Clare GAA in downward spiral

Comment
A CURSORY glance at either the NFL Division 4 or the NHL Division 2 league tables underlines Clare GAA’s lowly standing. Losing at home to Roscommon on March 20 consigned Clare to Division 4 league football for the fifth successive year in 2012. Had the leagues not been realigned into four divisions in 2008, Clare’s stint in the bottom division would be nearer 10 than five years. The old Divisions 2A and B disguised the reality that Clare were a Division 4 team long before 2008.

Apart from winning their first five league games last year, the county has shown no discernible signs of trading Division 4 for at least one year in Division 3. This is in contrast to Tipperary, Limerick and Waterford, all of whom have moved up at least one division in recent seasons. Tipperary achieved successive promotions before returning to Division 3 this year. If results go their way in round seven of the Division 3 league, they will return immediately to Division 2.
So why are Clare now the weakest football county in Munster and can anything be done to change this?
On the plus side, the fact that West Clare Colleges were entered into the Corn Uí Mhuirí for the first time last autumn is undoubtedly a step forward. An U-15 team also competed in that grade. However, it is crucial that West Clare Colleges, which includes the secondary schools in Kilrush, Kilkee, Kildysart and Kilmihil, continue to compete and prepare properly. It is equally imperative that a North Clare colleges team is entered into Munster colleges competitions. Why not go even further and enter a combined Shannon or Ennis schools team?
If young players are exposed year on year to these competitions it will definitely improve their chances of competing when they represent Clare at minor level. At least a start has been made and as long as West Clare Colleges (and other amalgamations) play every year in Munster, standards will eventually rise at minor county level.
Contrary to what some people think, county minor and U-21 teams are well looked after in certain respects by the county board. They are fed after training and given plenty of gear, so no problem there. Where problems arise is with respect to the absence of quality training facilities, particularly in the early part of the season, when floodlights are needed.
Without Lees Road, the all-weather pitch in Parteen or the facilities at LIT, Clare county teams would face a completely impossible situation in the early part of the year. Remember, none of these facilities are owned by the Clare County Board, meaning that to allow for any midweek training in early in the year, county managers have to work the phones, while the county board often has to pay for an hour’s use of whatever facility is available.
In the early part of their NHL Division 2 campaign, the Clare hurlers regularly trained in Lees Road, using the track for physical work and the green area in the middle for some limited hurling work. That is not the type of training conducive to weekend excellence.
The county board are developing facilities in Caherlohan, Tulla and at last having somewhere to train, especially midweek under lights, will be a huge help to every Clare team from next year.
Of course, if Cusack Park or the pitch in Clareabbey were available to senior, if not underage, teams for training, that would also be a huge help. The fact that neither has floodlights is a huge drawback but weekend availability would be a start. Clare is the only county in Munster without a floodlit, county board-owned stadium. Now a plethora of floodlights wouldn’t suddenly turn average county hurlers or footballers into great ones but it wouldn’t make them any worse.
All of that being said, other factors have contributed to Clare GAA’s demise at adult level. The respective management teams in charge of the senior hurlers and footballers cannot be absolved of responsibility. Putting it simply, if a team at club or county level doesn’t at least show signs of improving, management have to take a significant portion of responsibility.
While the footballers have no hope of coming out of Division 4, the hurlers might turn it on against Carlow and Limerick. If that were to happen, it would be a huge short-term boost to Clare hurling.
Yet Clare GAA must start to plan ahead and not just for next week or next month. Having to pay for the use of winter training pitches indicates clearly that Clare GAA did not lay the groundwork in time for training facilities of their own.