*Éire Óg’s Danny Russell. Photograph: Ruth Griffin.
THERE WAS a pressure like no other on Éire Óg to reach the summit of Clare hurling and end a thirty five year wait for honours, their longest serving player has said.
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Danny Russell was only a few months old when Michael Glynn captained Éire Óg to beat O’Callaghans Mills in the 1990 county final. On Sunday, he claimed the MyClubShop.ie/The Clare Echo top scorer award for the championship and a senior county medal as David Reidy lifted the Canon Hamilton into the air.
Having won an U14 championship with Éire Óg in 2002 and an U21 in 2010, Sunday was only the third time the talented forward tasted county final success with the Ennis club in Cusack Park.
Getting over the line was an “unbelievable” feeling, he said. “It is relief more than anything, in the second half it went against us but we hung on, dug it out, we’re delighted, we’re over the moon, we’ve really ground it out, there was just something about us this year I don’t know what it was but I just felt that it was going to take a real good team to beat us, everything seemed to be right”.
At thirty six years old, he was the eldest of the starting fifteen followed by centre-back Aaron Fitzgerald (34), full-back Ciaran Russell (33), captain David Reidy (32), wing back Liam Corry (31) and full-forward Shane O’Donnell (31). The window of success for this bunch was narrowing and it was certainly something that was on his mind leading up to the final.
“There was savage pressure, I felt it all week, I was a nervous wreck and I have no problem admitting that, I felt savage pressure and the heart was going since Thursday. In work then you have lads driving you mad but you are trying to play it cool but you’re not cool at all, I said before the game to use the nerves as a positive and try get that extra bit out of yourself and I think we did that. I just saw Loftus there, he came out with one or two balls, he’s an unbelievable player, Reidy’s last twenty minutes well for the full game but the last twenty minutes were outstanding and you need that because if you want to win you need your big guys playing well”.
He continued, “I would get nervous but I don’t let on, I’d be awful nervous, I think it is normal and a good thing, if you’re not nervous you’re not going to give it everything”.
A one point county final loss to Ballyea in 2022 was almost the end of his hurling career, he admitted. “At the time I didn’t think I would come back but I’m delighted I kept at it, the young lads coming in was the difference, the boys that stayed and kept at it, look at Fitz, Russell and Corry, the condition they are in and they are well in into their thirties, when you have a core group of leaders and a load of young lads coming in that can hurl, that is the difference”.
In the lead-up to the final, defender Liam Corry pointed out that Russell himself was in peak condition. “I don’t know am I moving as well, I’m slowing down but I’d like to think I’m smarter than ever”.
Finishing with five points saw him pip Tony Kelly for the top scorer award. Conditions were difficult for freetakers, he flagged. “The wind was unusual, it was swirling, I know Duggan missed a few frees and I missed a couple myself but it was grand, it felt like it was there for us and I never felt it was going to get away from us unless they snuck a goal or two, it was a funny feeling, I don’t want to say I knew we were going to win but you knew we were really going to go for it and that was the feeling at half time”.
Éire Óg winning the Clare SHC was a source of immense joy for Danny. “It has been a long road, I’m delighted for everyone, the work everyone has put in, the likes of Corry and Fitz, the work to keep yourself playing and in condition when you get into your thirties when you have kids is very hard. I’m just delighted for the group, I don’t care about myself I’m just delighted for the group”.
His productivity at Essilor may have been impacted by the nerves but the celebrations will necessitate his absence from work for a few days this week. “I’ve the week off, we’ve a few good lads to celebrate, we’re calm at the moment but I’ve a feeling it will be lively later, we’ve the football next week so maybe the dual lads will take it handy”.
