This article is from page 61 of the 2011-05-10 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 61 JPG
WHEN three members of the Clare senior camogie management team, including manager Patsy Fahey, resigned just over six weeks ago, the Banner’s season threatened to implode before it had even begun in earnest.
After a first ever winter programme and an unprecedented extended training squad, Clare were looking to climb a few rungs of the national camogie ladder this year but three successive league defeats allied to college commitments from a large chunk of the young squad made Fahey question the players’ commitment to the cause and so he, along with selector Eamon O’Loughlin and Ger O’Halloran, decided to step down.
However, a third selector, Tom Hogan, remained with the squad and out of the ashes of the last regime, he has taken on the mantle of manager and assembled a new backroom team around him along with a renewed commitment from the players ahead of this weekend’s Munster senior final.
“It has worked out okay. Ger [O’Halloran] came back a week after that again and we have been working away three times a week since. We also have a couple of challenges played in the last couple of weeks against Limerick twice and the Gal- way intermediates so we have been working away okay.”
It may be seen as a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire for Clare though, as their return to competitive action after a nine-week absence sees them take on Cork, the most successful camogie side of the last decade who are desperate for success themselves after being out of the winners enclosure in all competitions since 2009. Not only that but Clare will also meet the Rebel county in the first round of the All-Ireland championship four weeks later.
“Going out against Cork, not having a competitive game for so long, is not ideal. We saw Cork play Tipperary and they beat them fairly well so we know we are really up against it.
“We would have also preferred if we didn’t have to play Cork so soon again after the Munster championship but that’s the way it goes and that’s what we have to do.”
And far from wallowing in self pity, Hogan feels that the players themselves are eager to prove themselves once again and put recent unwanted publicity behind them.
“There are a share of them doing exams at the moment and trying to fit in training as well so it’s hard to get a full panel together at the moment but I know that they are anxious to get back in action alright.
“Siobhan [Lafferty] is more or less out and Kate Lynch is nursing a finger injury at the moment but hopefully she will be fit to play. They are our two concerns at the moment but they are two huge concerns as well. “We are looking for a performance this weekend. It would mean a huge amount if we could pull it off but it’s a tall ask really.” Lest we forget that the darkest hour is just before the dawn.