TUS Clare SFC Preliminary Quarter Final

Friday night lights ! Tonight the TUS Clare Senior Football Championship serves up a high-stakes local battle as Corofin and St. Joseph’s Doora/Barefield go head-to-head in a winner-takes-all preliminary quarter-final. With a coveted spot in Sundays Quarter Final draw hanging in the balance, its last chance saloon for both camps who bring contrasting form lines with them to Clarecastle. 

Corofin are off the back of an impressive group campaign where their football often belied their third place final standing. The 2025 Intermediate champions opened their season with a display of grit, staging a late comeback against Lissycasey that had their opponents hanging on by a thread before the final whistle cut the recovery short. To their credit Peadar O’Brien’s side built on that performance by asserting complete control from fifteen minutes in against St. Breckan’s. It’s quite possible Corofin’s most impressive performance came in a loss. Minus the attacking threat of Jamie Malone against heavyweight contenders Kilmurry Ibrickane, their willingness to exploit two-point opportunities made life deeply uncomfortable for one of the county’s standard-bearers. Cillian McGroary was immense in that game and his shooting from distance has been one of the take aways from the group stages. Gearoid Cahill, denied the usual telepathic partnership in attack of his brother Diarmuid due to a groin injury has also been a go-to player. Alongside him Seanan Kirby and Colm Breen have also been threatening alongside the aforementioned Malone who may return for this evenings knockout tie.

Last season’s finalists St. Joseph’s Doora/Barefield may well be arriving at this knockout juncture with their trajectory trending upward at just the right moment. A sluggish opening round saw them struggle to contain Ennistymon’s direct running, but the Parish quickly found their footing. They had the Kildysart game in Round Two at tonight’s venue in the palm of their hand before a chaotic late period yielded two quickfire goals against them; yet, showing true big-match temperament, they dusted themselves off for Tom McDonald to fire over a brilliant late equalizer to salvage a draw. That clash saw the return of Michael Nash who with match fitness is a serious danger for Corofin to contain.  Barefield then underlined their progress by negotiating a potential banana skin against Kilmihil and racking up a total 3-16 in an eight point win. 

Spearheaded by Tom McDonald , Tom Curran and the capable form of Joe Rafferty who netted twice in their final group game, they’ll look to test Corofin's defensive resilience. At the opposite end of the field, Darragh Fahy and Fionn Kelleher will have to be at their best to prevent the perimeter shooting from McGroary & Co. The Parish will also be looking for their their big-stage experience to tilt the balance in their favour.

As it should be at this juncture of the championship – this one is a hard to call. We’ll be seeing the winner again with a pressure win under their belt in two week’s time while the losing side will see their season end.

Throw in at Clarecastle is at 7:30 and match tickets are available at this link.

The game is also LIVE on Clare GAA TV and streaming can be bought here