*Clare captain, Tony Kelly with manager Brian Lohan. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
“IN Clare hurling like a religion and Brian Lohan is like our God,” said Tony Kelly as he captained the county to All-Ireland glory.
Croke Park had a full-house as Clare delivered a dramatic one point win over Cork following extra time to be crowned All-Ireland champions for the fifth time.
One of Clare’s greatest hurlers, Tony Kelly had the honour of walking up the steps of the Hogan Stand to collect the Liam MacCarthy Cup from GAA President, Jarlath Burns.
Speaking from the steps of the Hogan Stand, the Ballyea man touched on how the side kept bouncing back from near-misses to take the top prize in the hurling world. “This Clare team has been maligned for three or four years for being nearly there or for knocking on the door, well today we kicked that door down. Days like this don’t happen very often in a day like Clare, it takes a very special group of players to achieve what we’ve done today, this group of players have gone through setback after setback, we’ve shrugged it off year after year and came back for more. We’ve some of the finest hurlers to ever come out of our county and to ever play the game in Ireland as well, this group of players not just the twenty six on the field but the forty two we have every night of the week training and pushing us”.
Paying tribute to the Clare management, he said, “We’re lucky in Clare to have such massive support but a great team is never anything without good people at the top, we’ve savage men who have done savage work down through the years and have stuck by us since they came in, the likes of Shane Hassett, Brendan Bugler, Tommy Corbett, Ken Ralph and Lukasz our S&C coach”.
Kelly also listed off the support staff including their nutritionist Gavin, psychologist Nollaig, kit men Liam and Padjoe plus the stats and video analysis team.
Fine praise for Clare’s manager Brian Lohan was issued by Kelly. “This group of players has been put together by one man at the very top, in Clare hurling is like a religion and Brian Lohan is like our God. I can’t speak highly enough of Brian Lohan and all players would say the same, a tough exterior but he would do absolutely anything for you inside our camp. He is a legend of the game from his playing days and now he has added another string to his bow as a manager”.
Clare County Board’s “savage support” was referenced by Tony who commended Club Clare for “working tirelessly” behind the scenes.
Crusheen’s Pat O’Donnell continued backing was hailed by the four-time All Star. “Clare have won four All-Irelands in about thirty years, it is a testament to Pat O’Donnell that his name is on the front for every All-Ireland winning team in that period”.
Credit to the patience of the county’s supporters was also issued by the captain. “Since Brian Lohan came over this team in 2020 ye have been there cheering us on, we have given ye nearly days, we have brought ye to tears on other days, today on behalf of the team this is a thank you for all your support over the years. We’re looking forward to seeing ye in Ennis tomorrow night”.
