Blaze of glory after 123 years

IT was a long time coming, 123 years in fact, but after Paddy Meaney blazed the ball beyond Sean Hawes on Sunday afternoon, it was clear that Crusheen were finally going to be champions of Clare.
There were scenes of unbridled joy in Cusack Park straight after the game and throughout a long evening in Crusheen, as the tension of a tight county final gave way to elation.
A few hours after the game, the victorious team arrived back in Crusheen and club chairman Colm O’Connor said the scene upon arrival was unforgettable.
“We stopped in Ballyline and there was a good few over there. The sight when you came up to the bridge in Crusheen was unbelievable. To look out of the bus and see the people there, it was very emotional.”
It’s O’Connor’s first year as chairman and he said he had been struck by the capability of Michael Browne the first time they sat down to talk about plans for 2010.
“When we went up to talk to him in January we stayed for two hours but we could have spent six there. After that, I could see we were onto something because he was so on top of things. There was no agenda with him, he had got to know the lads in his first year and this year he knew what he had to do with them. After that meeting, we said that whatever that man wanted, he’d be getting it.”
While Sunday was surely Crusheen hurling’s greatest day, O’Connor said Browne hadn’t let the evening pass before getting to work on the next challenge, a Munster club tie against Kilmallock.
“Michael was actually talking about it yesterday evening after the meal. There were already phone calls being made, he’s unbelievable that way.”
On the clash with the 2009 champions, he felt that the strength of Crusheen’s defence and the Reds ability to grind out a result had made the difference.
“It was some game, the pace of Cratloe was unreal. They’re serious hurlers, but our backs ground them down and got on top like they did all year. All year long, they were finishing very well and knocking the heart out of the opposition.”
Sunday’s victory was Crusheen’s greatest triumph and it was essential that some advance preparations be made for possible celebrations, but it was also very important that it be done quietly, according to O’Connor.
“We had the lorry in hiding and the lights in hiding. We had a lot of things done but we hadn’t anybody told because if we lost, it’d be said ‘they thought they had it won before they had it played’ that kind of thing. But you had to have thought about it and be ready to make a phone call.”
While the club’s primary aim for the year has been achieved, there’s a Junior A final coming up and he’s hopeful another cup will come to the village.
“Some of the lads that have come down from senior have been playing well and there’s a lot of good young lads there too.”