*A delighted David McNamara keeps a tight grip on the Jack Daly. Photograph: Ruth Griffin.
DAVID McNamara was one of the Éire Óg super six to start in both the football and hurling finals as they claimed a historic senior championship double.
The Clare Echo’s online coverage of the Clare SFC is with thanks to The Shannon Springs Hotel.
Midfield for the footballers and wing forward, ‘Truck’ as he is affectionately known has been in a purring engine room for Éire Óg to lift both the Canon Hamilton and Jack Daly within the space of a week.
It’s been the stuff of dreams to claim both senior championships in the space of a week, the club’s first SHC title since 1990 and his fourth football medal. “It’s been unbelievable, it’s a pinch me moment and it hasn’t fully sunk in but I’m sure it will over the next few weeks, it is absolutely unbelievable”.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, the twenty eight year old admitted it was difficult to switch from the high of winning the Clare SHC to switching the focus back to football and trying to win successive championships. “I’d be lying to you if I said it wasn’t a mental battle, you’re coming from the high of the hurling final last week and then having to come into the club on Monday evening for a meeting on the football, I was going out of the meeting going ‘Jesus Christ what’s going on’ but we got going on Tuesday and Thursday night with training, the focus was fully there and we were a bit flat at the start but we got going and that was the most important thing”.
Éire Óg felt the pressure when they trailed by four points with seventeen minutes of normal time remaining. “It was very tough, I’m not going to lie the pressure was on there in the second half, we went four down at one stage but we got going then, I’m not really sure was it a case of we got going and they got tired at the same time but we kicked on and our bench gave us a nice impact as well, we kicked on and in the last five minutes we tacked on a few more points to put more of a gloss on the scoreline. It was a real battle, a real good final”.
When Jack Joyce kicked a two pointer to reduce the deficit back to two heading into the final quarter, David was among those driving his teammates on with encouragement. “We always had it in us, it was a case of getting it out of us. We were a small bit flat, I don’t know was that from last week, we definitely were a bit flat and they caught us on the hop definitely, we were always in the game but once we got level in the second half I felt we were always going to kick on, with the lads we have we did and I’m delighted we did”.
Celebrations will be enjoyed in Ennis for the week, “It is unbelievable to be honest, it is only when you are meeting lads on the field afterwards and meeting family that it starts to settle in, it will start to settle in this week, we’re going to enjoy it, we have to enjoy it”.
No analysis meetings are planned for this week, he confirmed. “I don’t think we’ll have a meeting for a few weeks, I’m going to enjoy this, I’ll eat what I want and drink what I want”.
