O’Donnell adding result to injury

This week’s Clare Champion includes a very special, 16-page souvenir supplement to mark Clare’s success in the All-Ireland Hurling Final. In this supplement we talk to Tony Kelly, Brian Lohan, Shane O’Donnell, John Conlon, Conor Cleary, Cathal Malone, Eibhear Quilligan, Brendan Bugler, Pat O’Donnell, Tommy Corbett, Deirdre Murphy, Davy Fitzgerald and many more. We also have all the colour from before, during and after the game, the excitement from the homecoming events on Monday night and a souvenir team poster. This collector’s item is in the shops now.
Below, Eoin Brennan chats to Shane O’Donnell.

Shane O’Donnell’s fairytale All-Ireland Final return nearly didn’t happen on Sunday after suffering a hamstring tear only five days before.
Having capped off his senior debut year at a 19 year old by lowering the Rebels in spectacular fashion with 3-3, clear National Player of the Year favourite O’Donnell was on the precipice of missing the decider, having been instrumental in getting the coiunty there.
However, just as in the semi-final when an incessantly bleeding split finger threatened to curtail his afternoon, the resolute Éire Óg warrior wasn’t about to succumb to any setback and having survived the warm-up, he duly led the line superbly.
While his loss to the starting line-up would have been a crushing blow to the squad and supporters, instead his resilience sparked an early revival as his eel-like elasticity teed up Aidan McCarthy for a lifeline goal before adding two vital points.
Making his decision to play all the more worthwhile when contributing handsomely to Clare’s rousing victory.
“It’s incredible,” began O’Donnell on how it felt to collect his second All-Ireland medal. “It’s actually hard to put into words which isn’t the answer you want but it’s very hard to describe how I’m feeling. It’s just an outpouring of emotion that’s probably ten years in the making.
“It’s the greatest day of my life anyway and speaking for the lads, it’s fair to say it’s the greatest day of their lives as well. Sometimes you think over the years, you might never get back and to see this is just incredible.
“We had a lot of turnover after we won [in 2013] so to bring a new group through and to celebrate like this is just incredible. This is the greatest thing you could ever do. Days like this are why you play sport for 20 or 30 years, hoping that you’ll get this opportunity.
“To do it twice, I wasn’t sure that we’d get back there but this group has been absolutely exceptional.”
Following such an tumultuous pre-match period of emotions and rehab off the field, to then be an integral part of such an equally challenging rollercoaster on the hallowed turf of Croke Park made for an unprecedented week in what had already been an unprecedented season.
“The crowd has been unbelievable with us, they’ve always believed. Brian and the management team have always believed in us. I think after a certain amount of times that they say it, that just kind of rubs off on you and you hear this narrative.
“After the Munster final where we lose three in a row, there is this narrative that we’ll never be able to come back.
“It never felt like that in the camp. That is testament to the management and the atmosphere they’ve built. There was never that kind of panic or concern that we had lost.
“Each game is really difficult out there, so when you lose, it is like, okay, fine, move on to the next one. So, I think this year we just broke down that semi-final that we were struggling with, and today could have went any way.
But we’re delighted that we finally emerged on top.”