Five-star performance from Gilli

TOWARDS the end of May there was much talk in hurling circles that Niall Gilligan might be tempted to return to inter-county hurling and join the Clare intermediate team in preparing for the Munster championship semi-final.
The vast majority of supporters didn’t believe that it would happen but intermediate team manager Kevin Kennedy got a resounding yes from the Sixmilebridge man, who has been outstanding in the campaign to date.
When he hobbled off the pitch in Sixmilebridge last Saturday in a Clare Champion Cup tie against Newmarket, his chances of playing in the Munster final looked slim but he reported fit for action at Cusack Park  on Wednesday and delivered a five-star display
“It’s fierce enjoyable and it was a brilliant game of hurling. This year Kevin (Kennedy) asked me to come in and the club was on a break, so I accepted. There is mighty young talent there and fair dues to Kevin and his team, they got a good mix of youth and experience. This can only be good for Clare hurling after the minor win last week. The senior team next year will pull two or three players from this team,” the auctioneer said.
The former All-star suggested that participation in this championship should be taken more serious.
“We have never won this title before this evening. If it’s good for Kilkenny and Cork, it should be good enough for us. They use it as a conveyor belt as well. There are six or seven players there who are under 22 or 23 and this will help them develop.
“People say it should be all youth but the experience of winning is very important as well. Some might say now that it’s easy for me to say that but if you go too much one way and we saw it with the senior team this year, it doesn’t do anyone any good to get bad beatings. These lads will profit an awful lot from this success tonight. It will give them a lot of confidence and help them in the future,” Gilligan said.
He agreed, “It’s a great feeling to beat Limerick in a championship final in front of our own supporters. There was a big crowd here tonight and this resulted in a great atmosphere. It was a fantastic second half with end-to-end stuff and some great scores. At half-time it did look dodgy but fair dues to all for putting their shoulder to the wheel and we ground out the result”.
Before concluding he paid tribute to the team manager Kennedy. “It’s mighty for him and for Niall Romer and Tommy Donoghue who have put in a huge effort,” he added.