“I don’t think there are any excuses now.”
Winning the 2013 All-Ireland hurling title raised hopes of a golden future for the Banner County.
On that September day there wasn’t a a member of their squad over the age of 30. The average age of the 26 players named was just over 23. Nine of them were aged 21 or lower. Davy Fitzgerald’s side were on top, as were Donal Moloney and Gerry O’Connor’s under-21’s who had won the 2012, 2013 All-Irelands.
The Clare hurling public were flying high and they expected their county to dominate the hurling landscape for a few years to come.
They haven’t made it back to Croke Park since. Clare have only won two Championship games against ‘tier 1’ sides and haven’t won a game in the Munster Championship in the meantime. Those are some damning stats for this so-called golden generation.
Clare legend Jamesie O’Connor feels that “we’re going to see a big summer from Clare,” and the banner will finally this year meet the expectations they set for themselves during that golden period.
The key to ending their troubles is the return of injured pair Conor McGrath and Patrick O’Connor, according to O’Connor who was speaking at the launch of Sky Sports’s coverage of the 2017 championship. McGrath in particular is a player that O’Connor feels has the potential to turn a game in an instant and his return will be a massive boost to this Clare side.
“He’ll be good to go, you just hope he gets a run of games and gets back to the form of 2013,” O’Connor said.
“On his day he’s a match-winner, and not every county has players like McGrath that can do special things and win a match for you, so he’s massively important.
“Having himself and Pat O’Connor who missed the league, these guys are going to be fresh and they’re going to bring something to the group.”
O’Connor feels that the aforementioned pair of O’Connor and Moloney, who are now in the Clare managing hotseat, will utilise their attacking prowess to more of an extent than Davy Fitzgerald did in the last few years.
Fitzgerald’s sweeper tactics worked wonders in the 2013 winning campaign, but teams soon learned how to cope with it. O’Connor feels Clare’s remarkable attacking resources will be given the freedom and responsibility to express themselves, and having the likes of Tony Kelly, Conor McGrath, Shane O’Donnell, and others at their peak is some prospect for Clare supporters.
“I think we’ll see a different philosophy, a different style of play,” he said.
“Obviously with Davy we were very structured, we played a sweeper and I think in a way teams figured us out a little bit. We blunted our sharpest weapons.
“I do think we’ll be more expressive this year, I think we’ll see more from Conor McGrath, Shane O Donnell who’s back fit and Tony Kelly. If Clare can get those lads playing to the level they played to in 2013, as I said, you know, Clare will be a match for a lot of the top teams.”
To return to the heights of 2013, Clare must come through the front door route, according to the four-time All-Star. Their clash with Limerick in the Munster semi-final will define their season.
“Rather than coming through the qualifiers, I think the front door and the Munster final is where the Clare players and player management want to be.
“Obviously it’s a new management team, they’ve to put their own stamp on proceedings. They have to concentrate on themselves, getting themselves right and getting themselves right and being ready for the 4th June.
“If Clare get to a Munster final, I think they’re potentially dark horses because on their day, they have players and weapons that can trouble anybody. This is a pressure match and it’s a game that simply has to be won.”
So 2017 is set to be a make-or-break year for the Banner county.
“We’ve had a clear run at it now, there’s been no slideshows, no distractions,” said O’Connor.
The question is will this golden generation fulfill the promise once again?
Sky Sports will broadcast 14 (out of 20) exclusive fixtures with Dublin’s opening fixture on June 3 in the Leinster Championship quarter-final acting as the curtain-raiser. Jim McGuinness, Peter Canavan, James Horan, Jamesie O’Connor, JJ Delaney, Ollie Canning and many more will analyse the games, including new addition to the analysis team, Monaghan football legend Dick Clerkin.
