Patrick Kelly: High stakes in Ennis as Clare and Cork reach for a higher bar

In eight years at the helm, Colm Collins has brought Clare from Division 4 whipping boys to within sight of top flight football

Cork’s Ian Maguire and Clare’s Keelan Sexton collide during the Allianz Football League Division 2 match at Cusack Park in 2019. Picture: Sam Barnes

Cast your minds back to the winter of 2013 and to Colm Collins’ appointment as manager of the Clare senior footballers. Clare’s 2013 season involved a mid-table finish in Division 4, a nine-point Munster semi-final defeat to Cork, and a 16-point demolition at the hands of Laois in Ennis.

Fast-forward almost eight years and Clare with Collins at the helm have transformed their fortunes to such an extent that they are within touching distance of a place in the top flight of league football.