Derek O’Connor Rides High As Decade Closes

After Derrick Lynch outlined his selections last week, Eoghan Moloney gives his opinion on the best and worst sporting moments as the year and decade draws to a close.

Sports person of the decade

I had many a back and forth about this. I asked Clare people, non-Clare people, anyone that would listen, their opinion on this one. And not many will agree with my answer. This man isn’t famous for his exploits in Cusack Park.

While he is from the same parish as Clare’s captain, Patrick O’Connor, he has no real affiliation to the two most popular sports in Clare.

My third and second are Gary Brennan and Tony Kelly. And when you list their exploits, you could make a case for either, but the reason this man is number one is because the majority of human beings wouldn’t last a New York minute in his shoes. My Clare Sports Person of the Decade is Derek O’Connor.

JP McManus is famous for his gambles and particularly his Cheltenham coups. There is one man above all he trusts with steering the green and gold around Prestbury Park in amateur-rider races, and it’s the Tubber man.

That is the highest compliment a jockey can be paid.

He is an amateur, but you have to laugh at the thought of Derek and amateur in the same sentence.

Many a professional jockey say he’s one of the best riders on the planet and his record on the track speaks for itself.

His ride on Joseph O’Brien’s Edwulf to win the 2018 Irish Gold Cup won Ride of the Year. It was described as a miracle, and it was. The horse had famously had a seizure between the second last and last fence at the Cheltenham Festival in 2017. Everyone thought he couldn’t be saved. But after the brilliant work of vets in Cheltenham he was saved. And for him to return from that to win the Irish Gold Cup 11 months later was incredible. It was all down to Derek’s handling.

For an amateur to be told he has ridden better than the professionals is symptomatic of his ability.

He was the first man ever to ride 1,000 point-to-point winners. That is an incredible achievement. Along with Jamie Codd, Derek is the most trusted judge when it comes to appraising the talent of horses. He is a gifted horseman and is made of steel.

His prize money tally from rules races is nearing €800,000 and he isn’t a full-time jockey. God forbid if he went pro.

I could go on all day about his class, but he exemplifies it every day he rides.

When I really sat down and thought about it, it was clear that Derek deserved the nod.

Clare punches way above its weight when it comes to sporting acumen and Derek is the epitome of that, as an amateur that can outshine professionals, and that is why he is number one.

Sports Person of 2019

This was close. There have been many Clare people that have stood up this year and made names for themselves. Paddy Donovan seems a prodigious talent and looks destined for titles in the ring. Ailish and Eimear Considine are trailblazers putting Kilmihil on the map worldwide. Tony Kelly at times this year was untouchable. But, the sports person of the year, for me, was Gary Brennan. The Clondegad man was incredible all year for Clare and will be very hard to replace. He has fielding abilities that not many have. How he wasn’t nominated for an all-star is beyond me and most of Clare, I’d wager. Clips of his brilliance went viral on Twitter this year and the evergreen midfielder deserves all the plaudits he receives. His understated nature masks a brilliance that not many can boast, and that brilliance is why he’s my sports person of the year.

High point of 2019

This was a tough one to judge. Scariff-Ogonnelloe deserve honourable mention for their incredible Munster title win, the first for Clare in 30 years. But what really resonated with me this year was Clare’s Munster senior hurling championship win over Cork. Everything was set up for a hammering. Clare had lost their last two games by 13 and 18 points and there were serious questions about bottle, heart, desire and capability being asked of all involved.

However for every question, there was an answer in the Cork game. It typified Clare hurling. They played with hurt that day and I had said before that game in a column that the old Dal gCais motto of ‘Na Ceada sa cat agus na deireanacha as’ (The first into the fight is the last out of it) was whispered against Tipperary and Limerick. It was personified against Cork. Even Gerry O’Connor throwing shoulders on the sideline. Everyone meant business and the team were thanked by the fans for standing up and giving every last morsel for them. I am not from Clare but I felt proud to work in Clare that day. As the old saying goes, ‘there is life in the old dog yet.’

Low point of 2019

This wasn’t tough to judge. Limerick in the Gaelic Grounds. By a distance. Clare were beaten before the sliotar was thrown in. Nothing went right for Clare and Limerick couldn’t miss. It’s a heated rivalry between the two counties and Limerick have bragging rights for quite a while after that – it was an evisceration. What worried a lot of people was how obvious it was that what Clare were doing that day wasn’t working and there were no changes made until the contest was all but over. There’s no point dwelling on this as it wasn’t an indictment of the team or management, it was an awful display that needs to be parked, but also used as motivation to avoid future humiliation.

Prediction for 2020

This is extremely hard to judge. With huge players not being available for Colm Collins in 2020 and Peter Duggan heading to Australia for the start of 2020, at least – it’s hard to be optimistic. The footballers were within a whisker of the Super 8s and it’s hard to see them replicating that form. The Clare hurlers are without their talismanic forward unless Brian Lohan’s powers of persuasion are on point. Things could get worse. But that’s not my prediction. My prediction is things will more or less stay the same. Expect Clare to play more directly and leave the Kinnerk-esque way of playing behind them. Expect to see a far more direct and cut-throat Clare. But expect similar results. I wouldn’t expect 18-point hammerings under Brian Lohan, though. The legendary full back is likely to shore up the defence and play in a more protective way. Essentially, my prediction is for Clare to have a – mediocre year in both codes – no hammerings, but also likely no hurling or football in August.