This article is from page 1 of the 2006-08-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 1 JPG
THE end of a glorious era in Clare life was signalled yesterday with Anthony Daly’s decision to step down as Clare senior hurling manager after three years in charge.
Daly’s announcement, given to The Clare People , is expected to usher in the final break-up of the team that brought unprecedented success to Clare hurling in the past 12 years.
“My time is up,” Anthony Daly revealed with a heavy heart as he bowed out of the centre stage of inter-county hurling in the aftermath of Clare’s eight-point defeat to Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final.
And, he won’t be alone. Daly who captained Clare to All-Ireland victories in ’95 and ’97 will be joined in retirement by his successors as captain, Brian Lohan and Seánie McMahon who almost certainly played their last game for the county.
Tributes have been led this week by County Board Chairman, Michael McDonagh, who has urged Anthony Daly to reconsider his position and commit to another term of office.
“He has been an inspiration, I will be sorry to see him go. Even at this stage I would hope that he would reconsider his decision,” McDonagh told The Clare People .
“I want Anthony Daly to stay for another period – he did a fantastic job with a team that put in a massive effort, while to the players who are going to retire I salute the massive contribution they made to Clare life and urge them not to finally make up their minds for a couple of weeks. ”