causing him to overtake the record of Mickey Kearins.

### All Stars

Clare has one All Star.
All Star winners :
| Awards | Players |
| 1 | Seamus Clancy (1992) |

## Competitive record

All-Ireland SFC final record
List of appearances :
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | W/L/D |
| 1 | 9 December 1917 | Croke Park, Dublin | Wexford | 0–5 : 0–9 | L |
Clare won an All-Ireland Senior B Football Championship in 1991, with John Maughan as manager.
* 1 James Hanrahan
* 2 Seamus Clancy
* 3 Gerry Kelly
* 4 Kieran O'Mahony
* 5 M. Roughan
* 6 Joe Joe Rouine
* 7 C. O'Neill
* 8 B. Rouine
* 9 Aidan Moloney
* 10 Noel Roche
* 11 L. Conneally
* 12 Gerry Killeen
* 13 D. Coughlan
* 14 M. Flynn
* 15 D. Keane

## Honours
### National

* All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
** Runners-up (1): 1917
* All-Ireland Senior B Football Championship
** Winners (2): 1991
** Runners-up (1): 1997
* Tommy Murphy Cup
** Winners (1): 2004
* National Football League Division 2
** Winners (2): 1992, 1995
* National Football League Division 3
** Winners (2): 1987, 2016
* National Football League Division 4
** Winners (1): 1982
* All-Ireland Minor Football Championship
** Winners (1): 1929

### Provincial

* Munster Senior Football Championship
** Winners (2): 1917, 1992
** Runners-up (14): 1912, 1915, 1916, 1919, 1925, 1929, 1936, 1937, 1941, 1949, 1997, 2012, 2023, 2024
* McGrath Cup
** Winners (13): 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2008, 2019
* Munster Football League
** Winners (1): 1933–34
* Munster Junior Football Championship
** Winners (1): 1925
* Munster Minor Football Championship
** Winners (3): 1929, 1930, 1953

## Minor team

Clare have won one All-Ireland and three Munster titles at minor level. They won the first of their three Munster Minor Football Championships defeating Waterford in 1929. Clare then proceeded to qualify for the inaugural All-Ireland Minor Football Final. In the final they faced Longford and prevailed by 5–03 to 3-05, to crown Clare All-Ireland Minor Champions. Clare defeated Tipperary in the 1930 Munster final to retain their provincial crown. The Banner County had to wait until 1953 for another Munster title. On this occasion Clare defeated Cork in the decider.

### Competitive record

All-Ireland Minor Football Championship final appearances
List of appearances :
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | W/L/D |
| 1 | 22 September 1929 | Croke Park, Dublin | Longford | 5–3 : 3–5 | W |
| 2 | 27 September 1953 | Croke Park, Dublin | Mayo | 1–6 : 2–11 | L |