“Loughnane Was Just That Driven Lunatic And He Got Worse Afterwards Too”

The great historical events are the ones that are instantly recognisable with the briefest of mention.

The Famine, The Great War, The Emergency and The Troubles are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to those points on the calendars that need no further expansion to demonstrate their importance.

In a sporting context, there is no doubting what people in Clare are referring to when you hear 1995 mentioned. There was only show in town that year, and what a show it was. The long hot summer that saw Biddy Earley’s curse finally banished and put Anthony Daly’s name alongside Amby Power’s in the pantheon of Banner sporting greats. The pitch invasion near the end of the Munster final, the fact is was proud Clare man Noel Walsh who would hand the provincial cup over, and the outpouring of emotion all melded together to create an unforgettable time.

The gravity of those historical events can also be viewed in the context of them being that watershed moment that ends one era while simultaneously ushering in another. It could well be argued that in terms of Clare hurling, the history is written in a pre and post 1995 fashion. It was that seismic moment that spanned the generations and would spawn tales of folklore that will endure long beyond the 81 year gap that was bridged on that famous day in Croke Park. It was perhaps best encapsulated in Daly’s oration from the Ard Comhairle when he paid homage to the heroes of old who given their last ounces for the cause without ever seeing the ultimate return. All that changed in what seemed like an instant but like all great struggles, this one had been a long time in the making.

It had been 63 years since the saffron and blue ribbons were tied around the Munster championship cup, but in that time the hard luck stories had been piling up. 11 further bids at glory in the provincial final had come up short, and by the time 1995 rolled around Clare had been beaten in the previous two deciders. It was coming to a crucial period for the senior players in the group, including the captain.

“You can look back at our time and see three Munster titles and two All-Ireland’s and say it was the bond we had that made us. The reality is if we had gone down and got beaten in that 1995 Munster Final, it would have been a much different story. I honestly feel that Limerick thought we would flop but we were very much on the ball that day. We were always going to make a mighty battle of it but as it turned out, they were not ready for it mentally or psychically. Once you win, you can look back and say we had that savage bond that brought us over the line but a lot of us had suffered together prior to that in 1993 and 1994. We were called big day chokers and people nearly turned their face away from us. I can remember coming back to Clarecastle after Munster finals, or even after that league final loss in 1995 and people were just looking away from us with our Clare ties and Clare shirts. That was all character forming too though, because we could have just said that we were not going to bother with this anymore because it is too painful. We had that choice to do that or to stick with it and keep dreaming the dream” he noted.

In 1991, the first seeds of what was to come were sowed when Tipperary legend Len Gaynor crossed the divide to take up the mantle of manager. It was a dressing room alarmingly low on confidence and self-belief that he was inheriting, but Daly recalls how his message of reaching that provincial summit was one that resonated almost immediately.

“People were just not talking like that at the time. You would nearly be laughed at if you mentioned about winning a Munster championship. I remember the hiding we took against Waterford in 1989 and things were desperate at the time. People were struggling to see how we could push on from that, and we were wondering what all this intercounty stuff was about really. Len Gaynor coming along made a huge difference. He made you have that belief and personally I needed to hear that sort of stuff from someone like him. You just knew by him that all standards were going to be increased and that is what I wanted. I wanted to hear that we were going to give ourselves the best possible chance and what he had to say really just clicked with me. I had played for Clare for nearly ten years and won nothing really. You had that new brigade that came behind us then and they had that extra bit of belief that the older lads probably didn’t have” he said.

That younger brigade had seen their high point at underage level coincide with one of the lowest moments for their senior counterparts. The 1989 All-Ireland minor final had seen Clare create history by reaching a first decider, where ironically it was a Johnny Dooley inspired Offaly that edged the contest on the day. That was in stark contrast to the senior campaign of the same year which ended at the first hurdle with a 5-13 to 1-10 loss to Waterford. The arrival of Gaynor along with a hero from the past who would eventually take the reins saw a turn in fortunes in the early part of the decade. The minor stars of ’89 were now bedding in to become the senior stars of the future but consecutive Munster final defeats in 1993 and 1994 added to that sense of frustration. It would all change in that most memorable summer heat when “the mad fella from Feakle” got his hands on the whip.

“Loughnane was just that driven lunatic and he got worse afterwards too. He was working under Len and that probably frustrated him in that he wanted to be his own boss. There was no doubt that his focus was on speed and making sure your hurling was as quick as it could be. He had gone in on the agreement that he would take over for the 1995 season so everyone knew that was coming. We won the Clare championship in 1994 so we missed out on the initial training out in Crusheen and on the famous hill in Shannon. I remember meeting Seanie McMahon one day in town and he said this training we are at is gone bananas, keep going in the Munster club as long as ye can. Once we were out, I was nominated to ring him on the Tuesday and we were told to be in Crusheen on Thursday night or don’t bother coming at all” Daly laughed.

Having waited patiently to get full control, Loughnane quickly set about implementing his own regime and putting his stamp on proceedings. One of the measures were the infamous early morning sessions with the whistle blown to start the session as 6am approached. It took a while for that culture shock to abate but when it did, the tempo began to build toward the manic pace that would permeate the summer.

Defeat in the 1995 National League final threatened to drain the confidence once more, but Loughnane, Considine and McNamara rallied the troops for an all out assault on the championship. The late drama against Cork would lead to the most famous shoulder injury and sideline cut in the history of Clare hurling when Ollie Baker’s late intervention set up a third Munster final in a row.

“It could have gone against very easily that day against Cork but for me, the do or die was always going to be the final. If Cork had beaten us that day, I don’t think it would have been as devastating as losing a third final. The real pressure was on that final, even though what had happened against Cork was almost mystical too. You had the drama of Tuohy even being allowed to hit a sideline ball and Baker getting the touch. What is nearly forgotten is that they went down and hit the post before Frank Lohan comes out of nowhere to get the tackle in to prevent the goal. No one really wanted to celebrate that night though. It was full focus on getting back to training on the Tuesday night because we had already been through those days and it was now about winning the Munster final” he recalled.

1995 might have reaped the ultimate reward for Clare hurling in the form of the “missing person” who was found alive and well after 81 years. For Daly, it was the breaking of the provincial glass ceiling that was the real seminal moment.

“Munster was way more important I think. I was so emotional that day I struggled to get a speech out to be honest with you. We knew nothing about losing All-Ireland semi-finals or finals, but we knew all about losing Munster finals as players and supporters. I remember going up the steps and meeting some people that I knew and seeing them in tears. It meant so much to the older generation too who had finally seen the glory and knew that they may not see a whole pile more days like that. Loughnane had made sure that all the sideshows were taken away and there was no messing with tickets or any distractions like that. It was full focus on when that ball was thrown in and making sure we won every one of them. We were going to be ready to perform, and that was the focus more than going to win it which sounds like modern sports psychology. It was all about performing and the two words he used most in the dressing room at half-time were ‘no surrender’ and that was the attitude going down. We had surrendered badly in the previous two years but we were not going to do it again” said the Clarecastle man.

With the Munster title in the bag and paraded around the county, thoughts quickly began to turn to a first trip to the capital in 63 years where neighbours Galway were waiting. The euphoria of finally breaking the provincial duck took some time to abate but Daly has vivid memories of the night the reset button was pressed.

“It was a liberating moment and that week was magical as we toured the cup around the county. The big question asked though was if we were going to settle for that. The biggest stroke of management Ger ever pulled out was getting our heads back on that game against Galway. The first few sessions after the Munster final were just flogging with Mike Mac and we had 600 people around the field in Clareabbey looking at us. After the week we had, you can imagine how lads were and all these people watching you so that was a bit of a grounding moment. Ger didn’t open his mouth the same night, he just let Mike loose. We had a few days off between sessions and when we got back at it, it was poor. The whistle went after a while and we were sent to dressing room. He came in and he savaged each and every one of us. I remember Stephen McNamara genuinely had a stomach bug but had come to training still dressed from work. Loughnane left him to last and hit him into the stomach while telling him that ‘sick is coming out of Croke Park beaten’. We went back out and from then on, we were ready” he said.

Victory over Galway set up an All-Ireland final showdown with an Offaly team who were the defending champions after their smash and grab against Limerick 12 months prior. It was an opportunity that Daly feels everyone was driven to make the most of.

“When things start to go against you, which they did at times in both those games, you don’t really think back to the nights in Crusheen or Shannon because that is nearly in the subconscious at that stage. We knew had worked like absolute demons for this and we said we were not going to let it pass us no matter what misfortune comes over us. By that stage, there was incredible belief that it was going to happen for us. I went down to the Clare Inn with Sparrow on the Saturday to kill time in the jacuzzi and I remember just saying to him that we were going to win it. There were all those moments like the lads getting out to take the gate off the hinges which summed up the belief that nothing was going to stop us. Even when Johnny Pilkington got the second goal, I remember running back out the field and the Canal End came back to life and got us going again. There was just a sense that something good was going to happen and that it was going to be different from all the other days with Clare where some misfortune came our way to deny us. The difference in attitude was just incredible and we saw that in the semi-final too against a very good Galway team. We knew we had come through that and the Munster win so the belief was there. Offaly were the champions and were a serious team under Eamon Cregan but we had our chance and we were going to take it” said Daly.

Daly himself played more than the captain’s part on the day, including that late 65m free to edge Clare back in front. It came after another long range effort from the Magpie had led to Eamon Taffe’s iconic goal. It was a free earlier in the contest that put the notion of hitting a few more into Daly’s mind.

“I hadn’t a puc got after the first few minutes and there was not much happening. We got a free well back, and I used to love the hurley I had because I had it for years. I hit that free and remember thinking it could go all the way over. It dropped into the edge of the square and Conor Clancy almost got a touch on it before it was cleared. Late on then Frank Lohan burst out with the ball and was fouled and he threw the ball to me. Seanie McMahon looked over and I said I’ll hit it. I was going for the point of course, but then you talk about fate and things happening that are meant for you. It dropped down and there was no one better than Taffe in that position and he buried it so you really felt it was your day then. When the last 65m free came around I didn’t really know what time was left so thankfully it went over. Sometimes I wake up from a bad dream with a shudder thinking that I had missed it and Offaly went up and got the winner. Seanie and I often spoke about it since and he says he knew by me that I was not going to miss it. He must have been fairly confident because Clarecastle met St Joseph’s in the championship soon after and it was 0-10 each late on. We got a free and I had to call out James Healy to hit it. I couldn’t face down the village if I missed it so James put it over to beat them. The previous week was no problem because I said to myself that this is what you have been dreaming about all your life now go and take it” he laughed.

 

You can listen to the full interview with Daly below