Éire Óg Ennis will seek to retain the Clare SFC title on Sunday.
By John Harrington
You can be sure that Éire Óg Ennis Chairperson, Jimmy Cooney, speaks for everyone associated with the club when he describes last weekend’s Clare SHC Final defeat to Ballyea as “a pure sickener”.
Leading by four points with less than 15 minutes to go, Éire Óg were reeled in by the defending champions and ended up losing by a single point.
They can’t afford to feel too sorry for themselves though, because on Sunday they contest the Clare SFC Final against Ennistymon.
Éire Óg are one of the most vibrant dual clubs in the country, and many of the same personnel who tasted defeat last weekend will be lacing up their boots again.
“There would nine starters from the hurling team with the footballers this Sunday,” Cooney told GAA.ie
“They can react to the defeat in the hurling final in two ways. I hope they react in a positive way and I'm quite sure that they will.
“If we went into the football final on the back of a win in the hurling there would be a confidence there and a strut that won't be there now. Confidence will have been dented to some extent, but at the same time they're carrying the experience of having won the football championship last year.
“They're up against a very good Ennistymon team. The last time we played them in the championship about three years ago they beat us. They're a decent side and have beaten Kilmurry-Ibrickane in the semi-final who have been the go-to team in Clare for a long time.
“It's just a question of whether those nine players can lift themselves mentally again after last weekend and I'm sure they are.”
Any year you reach both a county senior hurling and senior football final is an exceptional one, and what’s very encouraging if you’re an Éire Óg club member is that the future looks very bright too.
Éire Óg Ennis have a vibrant underage academy.
An underage Academy that was established in 2012 is now starting to really bear fruit as the club consistently challenges for titles at all age-grades and looks set to do the same at senior level for the foreseeable future.
“The Academy gone from strength to strength,” says Cooney. "Our Academy Committee is nearly the busiest committee in the club.
“We have Academy sessions on Mondays, Fridays and Saturday mornings and the place is just a hive of activity on those three occasions. You could have a blitz on Wednesday evening as well.
“In actual fact the fruits of all that Academy work are only just beginning to show now. A lot of the lads who played last Sunday and are playing this Sunday would not have come through the Academy. They would pre-date the Academy.
“From here on we'll be adding players to our senior panels next year now who would be Academy graduates.
“Last year we only appointed our own Games Development Officer, (Clare senior footballer) Cian O'Dea, who has done incredible work in the year that he's been there.
“He goes into all the primary schools and the Community College in Ennis and he assists the teachers in coaching hurling and football. He runs Halloween, Easter, and summer camps and we also a new indoor winter programme, so Cian is doing great work.”
The Éire Óg U14s celebrate after winning the Clare U14 Football Division 1 Cup Final.
Off the pitch, Éire Óg Ennis are also really progressive, having recently adopted the One Club model.
“It's great for parents in that it means that they have one annual subscription instead of maybe three previously,” says Cooney.
“There's a saving in that for them and it also means we get more women involved in administration in the club and in the social end of the club and in decision-making which is a big positive. We're very proud of our achievement in that regard.”
The club is also raising funds for a significant construction project that will see them build a new gym and two new dressing-rooms on their grounds.
“We hope to commence construction towards the middle of next year,” says Cooney. “We have aour planning permission in place. We have a fundraising drive out now with our members which we will be prioritising after Sunday's County Final.
“We have asked our members for a contribution over four years which will raise approximately half the cost of that development and we have fundraising plans for the remainder of it.
“We already have a grant of €108,000 from Sports Capital Fund and we'll be applying to them in the future for an equipment grant. That's our big priority.”
Éire Óg Ennis manager Matt Shannon with Shane O'Donnell before the Clare County Senior Club Hurling Championship Final match between Ballyea and Éire Óg Ennis at Cusack Park in Ennis, Clare.
Retaining the Clare Senior Football Championship would be a nice way to end a stellar season a high.
Regardless of the result on Sunday, though, it’s clear that Éire Óg Ennis as a club are very much on an upward curve.
“Yeah, the future is bright,” says Cooney. “We have almost 1200 members now. We've almost doubled our membership in six years which brings its own challenges in terms of availability of pitches, but thankfully we have a very cordial relationship with our next-door neighbours, St. Flannan's College.
“We have a licence arrangement for the use of one of their pitches. And, to be very fair to them, they allow us to spill over onto their other pitches during peak playing season of summer.
“Still, that kind of numbers presents challenges in terms of fixture management and that kind of thing. But I’d prefer to have that challenge than to be looking to get people into club.
“The future is bright, the future is red and white. That's what we say.”