We kick off our build-up to the Eugene McNamara St. Stephen’s Day Tournament by profiling the club stalwart, Liam Corry and the Gort Road team. Liam has been with Eire Og since he was knee-high to a grasshopper. He graduated from playing with An Boithrin from the old Urban Board structure to play with the Townies after the U12 age group, this was of course in pre-Academy days.

Liam was part of that talented group that made the made the break-through with a football minor title in 2012 (a team which Liam was the captain of) followed by three U21 football titles in-a-row from 2013 through 2015 – a feat unlikely to be repeated soon. Liam with his whole-hearted style has suffered with injuries down through the years but no-one can ever question his skill and commitment to the cause. He duly got county recognition through representing Clare in both hurling and football at the U21 grade.

On a personal front, Liam comes from a true GAA family that travel up and down the county to support Liam and the men in red and white. After successfully attending Rice College, Liam went to Mary Immaculate College down in Limerick where he graduated successfully to become a primary school teacher.

After several sterling club championship campaigns with Eire Og, Liam got called up to the Clare senior hurling panel under Brian Lohan and had very successful National League campaigns during Covid (2020 to 2021) but injury unfortunately robbed Liam of making any serious championship impact. Luckily time is on his side, and we remain hopeful for the future.

On the club front, Liam focused on hurling this year and boy, did our senior hurlers (led by Liam) come close - an agonising 1-point defeat in the senior hurling championship final by Ballyea. After the hurling final defeat, Liam re-joined the senior football squad for the Munster campaign, only to end in another 1-point defeat down in Tralee at the semi-final stage. I’m sure Liam and his Gort team will be hoping for better luck this Stephen’s Day.

Liam Corry bursting out of defense

Liam will be joined by the likes of Amy Daniels, Rory Gallagher, Conor O’Halloran, Philip Talty, aided by the young legs of Sean Perrill and the wily veteran, David Russell. So why not come along to the Clonroad on St. Stephen’s Day and cheer on the Gort Road lads in their endeavors.

Gort Road's spiritual leader - Rory Gallagher

Here’s Liam Corry’s assessment of his Gort Road team and their chances –

Team Captain

1. Name - Liam Corry

2. Team(s) - Eire Og Senior Hurling & Football

3. Plans/hopes for the future - Win a Senior Hurling Championship

Your Team -

1. Team Name - Gort Road

2. Your part of Town is famous (infamous) for - County hospital, Our Lady’s Hospital, McDonalds, The Courthouse, The Fair Green, we have it all.

3. How many are committed to playing – 21 committed players

4. Who are your Star Players – Rory Gallagher is our spiritual leader.

5. Who is your Rising/Young Stars – Sean Perrill, Michéal Foley and a young buck called Shane Daniels

6. Who are your “Veteran” players– Cathal Shannon, David Russell

7. Who are the Ladies on your Team – Aoife Warren, Karolina Lis, Aimee Daniels, and Mandy Murphy.

8. Any injury worries/absentees - No injury worries currently but the amount of turkey, chocolate and wine consumed on Christmas Day could change that.

9. What’s your Strategy/Plan for the tournament – Let it in long and let it in fast

10. How far has your team gone in the past tournaments - Lost 3 semi finals

11. A good day on St Stephen’s Day is one where - Seeing David Reidy get flattened/clotheslined by one of the ladies again would do nicely!

The Gort Road team in 2019