Hogan Hoping For Final Swansong Of Stellar Career In Green And Red

Derrick Lynch

Since Kilmurry Ibrickane kick-started the most successful spell in the clubs history by winning the 2002 Clare senior football championship, Michael Hogan has been an almost ever present feature.

That was his debut year as the then 18-year-old marked his first appearance on the senior team by helping the Bricks to bridge a 9 year gap with victory over Liscannor in the decider.

It would prove to be the first of 18 senior football campaigns for the Quilty native in a remarkable career which will culminate in him leading his side out for Sunday’s showdown with Cratloe in Cusack Park. He also went on to be part of the Kilmurry team who became the first Clare club to contest the All-Ireland senior club football final in 2010 as they lost out to St Gall’s on the showpiece day in Croke Park.

There was a year in 2012 when travel in Australia was the priority but the call of home and chance to add to an already impressive medal haul was too great to resist.

Hogan, a prolific boxer in his youth, credits the camaraderie within the group with keeping his career going for as long as it has.

“We have tried hard and trained hard and it is a great credit to the management and players to say that we are back in the county final. We all had to do our own bit this year with all that went on and it was the same for every other club. When we got back together we had up to 25 lads at training and you wouldn’t normally see those kind of numbers early in a campaign so it was nice to have that. Everyone was on a high to just be back and there was a great mood in the camp. The will to win and the great team spirit you have around you really keeps you going. You would look forward to going training to meet the lads and the amount of success we have had along the way is nearly just a bonus” he noted.

Having tasted success at the first time of asking in 2002, Hogan outlined that the experiences of those around him who had battled for the previous nine years, including his manager for Saturday’s game, helped to keep him grounded. More success was to follow with a county and Munster title in 2004 while 2010 produced the most famous day in the clubs history. He feels having that appreciation of the success they were building was key.

“I came in for my first year at 18 years old and won a senior championship straight away. A lot of lads like John O’Connor, Dermot Coughlan and Horse would let you know fairly quickly that they are not that easy to come by. You don’t just walk in there and start winning them, they are hard work and we have learned that through the years too. They were great times and it goes back to knowing all the lads and being with them all the time. They are the lads you grow up with and you are getting to play in county, Munster and All-Ireland finals with them. We were lucky enough to grace Croke Park for that All-Ireland final and while it didn’t work out for us, it was a great buzz to be there on the day” he recalled.

Saturday will mark the sixth time since 2011 that Kilmurry have contested the showpiece event and will bring them back into opposition with a Cratloe side they have faced three times in the last four years. Learning how to handle those occasions is something Hogan admits is part of a player’s development but feel embracing it is equally as important.

“You don’t feel the years going. I still remember going out onto the field in 2002 as a nervous boy but now you have been there and done it so you try and bring the younger lads along with you and let them know that they have to enjoy these days too. There are going to be nerves but you have try and enjoy it as much as everything else because they are the occasions that you train for. It will be strange to not have the usual crowds there in the stand but once that ball goes in, you are just concentrating on the game. It will make no difference to our lads on the field as to whether there is a crowd in the stand or not, they will be concentrating on the game and that will be it” he stated.

Regardless of the result this weekend, Hogan has taken the decision that his 18^th season will be his last in the green and red jersey. He says while that decision is not one he made lightly, he feels the time is right to call it a day.

“I have been thinking about it over the last few years and the lads would be egging you on. It has come to the stage where you see all these young lads and their fitness levels are unbelievable so trying to keep up with them at this point is getting to be a struggle. It is time to let them off now and let them do their own thing and watch from the stand from here on out. This is the end of an era so to finish it off with being the captain of Kilmurry Ibrickane who lifts Jack Daly would be a dream come true. You can’t really think about that though because we have to focus on going out to face Cratloe and doing the job we are asked to do. If we do that, then hopefully on Saturday evening we will be bringing Jack Daly home” he concluded.