ROAD TO CROKER: Fitzgerald good for Clare hurling, says Mulqueen

DAVY Fitzgerald has been good for Clare hurling despite some people suggesting otherwise.
According to Clare selector Louis Mulqueen, “He has brought a competitiveness back. He has developed a family element that I haven’t seen before and I have worked with lots of Clare teams under different managers. These lads are like a family to each other and that is a key factor. They watch out for each other, they work hard together on the pitch and that is good for Clare.”

He continued, “For Clare hurling to be playing in the All-Ireland U-21 and senior hurling semi-finals is serious testament to the work being done at club level.

“We all remember the days of ’95 and ’97 but these lads have to create their own piece of history for Clare. They are working seriously hard at it. People don’t see what is going on behind the scenes. They are watching their diet, their social outings. They are coming to training at all sorts of hours. Fellas are travelling up and down from Dublin.”

The Ennis man stressed a lot of people are contributing to the current good state of Clare hurling.

“A lot of work is being done by the county board, by a lot of coaches around the county and by club and county officials who have all put in serious work to have Clare still in contention for U-21 and senior honours”

“We are now seeing people buying Clare jerseys and flags. These lads are working really hard for Clare hurling and for themselves, to bring us back to the days when families travelled to support the team. This is what we do these things for, these are the things Davy Fitzgerald is trying to bring back to Clare hurling.”

The Rice College principal added, “It’s down to the day, the breaking ball, a referee’s decision, taking the right decision. We can’t look beyond the next game.”

Mulqueen acknowledged there are many connections between the sides. “Go back to January and February when ourselves and Limerick were training in the UL grounds, one after another, we were chatting away to each other. We came off the floodlight pitch or they did and we took over. We were using the same facilities.

“Now, there are two teams who are trying to beat each other for a place in the All-Ireland final. Limerick have a provincial title behind them already, we haven’t. They have won something, we haven’t. They beat us last year when it counted. Is there a chance to put things right for what we didn’t do last year? If Limerick stand in our way, then there is rivalry, there is competitiveness to stop them. There is no bitterness. There is a good physical, strong, intense, very skilfull hurling team trying to stop us and we have to match that and be better on the day.

“All year this potential and performance has been coming and it came in patches against Galway but they stung us for two goals. If Limerick do that, there might be no way back. We have to play better again, the performance against Galway won’t do to beat Limerick. I have seen Limerick play two good games this year where two serious counties couldn’t stop them. It’s a massive challenge. We are in Croke Park for the first time with a lot of players as a developing squad. There’s talk of 40,000 Limerick people going to be there.”
Mulqueen is clearly impressed with the way local support for the team is growing.

“What has been very noticeable for the last few weeks is the support which has been building up in Clare, building up momentum. It is lovely to see, people looking for tickets, young children with hurleys out on the green, people coming asking for tickets. That’s brilliant for players. We brought two or three young lads into the dressing room after the last game. That’s brilliant. That’s all part of what we are trying to do in Clare hurling, to bring back that spirit and happiness involved with playing well and being succsssful.”

He believes Sunday is going to be a serious test. “It will pose a serious question as to where this team is at at the minute. If they get through it, they will be in an All-Ireland final and the sky is the limit. At the moment it’s a fabulous achievement to be here but it’s not something we want to settle for. We want to win and bring on the next big day. It’s a serious ask to beat Limerick. We are playing against a quality team that has put two fabulous performances in this year and are looking for their third. Our job is to try and stop that.”
Mulqueen singles out Limerick manager John Allen for special praise.

“John Allen is a shrewd manager and he has done brilliantly with two counties. It wasn’t just a flash in the pan with Cork. He is now doing it with Limerick but we won’t be far from it. This is a new game, a different set up. Who wouldn’t, as a player, want to play in an All-Ireland semi-final in August. Even injured players would throw away crutches to play. That’s the excitement of it.

“We are going into our sixth championship match, a good position to be in for Clare hurling. Limerick could, arguably, have played two of the best games in the championship this year. They beat a very strong Tipperary team and then they beat Cork in the Munster final. They are going well, playing strong, with a high intensity. We have had five or six championship games that have stood to us as well. There is motivation to win. They beat us in the crucial game, the one that counted, last year.

“You can’t underestimate John Allen, what he has done with Cork and now with Limerick. They have been a dormant giant. They won the U-21 two years ago. they are in the minor semi-final this year. They should have beaten Tipperary last year but they didn’t. They did it this year. They are formidable opposition, their physicality, their strength and they won last year.”

Reflecting on Clare performances, Mulqueen noted, “Last year we were on our fourth game with Limerick and we came unstruck. It was the same this year; we were stuffed by Cork in the fourth meeting. We  haven’t played them (Limerick) this year. They have gone a different route than us. It is going to be an interesting battle. The two teams that played in Division 1B are provincial champions and the two that played in the relegation battle are trying to put them out and one succeeded last Sunday. It’s interesting. Hurling is a breath of fresh air this year”.

There are pros and cons of having so many players involved with both the U-21 and senior teams he added. “After the Munster U-21 final we will have two training sessions before the Limerick game. It does limit what you can do but it’s a good position to be in”.

Responding to a suggestion that this is a golden era for Clare hurling, Mulqueen said the county is still in development stage. “Potential and reality are two different things, two different concepts. Reality doesn’t exist until potential is exceeded and when we get true potential, which we have at the moment, it’s not reality unless you win. Until they win something, the golden era doesn’t exist. They are working hard, they are a good bunch of lads. Clare haven’t been at this stage for five or six years We hadn’t won a first round championship game for six years. The media blew us away before we played Cork, who were waiting on the high ditch. The bus driver was nearly playing for Cork that day they had so many injuries and then all of a sudden we went out and were beaten. We get backlashed and get all the things that go with it.”

He believes the team has changed the way it works. “I think we are progressing as a group. We got out of Division 1B. We had a good run in Division 1A. We are going into our sixth championship match. The golden era won’t come until we start winning trophies. It will take time. This is an exceptionally good bunch of lads who are putting their heads down and are working. There is a will to succeed there and they don’t worry who they are playing. They just want to give a good account of themselves.”

He stressed that the side is not playing down expectations. “We are going up to give a serious account of ourselves, to give everything we have got in our tank. You shouldn’t be playing if you don’t expect to win.

“We have tried to bring respectability and competitiveness back to Clare hurling. We have a 50/50 chance of beating Limerick. We make mistakes on the pitch and on the sideline. We try and regroup and come back stronger. We can’t get carried away. Next year might not come. We must seize game on Sunday. We were in the final in 2002 and the game against Kilkenny was over after eight minutes; DJ flicked the ball into the net. We tried and we tried but we couldn’t come back. We haven’t been there since,” Mulqueen continued.

“We are going in the right direction. We have to perform to beat Limerick who are provincial champions. They have worked hard and it’s our job to try and stop them and we will give it one hell of a shot”, he added

“It’s a big experience even for experienced players let alone a teamwith two 18-years-olds and two 19-year-olds and eighteen U-21s . It’s a big challenge but a great place to be.  There has been serious progression for Clare hurling and a serious tick in the box for a man of Davy Fitzgerald’s calibre to have brought Clare this far so soon. We hope to keep working with this bunch of fellas and, who knows what opportunities will open. These lads won’t go to Croke Park to play badly. They are up against formidable opposition, under a very sharp and astute manager. There has been serious progression in Limerick hurling this year,” he concluded.