*Ronan Kilroy with his father John and the Munster U20 hurling trophy. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
STARVED of silverware at the U20 grade, Clare brought an immense appetite for success according to one of their leaders, Ronan Kilroy.
Coverage in association with McKeoghs Hardware, Ballina-Killaloe
Kilroy is the only member of the Clare U20 panel to have played senior championship for his county and his colleagues on both squads have lauded his leadership in both set-ups this year.
Ronan popped up with points on the tenth and thirty eighth minute from centre forward in Clare’s Munster U20 final win over Tipperary on Wednesday, describing their penalty shootout win as “absolutely unbelievable”. He said, “I’m not really able to sum it up, when the final whistle blew I didn’t know if it was sudden death or we were taking five again, I just dropped to my knees, it is absolutely unbelievable, there’s no probably no better way to win it but fair play to the Tipp lads, they are a credit to themselves, they have beaten us in Harty finals and U20 finals before, I’m over the moon”.
His application and workrate has been evident since his time as a county minor, Ronan has been well noted for his turnovers, hooks and blocks but none were as inspiring as his diving block on Stefan Tobin with seventy six minutes played as Clare led by a point in extra time. His intervention even prompted S&C coach Conor Shannon to leap to his feet in celebration.
Recalling the block, Kilroy remarked, “The dive made it look a bit better. One thing we go for is the tackles, it is one of the biggest signs in the dressing rooms is on tackles and it is simple, if you work harder and tackle more than the other team then you will come out on top no matter what. We always say how can another team beat us if we work harder than them, that is what we go off”.
En route to winning the Munster title, Clare’s character and trait of leaving it late was evident in their victories over Waterford, Limerick, Tipperary and Cork. “It seems like this group doesn’t like winning easy alright, it does make it extra special winning like that, it is a credit to the subs and the thirty eight man panel too, they are all impacting coming on, it is great. The thirty eight man panel, Terence and his team have all been brilliant,” the Ennis native commented.
Balancing commitments between senior and U20 is no easy feat, the UL student told The Clare Echo. “It is slightly tough at times especially considering I’m playing corner back for the seniors and up in the forwards with the U20s but I am enjoying it so much, I’ve gained so much experience from being inside with them especially the leaders, like I am one of the older lads here on this U20 team and I’m taking advice from the leaders on the senior team and bringing it back here which is great, the standard people set and how lads go about sessions, I’m so delighted to be in Brian’s team”.
With his displays in saffron and blue, Ronan has always done his club the Banner immensely proud and he felt their success in capturing a provincial title achieved their objective of making the Clare supporters satisfied. “We were starved of silverware at U20, we lost three Munster finals in the last few years so it is great for the Banner county and to make them supporters proud”.
