*Dara Kennedy. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
CENTRE back Dara Kennedy has provided a new lease of life to Clare’s minor side since returning from injury.
A superb performance in the number six jersey from Dara in Clare’s two point All-Ireland semi-final win over Cork saw him named the Electric Ireland Minor Championship Player of the Week.
His absence had been felt when the counties met in the second round in Dr Daly Park when the Rebels recorded a seven point win. Kennedy has seamlessly slotted into the spine of the Clare defence, making timely blocks but also distributing a quality supply of ball into the lively Banner attack.
Credentials in the half-back line were not licked off a stone as Dara’s two uncles Eamonn and John were wing backs on the first Ballyea team to contest a Clare SHC final in 2003 as they fell short against Clarecastle. John captained Ballyea while Clarecastle were captained by Ken Ralph who delivered a man of the match display and his son Rory is expected to be wing forward for the minors this Saturday.
From Drumquin “out by the shop”, Dara’s mother hails from the parish with his father from nearby Labasheeda. He noted that Ballyea have been consistent, their final record is something he would like to amend over time, “we’ve got to the U13 final and lost, the U15 final and lost, the Féile final and lost, got to the U16A final and lost so we’ve lost every final we’ve been in. It’s been to a different opposition every time which makes it tough”.
During St Flannan’s Dr Harty Cup campaign, Dara was at midfield when they lost the provincial final to Thurles CBS by a goal at the beginning of February. Subsequent to this, he picked up a quad injury which ruled him out of their Croke Cup campaign as they exited in the quarter-finals to Presentation Athenry. “Then I went back training for about six weeks and then the week of the Tipp game it went in training so I was out for about a month with that. I missed the first and second round,” he recalled.
Watching on from the sidelines as Clare beat Tipperary but lost to Cork was difficult, Dara explained. “It was tough to watch because you want to be playing in them games so it was tough. It was hard to watch but you’d be watching in training, doing your bit and getting yourself right, that is all you can do really”. He has grabbed the chance since returning to the fold, “It is a privilege to be playing, it’s what you grew up wanting to do so I’m enjoying every minute of it I suppose”.
How Clare build the play has improved as the season has progressed, he maintained. “We’ve been working on everything, as the year has gone on we’ve got better at everything, we’ve been building play, sticking to our game plan, getting good delivery into the forwards”.
Studying in St Flannan’s College is a big help for hurling development and their Harty Cup setup is identical to inter-county in terms of standards, Dara said. “You just have to look at the Flannan’s coaches, Bugler, Tony, Jamesie, it speaks for itself really, they are brilliant, it is full-on training and is proper inter-county stuff, all their trainings is savage. They balanced it well, they let us hurl away with Flannan’s and vice versa, it was good to get that campaign during the winter to keep people ticking away”.
At the beginning of May, Clare’s round-robin game with Waterford served as a de-facto Munster semi-final which the Déise won by six points. How Clare responded in the aftermath was the making of their season according to the seventeen year old. “After the Waterford game we had three weeks to the Dublin game and we got a good block of training done, I think lads stood up in training like Ben Talty, Rory Ralph and they have got their spot on the team now, ever since then we’ve got better in every single game, you could see that the last day against Cork that we were better from the Galway game, hopefully we get better again for the final”.
Ralph and Talty have been drafted in as wing forwards but Kennedy’s return from the quad injury has really aided the Clare cause. He acknowledged the impact of fresh faces to a team in the middle of a campaign. “Getting everyone right and fit was a big focus for those few weeks, getting everything near to perfect and it’s looking better for us now”.
Semple Stadium has proved to be a happy hunting ground for Ger O’Connell’s charges with All-Ireland quarter and semi-final wins recorded in Thurles. “We love it there, we’re used to it too with the spin down, getting on the pitch beforehand, we know it now, it’s a lovely pitch and we love it,” Kennedy outlined.
When it came to overcoming Cork, a strong Clare support made a difference, he flagged. “The Clare crowd we could really hear them in the last ten minutes, they were savage, they drove us on that extra ten percent we needed, there’s no doubt they will come back in their force for the final and we’ll need them”.
