ON THE week of the 1995 Munster Final a flag pole was planted on Dr Tommy Daly’s grave on the hill of Tulla — it wasn’t windswept that week because it was a long, hot and benign summer like it was 40 years earlier when Clare and Limerick also crossed sticks in the provincial final. Still, there’s always enough of a wind on that hill for flags to flutter and so it was that the saffron and blue did its thing ahead of the big game. Many times it had been planted, in hope and expectation and a nod to the ‘greatest goal man to ever clutch a ball’, that he might send something Clare’s way. In ’55 until Dermot Kelly took a wrecking ball to Clare history; in ’67 when they came again; on four separate final occasions in the 1970s and all the way to 1995 when the habit of hurling lifetimes wasn’t about to be broken. In …
Read More »Cratloe ‘a shining example to all clubs’
CRATLOE are “a shining example to all clubs because of how much they value the club scene” is the view of Kilmallock manager and former Clare hurler, Ger O’Loughlin. “I have the utmost respect for the lads from Clare. When I needed lads to answer the call during my time at Clare manager, they responded and they were still in their teens. They have come on so well. “It will be a huge task for us to overcome the game they play, as there are so many areas they could beat you in. It will be a huge obstacle for us,” said the Clarecastle man, who helped his club win the Munster title in 1997. O’Loughlin continued, “When we set out this year, the primary target was to win the Limerick title. It’s not easy to get out of Limerick, as there are four or five strong contenders. We were absolutely delighted to get through that campaign and we had …
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