Category: Sport

St Flannan’s College 4-13 – St Colman’s 2-10 at Dr Mannix Park, Charleville

A DESERVED victory masked by a flattering nine point winning scoreline as St Flannan’s pulled through this tricky assignment on Wednesday.

Occasionally inspiring but unable to maintain that level of concentration throughout, the Ennis school were undoubtedly the more balanced side but just as easily could have been outdone by a relentless St Colman’s side led by the impressive Michael Spillane.

Only a point clear with only minutes remaining, St Flannan’s were on the backfoot and were slow to make changes but received a fortunate yet timely boost when Conor O’Gorman’s effort for a point from 45 metres on the left wing dropped over goalkeeper Darragh O’Callaghan’s head into the net. With that, St Colman’s heads dropped and a rejuvenated St Flannan’s added a further 1-2 to ease up to victory.

A tough game was always on the cards between two of the most suc- cessful schools in the competition, with the Cork supporters in particular bringing an extra audible dimension to proceedings. They were soon silenced by a blistering start by St Flannan’s who hit the first four points of the game through Martin O’Leary, Peter Duggan and Conor O’Gorman (2) and indeed were 1-4 to 0-2 clear by the ninth minute.

Tony Kelly had a shot saved early on but they finally made the breakthrough when the inspirational Conor O’Gorman’s pass inside was gathered well by Jack Browne who turned his man and roofed his shot over goalkeeper O’Callaghan.

The referee’s laboured approach wasn’t doing either team any favours but St Flannan’s simply overcame such adversity to push six clear through a Peter Duggan free in the 13th minute.

The Ennis school took their foot off the pedal though and instead of killing off the game, they allowed St Colman’s back into a game that seemed beyond them in the early stages.

St Flannan’s would only score one further point in the remaining 17 minutes of the half while the Cork side simply grew in confidence through the Spillane brothers.

Full-forward Gerard Hogan almost stole in for a goal before Colm Spillane pointed and in the final minutes of the half, Michael Spillane added a further 1-1 to slash the deficit to only two.

The goal was a well crafted move, stemming from a Kieran Morrisson high ball that was won by Gerard Hogan who in turn played a clever crossfield pass for the onrushing Michael Spillane to finish to the net at the far post.

St Flannan’s freefall continued after the break when Michael Spillane eluded man-marker Seadna Morey once more to score his second goal in the 33rd minute followed immediately by a Bryan Carroll point to push St Colman’s 2-5 to 1-6 clear for the first time.

The fault-lines in the full-back line were widening but with no alterations forthcoming, St Flannan’s were aided by the leadership of Conor O’Gorman and the growing influence of Tony Kelly who both got on the scoreboard to score three points in a five minute spell to reclaim a slender lead.

This blow for blow pattern continued until the 47th minute when Shane O’Donnell put his head down and weaved his way through the St Colman’s defence to score an eyecatching opportunist goal. A minute later, Tony Kelly converted a free to extend St Flannan’s advantage to four, much to the relief of the St Flannan’s faithful.

Far from lying down however, Michael Spillane hit back with three successive points and in truth, the game could have swung either way at that stage.

In the end however, St Flannan’s were saved by that O’Gorman goal while the subsequent nine point victory shouldn’t be taken at face value as they will need a vast improvement if they are to trouble either Árdscoil Rís or Thurles CBS in the semi-final on Sunday, February 6.

St Flannan’s College
Eoin Enright (Kilmaley), Conor O’Loughlin (Crusheen), Noel Purcell (Sixmilebridge), Seadna Morey (Sixmilebridge), Enda Boyce (Cratloe), Stephen O’Halloran (Clarecastle), Gearoid O’Connell (Ballyea),Tony Kelly (Ballyea) (0-3 1f), Jarleth Colleran (St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield), Cathal Doohan (Ballyea), Martin O’Leary (Kilmihil) (0-1), Conor O’Gorman (Clarecastle) (1-4), Shane O’Donnell (Éire Óg) (2-1), Peter Duggan (Clooney/Quin) (0-4 1f), Jack Browne (Ballyea) (10)

Sub
Alan O’Neill (St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield) for Doohan (56 mins)

St Colman’s
Darragh O’Callaghan (Watergrasshill), WilliamWalsh (St Catherine’s), Cian O’Leary (Castlelyons), ColmBarry (Castlelyons), Pa Roche (St Catherine’s), Darragh O’Carroll (Fermoy), Bryan Carroll (Castlelyons) (0-1), Eoin Maye (Castlelyons), Nathan Byrne (Kilworth), Michael Pyne (Fermoy), ColmSpillane (Castlelyons) (0-1), Kieran Morrisson (Fermoy) (0-1), Michael Spillane (Castlelyons) Capt. (2-7 2f 3’65’s), Gerard Hogan (Watergrasshill), Jason Mannix (Bride Rovers)

Subs
Daniel Mangan (St Catherine’s) for Hogan (47 mins), Kevin O’Neill (Watergrasshill) for Maye (55 mins), Michael Wade (Kilworth) for Pyne (56 mins)

Man of the Match
Michael Spillane (St Colman’s)

Referee
Fergal Horgan (Tipperary)

“A ONCE in a lifetime night” was how Crusheen GAA Chairman Colm O’Connor described the club’s Historic Victory Social in The West County Hotel on Friday.

“It’s a huge privilege for me to welcome you to this celebration of 2010 on winning the Canon Hamilton for the first time and completing the Junior A double.

“2010 will be remembered for all the wrong reasons at a national political level but in Crusheen it will remembered for all the right reasons.

“To the players of 2010 you have your place in history and rightly so, you will never forget this year and we will never forget what you have done for the people of Crusheen.”

Special guest on the night, Clare County Board Chairman Michael O’Neill echoed those sentiments in his address to the 350 strong crowd.

“Tonight is a night of celebration and no matter how many titles you win in the future, this is the first. Many, many great Crusheen teams went before and it wasn’t for the want of trying that they weren’t as lucky as you were to win the county championship. But that day in Cusack Park you were representing all those players who had represented Crusheen down through the years and we must never forget that. We must never forget the teams that came before us and that’s part of the psyche of the GAA.”

In keeping with that belief, a special slide-show was presented to celebrate the players, mentors, officials and supporters alike from both the past and present.

While Master of Ceremonies Syl O’Connor interviewed many local legends on the night, two of Crusheen’s most celebrated sons were mentioned most. Michael Moroney won an All Star in 1977 and ‘was the undisputed master of the art of line ball taking’ and he was asked to sum up the year before the presentation of the junior medals.

“I suppose it’s the greatest thrill of my life to see them pulling it off. Such a fabulous bunch of players we had this year and tonight we paraded in close to 60 players and they have all given serious commitment all year and it was a joy to watch them win the two junior titles and the senior one. It will always stay in my mind and especially for the players and mentors it is something that they will always look back on. It was a marvellous achievement for a very small parish.”

The final words of advise to the Class of 2010 were fittingly uttered by former player, club sponsor for over a decade as well as county sponsor, Pat O’Donnell who could not hide his pride in the club’s achievements in 2010.

“Whatever the recipe, hold it, keep it, nourish it, embalm it.”

“OCTOBER 17, 2010 is a date that going to live long in the minds of Crusheen people, no matter where they are on this planet. Decades of disappointment were finally put to bed that day and I as a proud Crusheen man was so happy for everyone in Crusheen that finally our day had come.”

The opening lines of Crusheen senior manager Michael Browne’s speech before the historic medal presentation to his panel of players. Delving deeper into the club’s Clare Cup and subsequently successful championship campaign, he paid special tribute to the players who brought the side to victory as well as the rest of his management team.

“You could see the confidence and the belief beginning to develop among the players as we got out of the group and entered the quarter-final of the championship. The discipline that this team showed on and off the pitch was second to none. They really responded to the challenge that was put in front of them and for that, I really admire them.

“You could also see it grow in the management. Nothing was left to chance and we had an absolutely fantastic management team in place. Eddie [Fitzgibbon]. Niall [Griffin] and Gerry [Kennedy] worked absolutely so hard at training and prepared meticulously for everything that happened throughout the year and for them nothing was too much, too far or too hard.”

In also thanking Cyril Lyons for his role in taking training at various junctures throughout the year, he recalled a conversation he had with the former inter-county star.

“Cyril felt that ‘for every team, there is a small, short window of opportunity to win a county title’ and I know many people felt that for Crusheen, that window had disappeared and was gone. But I can tell you that as we made progress in 2010 and especially in September and early October when that window came back into focus for us, there was absolutely no way that we were going to let it pass this time and that is exactly what happened.”

Junior A manager Joe Mullins reflected on the perfect year as his side claimed both league and championship honours.

“What a year we have had in 2010. We entered two competitions and won both of them, championship and league and in doing so contributed hugely to what has been the most successful year in the history of Crusheen GAA.

“We played 11 games in the league, winning nine, drawing one and losing one and this after we had already qualified for the semi-final. It’s a great record by any standards and after seeing the way the team performed in the final especially when the pressure came on, we knew that this could be our year to have a real crack at the championship.

“On the 30th of October, we lined up against our old foes from Newmarket. The lads played tigerishly and it ebbed and flowed as all tight games do but we said to each other going out for the second half that whatever happened we would fight to the final whistle. And so we did fight and that is why tonight we are honouring these county champions who have brought the junior A cup back to Crusheen for the first time since 1959 and not only that but they have also brought back the junior A league Cup to Crusheen, a double that has only been achieved twice before by any club.

“So in summing up the great year for the Crusheen junior A team, especially for the times we are living in, I’d like to put it like this:

“If this were a company and I was chairman of the board of directors and all of you were the shareholders, I know that you are very happy with your investments.”

EARLY days, so early that it’s far too soon to make a call on Clare’s chances of realising their goal of promotion from Division 4 at the league’s end, but some more encouraging signs were manifest in Sunday’s display.

A win against physically stronger opposition and a win in which the work undertaken by the squad during the closed season really came up trumps as they maneuvered themselves into a winning position before a late CIT comeback threatened to bring the game to extra-time.

That CIT’s comeback that yielded a burst of three points from substitute Andrew O’Brien in the closing ten minutes just came up short was just desserts for Clare, simply because the quality of their play in the second half made them far the better side over the hour.

Yes, Clare were slow to get going and could only muster one point in the opening 25 minutes, but once they took the lead for the first time with a fine score from Rory Donnelly, they had exerted a control over proceedings that was eventually rewarded with a win and a semi-final outing against Waterford next Sunday.

CIT didn’t start their two Cork AllIreland winners Aidan Walsh and Ciaran Sheehan, but All Star midfielder Walsh was introduced as early as the 18th minute when the students realised that they were in for a tough hour.

Walsh did add strength to an al- ready strong CIT side, but ultimately brains and not brawn was the winning of this game as a flurry of wellworked and executed scores in the second half showcased the real difference between the sides. Clare had that bit of panache in the final quarter of the field – CIT didn’t.

Indeed, despite kicking seven first half wides, Clare looked to be on the high road just before half time after Donnelly’s point from lifted some of the gloom that inevitably attached itself to a game that produced only two points in 25 minutes – Barry John Walsh’s opener for CIT after five minutes and Alan Clohessy’s equaliser 11 minutes later when a soaring catch from Timmy Ryan teed him up for a tap-over.

Points via a David O’Brien free on

TWO games down and two wins. Positive stuff as Clare’s season comes to life, not so much because of the win that puts Clare within 70 minutes of a first McGrath Cup final since the dramatic win they scored over Limerick in the 2009 decider – more to do with the way the victory was achieved.

“I would say we won dirty,” says Clare manager Micheál McDermott. “I’d be always of the view that any match you go out you have to try and win, no matter what that game is. Winning dirty like the lads did today is important for the team because is shows character.

“They showed last week against University College Cork that they wanted to win it and they showed this week against Cork IT that they also wanted to win it, even though we made a lot of mistakes we really wanted it and that’s important for the development of the team as we get ready for the start of the National League.”

From there McDermott sifts through the game – both negatives and positives of a 70 minutes that was insipid, if physical, for much of the first-half before opening out in the second-half on the back of some impressive forward play by Clare.

“We were quite unfortunate to lose Gary Brennan in the first-half and it put us under pressure. We didn’t play good football for a lot of it and we gave away too many easy scores, but some of the football we played and some of the scores we kicked were good and it gives us something to build on again.

It’s early in the season and a result is very important for us because it gives us another competitive match, this time against an inter-county team which will be a fair test of where we are at as the National League approaches.

“Cork IT are a good side. They won the Sigerson Cup two years ago and they’re a very strong and physical side. Every college team we play is made up of very strong club players from Cork and Kerry and intercounty as well. We needed the physical challenge and a lot of the younger players stood up well. A lot of the younger players did well, Cathal O’Connor did some great work in midfield. He made a couple of mistakes but he has a great future ahead of him.

“Some of our ball movement was very good at times, while we kicked some quality scores, while it was very positive to see David Tubridy back from injury. He was itching to get back into it – we didn’t think we would have to use him so early but he really stood up to the challenge and has a game under his belt.”

With that McDermott’s mind drifts to the start of the National League – he’s not forgetting the challenge to be faced up to when Clare play Waterford on Sunday, it’s just that he knows that the National League from February onwards is what his team will be judged on, not McGrath Cup fare in January.

“You never really know until you hit the pitch in the first round of the league how you’re going to perform,” he says. “We always said that first match against Leitrim is vitally important. As they say in the Premier League, it’s six-pointer and both teams will be looking to do well in the division, so if we can get a win away from home it would be a great start.”

They might be heading that way.

WINNING isn’t everything but the will to win is as Clare proved on Sunday by snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. With experimentation the norm at this time of year, expectations weren’t high as can be seen from the paltry support in O’Garney Park. And really the only prerequisite is the result as the county crave as many competitive games as possible ahead of the real business of the National League.

In that regard, Clare can count themselves very lucky to be still in the hunt for Waterford Crystal Cup honours after producing a six point turnaround in the final three minutes to deny their student counterparts.

With eight senior debutants in the starting line-up, Clare never flowed with any great purpose over the 70 minutes and it almost cost them dearly. The home side hit 16 wides and even the conversion of basic frees eluded them while in contrast, ITT made their most of their chances, particularly through Limerick’s Eoin Ryan who was unerring from both placed balls and play.

To hammer home the extent of the changing of the guard in the county side over the past few years, Clare had only two survivors from the starting line-up of 2009 (Gerry Quinn and Fergal Lynch while ITT had eight.

What finally turned around Clare’s fortunes however was the Under 21 class of 2009, Nicky O’Connell and debutant Conor Tierney from the starting line-up as well the introduction of Caimin Morey, Cian Dillon and John Conlon.

It was Morey who grabbed the headlines however, scoring an unanswered 1-3 in the final three minutes to take the spoils, with 1-1 of that total being supplied by Tierney.

That urgency was not as evident earlier in the proceedings however as despite a healthy first half breeze at their backs, a ringrusty Clare were wasteful in front of the posts but still able to keep their heads above water by the break.

Indeed, it was a Clare man that opened the scoring, albeit for IT Tralee. Thomas Downes, the Cooraclare player who plays his hurling for Éire Óg, was one of three Banner natives on the Kerry College starting line-up along with his clubmate Stephen Guilfoyle and Crusheen’s Fergus Kennedy and duly set the ball rolling after three minutes.

Clare replied with three out of the next four points through Cormac O’Donovan, Colin Ryan and Diarmuid McMahon before the game came to life in the 14th minute with the opening goal for the visitors. In truth, it was the type of goal that would only be forgivable at this time of year as midfielder Nickie Quaid was handed two bites of the cherry before flicking the ball over the line from point blank range.

By the turn of the opening quarter, Clare had gained parity through the hardworking Nicky O’Connell and

IF RTÉ radio and television reports were to be believed on Sunday, Ryan Cup hopefuls ITT had produced the shock of the round to knock out the 2009 champions Clare. And in truth, it was an eventuality that appeared extremely likely approaching the final stretch as the visitors led by three points.

However, much like George Best in the 1999 Champions League Final between Man Utd and Bayern Munich, RTÉ’s source must have prematurely exited the game before Clare’s late recovery saw them secure their passage to the quarter-finals.

Afterwards, manager Ger O’Loughlin was relieved but understandably not leaping to any conclusions after only the first competitive game of the year.

“It was a good workout although Tralee IT are probably going away thinking how the hell did they lose that one. We worked hard but I think what we got out of today is that we had nine or ten lads out there that are trying to make their way onto the team and we’ve learned that maybe three or four might do it and there are another three or four that won’t and that’s being truthful about it. So it’s as well off to learn this in January and February I think and that’s what we got out of it more than anything else.

“We were lucky and we turned it around and got the few breaks towards the last few minutes to win it and it was important to win because we want a couple of games as well. But you know it’s our first competitive game as such so I’m delighted to win it but I know overall you’d be disappointed with our display.

“In saying that, I would take good heart out of a lot of things. We brought on a few lads and a few showed up well. Cian Dillon was very good when he came on, Caimin Morey showed well and I thought Nicky O’Connell went through a lot of work and I was very, very happy with Conor Tierney so they are all the positives.”

“We have no hurling done and it probably showed out there but in saying that we will take a bit of heart from eight or nine displays and we know we have a mountain to climb in terms of work but I think we are hitting in the right direction alright.”

Clare are certain to meet a more stubborn challenge against LIT this weekend and with O’Loughlin unsure of the availability of his large NUIG contingent due to Walsh Cup commitments, the odds are certainly stacking up against his side to reclaim a semi-final spot.

“LIT would be considered stronger and I don’t know the schedule next week but we mightn’t have the Galway lads next week so I’m not sure how they are fixed for that game.

“But look it’s a chance for lads but we probably need to be going out a bit stronger that what we did today to get over the line in these games. We are all using them to prepare for the season ahead and we have learned a good bit today and I think that’s the main thing. We have a lot of work to do but I’m happy with some displays as well.”

IN terms of accolades, things couldn’t be much better for Paddy Vaughan at the moment. Still charged on the fumes of Crusheen’s first ever county senior title, the subsequent bestowal of the county senior captaincy for 2011 is the ultimate honour for the 28 year old.

Throughout the latter stages of the county championship and their brief expedition into Munster, Vaughan was Crusheen’s creative lynchpin through his versatility, consistency and leadership. Traits that county manager obviously recognised as well when choosing a player to lead his young Clare squad into 2011.

“It’s a huge honour” admits Vaughan. “Down through the years when you see captains like Anthony Daly, Seanie McMahon and Brian Lohan, they are huge leaders and it would be anyone’s honour to follow in their footsteps.”

Exciting times at both club and county level for arguably the player of the county championship last season.

“It’s hard to believe everything that has happened over the past few months. Last year with Clare we didn’t have the best of years but that changed around fairly fast once we went back to the clubs. For the last few years, Crusheen have been fairly close but this year we put in an extra effort and it was great to get the rewards finally. The celebrations that night in Crusheen were huge and you could see how much it meant to the whole parish. It was brilliant and something I will never forget.”

“And with Clare, I was only talking to someone recently, looking back at the Munster final of two years ago and noticing that very few of that panel are still there today. There’s nearly 20 players from the Clare Under 21 All-Ireland winning team on the panel now so that’s kind of a sign of the times. And I’m sure over the next few years, a few of the Clare minor team that got to the final will be brought onto it as well so it will be harder and harder for the likes of myself to keep a place on the team I’d say. The competition for places is getting better all the time and that can only be good for the county.

“Last year I think there was almost ten new lads starting championship so it was up to the older lads to get them used to championship matches, encourage them along and lead by example on the training field and the playing field.”

Patience is the key to success according to Clare’s new leader as the county looks to build upon recent underage successes and Vaughan is the perfect example of patience, having first been brought onto the county senior panel in 2002 before finally making his championship debut in the All-Ireland semi-final of 2006 against Kilkenny. He is now preparing to mark his 13th championship appearance as captain against either Cork or Tipperary in June.

“I think you have to take small steps at the beginning because you can’t be expecting miracles but we would be delighted to start off the year well. Even with the Waterford Crystal Trophy, it’s good preparation for the league. Our first game of the league is against Limerick so that’s going to be one of the toughest games in it so if we could get to the final of Division 2 and hopefully to get out of it and in to Division 1 next year. That’s where all of the younger players are really going to learn their trade, by playing against all the top, traditional teams like Kilkenny and Tipp so number one winning Division 2 would be the biggest goal and then have a good championship after that.”

That baby steps philosophy also applies to Vaughan’s own current injuries problems as a sprained ankle and a persistent hip injury have delayed his competitive debut as captain. The Crusheen native is out for Sunday’s Waterford Crystal Cup game against IT Tralee and will more than likely miss the remainder of the competition should Clare advance but even the frustration of missing out on Clare’s opening fixture won’t dampen what have been arguably the best period of his life when you consider that he also got engaged recently. County champion, county captain and fiancé in the space of a few short months. On that form, perhaps he should buy a lottery ticket as well.

ANYONE who perused the county senior hurling final programme in October would have come across a self-penned article by county senior hurling manager Ger O’Loughlin entitled ‘The Way Forward’. In it, he outlined his plans for the future not just in terms of age profile and aspirations but also tactics and style of hurling, “focusing a lot more on speed of hurling, vision on the field of play and core and strengthening work of certain panel members.”

It was an enlightening insight into his long-term outlook for Clare hurling, having assessed the standard required from his debut season as an inter-county manager. Now on the eve of his second year in charge of the Banner, the two time All-Star plays down the originality of his blueprint for Clare’s hurling future but still admits the sentiments are very valid.

“Look I’m not the first to have said that but looking at the club scene in Clare, there is no outstanding club team. You have five or six different clubs that can win the county championship and just looking at the games, I just feel the hurling is too slow. Our touch and our mindset and thinking have to be faster when you get on the ball.

“If you look at the top teams, the Kilkenny’s, the Tipp’s, they will turn a 50-50 situation in a split second, especially up front where games are often won and lost with sharp minds and split second decisions. They are the things that right back down along, each squad will have to work on. I know that it’s happening but it’s taken a long time for it to happen in Clare and if persisted with, it should be good for the future.

“We all have to get to that level, otherwise you won’t win at senior level unless you’re sharper and have a better touch and a better finish. And again you have to have the complete package now so I’m hoping that we can develop these type of players.

“It’s going to be from minor upwards and even before minor that the work needs to be done so that when they come into the likes of myself, that I’m not doing the work that should have been done five years ago.”

Having been restricted to gym work for the past two months, O’Loughlin and his backroom team have had scant opportunity to implement those strategies but are eager to get back to the playing field ahead of their first competitive outing against IT Tralee this Sunday in the Waterford Crystal Cup.

“We have gone back training on the field since the third of January and obviously have a programme in place to get the general fitness level up and combined with that, we are introducing some hurling. We played Wexford on Sunday, we’ll do midweek hurling and then we’re into the Waterford Crystal competition and that is one that will knock the cobwebs off guys and get us ready.

“We will potentially have four games before the league starts in that Waterford Crystal competition if we can progress to the final so they are all good for us and we will be looking to give an opportunity to the panel.

“Outside of the college lads, we have quite a big panel at the moment and between different colleges we have 14 lads involved so it will be a great chance for the other 20 odd lads to see can they impress in the Waterford Crystal. If they do that, it’s an opportunity to get onto the final panel proper which we will be looking at and getting ready for the championship.

“Unfortunately we won’t be allowed bring big panels as the offical line is 26 players for the championship so there’s quite a few to go but we’d be hoping that we will have given every guy a fair crack of the whip to try and nail down a place for the panel. But there will be a few lads disappointed towards the mid to end of the league because at that stage we will definitely have an idea where we are going with the championship panel.”

With his official appointment coming in late December 2009, O’Loughlin had little time to pre- pare for last year’s Waterford Crystal campaign that finally ended at the semi-final stage to Davy Fitzgerald’s Waterford. However, a year on, having had the benefit of assessing his squad, viewing the club championship and embarking on an individual winter strength and conditioning programme, he is infinitely more satisfied that the county can achieve their goals this year.

“We’re definitely much more au fait with the type of player we have now. We have come to terms with lads that have retired from the panel, we’ve readjusted and it’s a case of getting on with it now, building the team and producing a better players for the future.

“And that’s the way it is at the moment. It’s going to be a rebuilding process over the next couple of years but notwithstanding, there’s no reason why we can’t give a very good account of ourselves and get out of Division 2. We have our goals set this year that we get out of Division 2 and if possible even a Munster championship and be in the shake up in the All-Ireland series. We know the standard is high and we have a very young panel but in saying that, they’ve all matured, have an extra 12 months under their belts and the majority of them know what’s involved.

“Like everything else it’s a case of ‘only the best and strongest will survive’ so the management are under pressure as well to try and get the results that are required to keep everybody happy. So we’ll be pushing it hard and be very fair to everybody but at the end of the day, it’s all about winning and it’s all about getting the results so by hook or by crook, we have to do that this year.”

A new regime also calls for new leaders on the field and ‘Sparrow’ is confident that new captain Paddy Vaughan and vice-captain John Conlon are the ideal choices to guide the county into the future.

“I think Paddy Vaughan has been the most consistent hurler in Clare for the last six or seven years. We’ve all watched him and whether it was at corner-back, midfield or wherever he’s been played, he’s always given his all. He’s a good leader and he’s a quiet individual by nature but in saying that, he leads from the field of play and I like that in a player. It’s a great chance for him, he’s a very likeable fella and the lads will row in behind him and wouldn’t it be brilliant if he was lifting a trophy at the end of the season somewhere along the way.”

“John Conlon is very much a leader for the future. Again he got it on merit in that every time John Conlon togs out for Clare or Clonlara, he gives it everything and he’ll be a fella that will be around for a long time. He is a leader and those are the qualities we are looking for.

“Even with Brian O’Connell for the last couple of years, Brian always epitomised what you wanted in a captain. Sometimes things don’t work out on the field but it’s not for the want of trying and as I’ve always admired about Brian O’Connell as well is that he was there for seven or eight years and had no silverware to show for it at the end of it and I’m just hoping we can change that around and that Pat Vaughan will be a little more bit fortunate on that side of things. That we can lift trophies and get back there knocking on the door for All-Ireland titles while he’s still at his peak.”

A BLOWTORCH to the cobwebs, a dash of new faces and more importantly a result to match as Clare eventually edged out their stubborn Cork opponents to get the season off to a positive start.

Twelve months earlier, in near identical circumstances, the same opponents had humbled the home side in what was Micheál McDermott’s first competitive outing as manager but this time, it was his new look Clare side that held the aces when it mattered most in the final quarter.

Granted, this was not a patch on the UCC side that went on to contest both the McGrath and Sigerson Cup finals last year, with only four survivors from last year’s clash in Cooraclare as well as being without their Cork senior inter-county trio on Sunday.

However, that won’t concern Clare who crave as many competitive games as possible before they embark on another tilt at the Division 4 title as can be seen by their determined, hungry finish.

It wasn’t all plain sailing though as this evenly matched contest was in the balance throughout, with only a kick of the ball separating the sides at any stage of the contest. Indeed, Clare were slow to start, appearing to be suffering from an imbalance of strength and conditioning in the gym and a lack of actual football due to the collective ban on inter-county sides in November and December.

That early immobility gave UCC a window of opportunity to strike a decisive early blow as Clare seemed ragged and indisciplined. But while freetaker Daithi Casey converted three unanswered frees in the opening eight minutes, UCC were also guilty of spurning three glorious first half goal chances, two of which came in the first six minutes. Had they taken either, Clare’s McGrath Cup campaign might have been over before it had even started but a combination of goalkeeper Joe Hayes and relieving goal-line stops by Niall Whyte and Martin McMahon from Kevin O’Driscoll and Paul Honohan respectively kept Clare’s head above water.

Clare first strike at the posts came after eight minutes when Cathal O’Connor’s shot drifted wide but from the kick-out, a well worked move involving Conor Ryan, Martin McMahon and Alan Clohessy ended up with debutant David O’Brien who pointed from an acute angle.

A minute later Clare had doubled their tally when Gary Brennan found Rory Donnelly who broke a tackle and dissected the posts and suddenly it was Clare who appeared the more threatening side. Daithi Casey hit back with another free but Clare were beginning to dominate the midfield clashes and again it was Brennan who fed full-forward Timmy Ryan to reduce the deficit to only the minimum at 0-4 to 0-3 by the end of the first quarter.

For all UCC’s early threat, it was