This article is from page 78 of the 2010-01-12 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 78 JPG
AFTER the 2004 FA Cup final in which Manchester United easily overcame Millwall inspired by 19 year old Portuguese winger Chris- tiano Ronaldo, his tormented marker that day Robbie Ryan famously ad- mitted “I have never played against anybody like that in my life and to be honest I was pleased to be taken off”.
At 66”, with an ease of touch, graceful lithe and pace, not to men- tion a ruthless eye for goal not seen in the county in quite a while, that quote could have easily been attrib- uted to 19 year old Darach Honan in 2009, whose devastating perform- ances against Limerick, Waterford and Galway ensured that Clare were firmly on route to a first ever All-Ire- land Under 21 title.
Of course, while those individual displays deservedly earned the for- ward national recognition, his huge potential has been noted for some time by keen hurling observers. Part of the County minor team that shocked Cork in their own back yard in 2008 and indeed the Under 21 side that were so cruelly denied victory in the Munster final later that summer, Honan did have better luck on the domestic front as Clonlara secured a remarkable treble of a first Under
21A championship as well as a senior league and championship success. It was enough to earn him the Munster Minor player of the year and he car- ried that form into 2009, now a year wiser and therefore infinitely more difficult to stop.
Clonlara’s defence of their Under 21 title fell at the first hurdle but they did retain their Clare Cup crown and just missed out on a historic back-
to-back double when beaten in the county final by Cratloe. However, it was in the county colours that Honan really blossomed. Part of a full-forward line triumvirate along- side county seniors Caimin Morey and Colin Ryan (who had scored 12 points in his full Munster champion- ship debut against Tipperary), Honan and Co. simply tore a ragged Limer- ick apart in Cusack Park in July, ac-
cumulating 4-15 out of Clare’s total of 4-22 to set up a second successive Munster final appearance, this time against Waterford.
After bagging 1-4 in that opening game, Honan was thirsty for more and duly came to Clare’s rescue with a match winning 2-2 to his name. If the first goal was an clever instinctive flick, then the second was a trade- mark Honan major, turning his man
on the wing before arrowing his way towards goal to turn the tie decisively in Clare’s favour.
However, there was a lot more to come from the Clonlara teenager. In what appeared a personal duel with Galway’s Joe Canning in the AIl- Ireland semi-final, the pair traded blows in what proved to be the most absorbing hurling game of the year. Canning may have led the way with 4-7 but Honan’s contribution of 2-4 and his constant threat and supply to others aptly earned him the man-of- the-match award.
Suffering from a hamstring injury and being double if not treble teamed at times in the All-Ireland decider against Kilkenny, he still played his part in a memorable day for Clare hurling and when the dust settled on that championship win, went on to win the Bord Gais Break Through Under 21 Player of the Year along with the Munster GAA Under 21 Player of the Year awards.
It meant that he was a shoe-in for Ger O’Loughlin’s county senior pan- el for 2010 and equally a certainty for The Clare People’s Sports Star of the Year.