*Photograph: Gary Collins
BEFORE CLARE’S hurlers begin their preparations for the 2024 season, they’ve been boosted by the decision of both John Conlon and Shane O’Donnell to commit to the county colours for another year.
Inter-county panels cannot begin gathering collectively until November 24th but already Clare will have received a lift with two of their top-performers Conlon and O’Donnell opting to remain involved in the set-up.
Thirty four year old Conlon confirmed to The Clare Echo he has decided he will continue to line out with Clare next year for what will be his sixteenth championship campaign with the seniors. O’Donnell has also put an end to speculation on his involvement by stating he’ll be back for the 2024 championship, he was first joined the panel in 2013.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, John said, “I said I’d give it another year, Shane O’Donnell was onto me to say ‘make sure you give it another year’ so I will be going back. We’ll look after that in January but delighted”.
Conlon is hopeful that some of his Clonlara teammates who won the Clare SHC will also be joining him and Ian Galvin on the panel, “There’s a few of them there who have done really well throughout the year and deserve to be in there”.
Former Clare hurler, Darach Honan speaking on The Water Break, a video podcast exclusive to subscribers of The Clare Echo praised the condition of Conlon as central to Clonlara’s success. “John is playing the best hurling of his career at the moment, I think he looks faster and stronger now at thirty four than he was in at twenty five or twenty six, the work he has done on his body and getting himself physically right to give the performances he’s given this year,” Honan maintained.
Several people have played a part to assist with this, Conlon told The Clare Echo. “That’s testament to Adrian O’Brien with the strength and conditioning with Clare, in fairness Brian (Lohan) has been great to me, I don’t have to really go training too hard until February, as you get older you just have to be a bit cuter. I’ve been going up to Shane Flynn in Westmeath doing work with him, he has been super to me.
“I feel super at the moment and it’s all testament to the people I’ve been working with. You have to work hard yourself, Donal said before the match ‘think of all the work we’ve done, all the running in the bank from the winter and when it’s raining that you’ve to get out here and work’, it makes it all the sweeter when you win”.
Ennis native O’Donnell will be a central part of Lohan’s plans for the 2024 championship with the forward set to play no part in the Allianz National Hurling League. “The first time I took the league off, it was an effort to reduce my time on the pitch from a health perspective,” The last two years, I have had the opportunity to come back in March with a renewed level of enthusiasm”.
Calls to remove pre-season competitions have been backed by the Éire Óg clubman. “When you have an opportunity to have a longer time off, you come back far more enthusiastic. I don’t think it detracts at all from your ability to perform at all on championship days”.
On the 2024 season, Shane said he was “massively looking forward” to it. “Obviously, Limerick are going for a huge milestone and we will see what we can do in that respect. We believe that we are able to beat Limerick. We did it once this year and unfortunately it was the less important of the two times we met them but next year will be another opportunity”.
