The Dawn of Clare’s greatest hurling day

Clare’s minors will be hoping to bridge a 26-year gap on Sunday as 1997 was the year that the first and only All-Ireland minor title came to the county. Joe Ó Muircheartaigh recalls the win from the most famous day in Clare hurling history.

We’ve heard it before but we’ll say again: when explaining away the fortunes of a team, if you go back far enough you’ll always find that their darkest hour comes before the dawn of greater days.
It can be said of Brian O’Connell’s minor team of the past two years that had the legacy of the 40-point defeat to Cork in 2021 hanging over them until it didn’t and at once they started out on a journey that has led to Sunday’s All-Ireland final.
It can be said of the last Clare team to reach an All-Ireland minor final – the 2010 team that in the words of joint-manager Gerry O’Connor were “a beaten docket” in many people’s eyes after being beaten by Waterford in the opening round of the championship, but then never looked back after Tony Kelly announced himself on the big stage with a winner against Tipperary.
And, most famously of all, perhaps, the only All-Ireland minor win had a similar trajectory – from losing a Munster final from a winning position in Páirc Uí Chaoimh to lifting the Irish Press Cup on a never-to-be-forgotten day for the county at GAA headquarters.
The day the double was done.
The day minor magic filled the Dublin 3 air before the seniors stepped up and became in the immortal words of the immortal Con Houlihan “the most deserving champions of all time” because they beat the three giants of tradition in Cork, Tipperary and Kilkenny “and for good measure beat Tipp again”.
It started with the minors and it started with their darkest hour. They led the Munster final by six points in the second half, only for two goals inside the last ten minutes by 16-year-old substitute Dónal Shelly to give Tipperary a 2-13 to 1-13 win.
“It was awful but we lost it on the line,” recalled manager Kevin Kennedy. “They made one switch, bringing Paul Kelly from full-forward to centre-back. We didn’t react to it and he completely dominated the game from there.
“Kelly pucked ball after ball down on top of us. Shelly got two goals in the 53rd and 59th minutes to beat us. Management had to take the blame. We should have made changes. We were in trouble at midfield as well, but did nothing,” he added.
“Losing the Munster final really hurt us,” recalled captain John Reddan. “We had that game won. It was hard to take and I’ll never forget the feeling in the dressing room after we lost it. We should have had the cup with us, but we had nothing, it was hard to look ahead in those few minutes after the game,” he added.
It looked bleak for Clare, but in the words of Kennedy, “We were lucky with the draw” that offered them the softer route back into the All-Ireland series in what was the first year of the back door.
“We got Antrim, which gave us a great chance of making a real go of the back door,” he admitted. “Playing Antrim gave us the opportunity of getting our confidence back. Had we drawn Galway I doubt if we would have been able to pick ourselves up. We made the most of our good fortune and beat Antrim by 0-13 to 1-4 in Clones. We were in Croke Park.”
That Croke Park game brought Clare into opposition with Kilkenny. This was Kilkenny that included the likes of Henry Shefflin (10), Noel Hickey (9) and Michael Kavanagh (8), who would go on to win 27 senior All-Ireland medals between them.
There would be no minor All-Ireland in ’97 though, even if the Cats were roaring hot favourites against Clare in their semi-final. “No one expected the minor team to do well,” said Kennedy. “At the start of the year Clare played Kilkenny in a League game in Nowlan Park. We had a minor challenge the same day but we didn’t show our full hand.
“A lot of the Clare supporters were there for the minor match and after we were well beaten the story went back that Clare had a poor minor team. It was like that all year, there was no pressure on us,” he added.
“Back then there was no such thing as names,” said Reddan. “We wouldn’t know that many names from people in other counties, so we didn’t have fear of any team. We didn’t know who Henry Shefflin was and weren’t afraid of Kilkenny in the semi-final. It’s great at minor, you play with a lot of freedom and games at minor are great games to watch.”
“For the Kilkenny game we travelled by train and went to Parnell Park for a puck around,” remembered Kennedy. “We got to Croke Park early, maybe half an hour before we should have arrived. Some of these lads had never been to Croke Park before. We sat in the stand and the players got a feel for the place.”
When it came to the game Clare took to Croke Park like it was their back garden. Heroic defence kept Henry et al at bay, while Gearóid Considine’s tour de force was at midfield that yielded 0-4 from play powered Clare to a 1-13 to 1-9 win.
The pain of Pairc Uí Chaoimh was forgotten about – the darkest hour had given way to the dawn of an All-Ireland final day on the second Sunday in September.
“The All-Ireland final was a day to be enjoyed,” recalled Reddan. “Be relaxed beforehand and don’t worry about the nerves. Living the dream of playing in an All-Ireland final. It doesn’t get much better than that.
“I remember we went up to Dublin on the train and had a bit of craic. We were very relaxed and we got to walk around Croke Park for a while beforehand to take in the atmosphere. There weren’t many in the ground at the start, but the Clare crowd in Dublin was massive and it was a brilliant feeling just to be part of it and playing in an All-Ireland final.
“It was something to cherish really, that’s even before we pucked a ball. At half-time, the place was nearly full and the atmosphere in the ground was unreal. The roar when we came out for the second half from the Clare crowd who were all in the ground by then was brilliant. You don’t forget that.”
And you certainly don’t forget when you win, even if it was a close run thing in the end after Clare looked to have built up a winning lead by half-time when enjoying a 1-9 to 0-4 interval lead, with the two Brian McMahons combining for the crucial score on 16 minutes with the Newmarket man’s long delivery finished to the net by the Kilmaley man.
It was more than crucial – it won the game, as Galway roared back on the turnover, restricted their opponents to just two points from Mark Lennon and McMahon (Newmarket-on-Fergus) frees, but fell short as Clare held on for a 1-11 to 1-9 win.
“I remember Stephen Morgan driving home a goal from a semi-penalty and then blasting a second one over the bar, so it was a close run thing, but we held on in the end,” recalled Reddan.
“We were really hanging on in the end,” said Kennedy. “We were a point up with a few minutes to go and then ‘Beano’ McMahon scored a great point from a free. Then they started going for a goal. They had a free right at the end. Danny Duggan stopped it and the ball was played out. Colm Mullen won possession and the whistle went. It was wonderful. I felt so happy and fulfilled,” he added.
“We weren’t going to lose it because we didn’t want to be the Clare side to lose an All-Ireland” said Reddan. “The seniors drove us on. First off them going so well was a great incentive to get to an All-Ireland final and those of us on the minor team would like to think that us winning the title gave the seniors a great lift.
“Having two teams playing in Croke Park on the same day and winning was unbelievable and to be part of it was something else. It’s something we’ll never forget.”
Sunday can be another never-to-be-forgotten day.