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*Éire Óg supporters in the Town End of Cusack Park. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
NOT ALONE did they create history in winning successive Clare SFC titles for Éire Óg but wing back Ciaran Russell acknowledged the importance of their win in inspiring the next crop of club talent.
Youngsters flocked around Éire Óg players at the final whistle to get autographs and pictures with some of the county champions. Ciaran Russell was in demand, he took his time with each one, asking them how they are and making them feel part of this historic day.
“We have to be role models and they inspire the next crop of players. I had heroes growing up and you have to make the kids feel special as it will be their turn one day please God,” Russell told The Clare Echo.
As one of the dual players who played in the hurling decider losing by a single point to Ballyea, Ciaran stressed that the footballers’ win was for everyone in the club. “Losing last week hurt. I’m not going to lie, I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it but today we said we would play for the club. This is a victory for the whole club, parents, coaches, hurlers, footballers, everybody really. We wanted to make every single Éire Óg person feel like winners today. We wanted to make sure we didn’t feel like we did last Sunday and I hope that everyone involved with this club will enjoy tonight in the clubhouse”.
A regular in Colm Collins’ Clare team, Ciaran admitted that the county final was a very frustrating game to play in. “I felt we were losing at half time even though we were two up. I was just so frustrated. It was a nightmare game to be honest. Thankfully though we have shown that we can play against any style. Today was a tough test, one of the toughest tests in the two years of success because they will frustrate you. We had a chat at half time and we are lucky we have lads with great self belief. They make you feel confident that if we kept going, kept working hard that we would get the victory”.
Celebrations are first and foremost on the agenda but the Garda was anxious for Éire Óg to make their mark in Munster. “We must celebrate this for a few days, county titles are not easy win so we have to enjoy it but we must then refocus. It’s about the next sixty minutes and we feel we have unfinished business in Munster. We have to aim high because we have some great players, some great players coming through and some players who didn’t play today so the future is bright and we will savour every moment,” he said with a smile of a two time county champion across his face.
