THE latest in a series of meetings organised by Clare GAA chairman Michael O’Neill in an effort to resolve the stand-off between members of the senior hurling panel and team manager Mike McNamara was set to take place last night (Wednesday).

However, at the time of writing, the odds pointed to this meeting being deferred to later this week because of the inclement weather, which has led to the closure of some roads in the county.
It has now been several weeks since the players held their first meeting where they voiced opposition to the Scariff man continuing for another term.
It’s been two weeks since the November meeting of the county board where McNamara received unanimous support from delegates to finish his term as team boss. Their decision came despite delegates earlier being told in a letter from the players that they (the players) had voted no confidence in McNamara by a margin of 26 to 1 at a meeting held on November 1.
Initially, the players had sent a letter to the board voicing their opposition to McNamara but they hadn’t signed the letter. This time, all 27 that attended the November 1 meeting put their name to the letter but their names were not read out to the meeting. Subsequent to the board meeting, the players met twice in a matter of days when they are understood to have reaffirmed their opposition to McNamara continuing at the helm.
At those meetings, they drew up a list of their grievances with the management team, which they presented to chairman O’Neill when they met with the county board official and two mediators on Wednesday of last week.
While neither side have made any official comment as to how that meeting went, it is understood that little progress was made. However, the players are understood to be remaining steadfast in their demand that McNamara must go.
The Clare Champion understands that one of the reasons for the delay in arranging a meeting between the players and manager is because McNamara is insisting on meeting with “the full panel” of players. The numbers present at the various player meetings to date have, for the most part, been in the low to mid-twenties. The outgoing panel comprised 35 players.
“Any time that the county called on me, I was always available for Clare hurling. The same cannot be said for some of the current spokesmen,” McNamara said this week. This was his first comment on the matter since addressing the media following the November meeting of the county board. On that occasion, he intimated that if there isn’t an early resolution, he would not be remaining in the position.
There is a growing belief amongst hurling followers that he is about to step down from the post and this has fuelled speculation as to who is likely to take over.
While the name of Ger ‘Sparrow’ O’Loughlin has been mentioned regularly, there is speculation this week that Tulla’s Jim McInerney could be a candidate if and when the position becomes vacant. A member of Clare’s All-Ireland winning panel in 1995, McInerney managed Tulla to the Clare senior title in 2007. Also being linked to the position is Tubber’s Pat O’Connor, a selector two years ago during the controversial term of McNamara’s predecessor, Tony Considine. O’Connor was a member of the Galway U-21 hurling management team in 2009 and he has coached a number of Galway club sides over the past decade.
Ger O’Loughlin, a former selector and a member of the All-Ireland winning sides from the nineties, would have a strong following. He has coached Adare for the past three years and they have won the Limerick title on each occasion.
If there is to be a change of management, the front runners would surely be the John Minogue and Cyril Lyons partnership which led Clare to the All-Ireland U-21 title last September. Minogue was the manager of that side and he indicated after Clare’s victory that he would not be seeking the senior job but pressure is expected to be put on the St Flannan’s College vice principal to re-consider should fellow Scariff native Mike McNamara step down.