The Clare minor hurlers take on Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-final this Sunday. Sports Editor Seamus Hayes reports

 

APPEARING in the All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship semi-final for a third successive season is not something that many Clare hurling followers would have envisaged a few years ago.
Clare’s record at minor level, in terms of titles won, wasn’t too impressive but things have taken an upward turn, much to the delight of hurling fans across the county.
The record books show that Clare’s only All-Ireland minor success came in 1997. Two years ago, the Banner minors came very close to adding to that win but had to give best to Kilkenny on a 0-14 to 2-10 scoreline. The Leinster champions went into that final as raging hot favourites but they were made fight all the way by Clare.
Last year, Clare went out at the semi-final stage to Galway, who went on to win the title and are still in the race for this year’s crown.
While Clare fans expected this year’s side to be competitive, not many would have predicted the team’s progress to this stage of the championship.
They lost their opening-round tie to Waterford but bounced back with an impressive win over Cork and then beat Limerick in the semi-final, when extra time was needed to secure their progress to the decider.
Meanwhile, Tipperary had won their place in the final with an emphatic win over Waterford and the Premier side carried the favourites’ tag into the decider.
They eventually justified that rating but Clare had reason to rue missed opportunities when they looked back on that final. There are many who believe a repeat clash is on the cards in the All-Ireland final but Clare are not looking that far down the road.
Team boss Eamonn Fennessy is focusing his charges’ minds on Sunday’s semi-final date with the Dubs, which throws in at 1.30pm.
“As has been our policy all year, we will name the team on Friday evening, two days before the game,” he said this week when confirming there are no injury worries ahead of the contest.
An easy quarter-final win over Down has set up this week’s game. Shane Taylor was replaced early in that tie due to a muscle injury but he is fit for Sunday’s contest, while Alex Morey has recovered from the injury that kept him out of that game and is likely to be back in the starting 15.
Goalkeeper Eibhear Quilligan, together with team captain Shane O’Brien, Shane O’Donnell and Jamie Shanahan are survivors from last year’s starting line-up. The experienced and versatile Shanahan is a key figure in the side. Central defenders Brian Carey and Conor Cleary have been in great form all season, while Bobby Duggan has been the side’s top scorer.
The Clare forward line has struggled a bit at times this season and if the Banner side is to progress this week, this sector will have to do well.
Dublin look to be a stronger side physically and, at this level, that is likely to give them an advantage. It is believed that the Dubs will win this one narrowily but, no doubt, all involved with Clare are determined to prove otherwise.

 

 

Dream come true for Miltown’s Cleary

PLAYING in the latter stages of any championship in Croke Park is a dream come true for any GAA player, says Miltown’s Conor Cleary, who will line out for the Clare minor hurlers on Sunday.
Coming from the heartland of Clare football, many will be surprised to see Cleary fill a central position in a hurling side but the Miltown teenager has been prominent in a selection of hurling games all season.
“My cousin David was playing hurling with Kilmaley and myself and Eoin [twin brother] went along and it started from there. It’s been a great year with Kilmaley as we participated in the U-21A title, which involved a number of replays. It was great experience to get so many high profile games at A level.”
Attending St Flannan’s College has also helped Cleary to develop his hurling skills. “We were there or thereabouts in the Harty Cup for the past two years. It was great to get to play colleges hurling with Flannan’s and it helped my hurling greatly,” he acknowledged.
“We were unlucky not to win a Harty Cup. We had two serious teams in the last two years and there was only a puck of a ball in it. The experience I have gained has helped big time,” he said.
With a little luck, Cleary could still be involved in both the minor hurling and football championships.
“We came close to beating Kerry and they are now through to the semi-final of the All-Ireland title race. We were very disappointed to lose out to Kerry but hopefully that result will help drive us on and get something from this.”
Cleary isn’t reading too much into the challenge game with Dublin earlier this year. “It was our first game and the management were trying out a lot of lads. I wouldn’t take much from it,” he said.
“Playing in Croke Park is a dream come true. It’s great to get the opportunity. It’s great for the lads who were there last year to get back and have another go. We have trained hard all year and, thankfully, everything has gone ok,” the Miltown teenager added.
He is expecting a tough contest on Sunday. “They won’t be anything soft.  They are a physical team. They have been there. They know the big-day scene. A lot of them have played hurling and football on big days in Croke Park,” he said.
Cleary’s focus is very much on this championship at the moment and, so far, he has resisted all approaches to play adult football and hurling with Miltown and Kilmaley.
“All the focus is on the minor. It’s not often Clare get to this stage and we will concentrate on that at the moment,” he said.
The week started well for the young Miltown man. Last Friday, his greyhound, Kilcorcoran Manu, trained by his uncle Frank in Quilty, won a 525 race at the festival meeting in Galway.
The coming week promises to be a huge one for Cleary, who hopes to help Clare progress to the All-Ireland final on Sunday, after which attention will switch to Wednesday when he will get his Leaving Certificate results.
“Hopefully it will be a great week,” said Cleary, who hopes to attend NUI, Galway next year and continue his studies and his hurling and football. For now, the focus is firmly on Croke Park and Clare’s clash with the Dubs.

 

They have no fear of Dublin – Fennessy

MINOR hurling manager Eamonn Fennessy is confident that Clare “will be there or thereabouts” if they hurl for 60 minutes on Sunday.
Speaking this week as he put final plans in place for a third successive All-Ireland minor hurling semi-final appearance by Clare, he reported “there are no injury problems and all are in good form”.
Reflecting on the team’s semi-final win over Ulster champions Down, Fennessy said, “We went to Mullingar to take the game to Down and keep hurling for the 60 minutes. There were times when we slipped back from that.
“Down are better than they showed that day. We didn’t let them settle on the ball. That result got us back to winning ways after our Munster final loss,” he said.
The Sixmilebridge man explained that Clare played Dublin at the start of the year.
“They are a big strong side, a formidable team. They have been flying at this level in recent years, as is shown by their success in winning the last two Leinster titles. They beat Kilkenny this year and any team that beats any Kilkenny team is a good one.”
According to Fennessy, “Dublin have an experienced management that has been together for the past couple of years. Two years ago, Dublin were fancied to win the All-Ireland but we pipped them in the semi-final. They went to the final last year but lost out to Galway. They will have learned from those campaigns.”
The Clare manager pointed out, “When we played them in DCU early in the year, it was a cracking game with nothing between the teams.
“I believe that if we hurl for the 60 minutes on Sunday, we will be there with a chance.
“These are a great bunch to work with and they have put in a savage effort this season. They are a very honest bunch and they have no fear of Dublin.
“At the start of the year, no one gave us a chance of being involved at this stage. This is another game and one we are capable of winning and that’s what we have to focus on,” said Fennessy who has been part of the minor management team for the past two years.
Being involved at this level for the past two campaigns will give him an insight into what lies ahead for the players this weekend.
“We will be trying to get them to focus on the game. As was the case for the last two years, we won’t travel until Sunday morning. We had a lively game among ourselves last Sunday.
“We trained on Tuesday and we will train again this Thursday, before naming the team for the game on Friday evening,” he concluded.