*Adam Hogan. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
BRIAN LOHAN has added three members of the Clare U20 team to his senior panel ahead of the start of the Munster senior hurling championship.
Clare’s U20 hurlers managed by Terence Fahy exited the provincial campaign at the first hurdle following narrow defeats to Limerick and Cork in the space of seven days. The side which contested the Munster final at the minor grade three years ago contain many hurlers with the potential to have bright futures in the saffron and blue.
Before the commencement of the U20 championship, four of the team were part of Lohan’s senior panel, namely Shane Meehan of The Banner, Scariff’s Patrick Crotty and Clarecastle duo Cian Broderick and Cian Galvin.
Now this figure has multiplied with the addition of a defender, midfielder and forward from Fahy’s side to Lohan’s squad.
Full-back Adam Hogan viewed by many hurling followers as the next county full-back has received the call to join the senior panel. The Feakle defender was one of the top performers for the U20 side following on from a memorable campaign for St Joseph’s Tulla where he wore the number three jersey as they claimed the Dr. Harty Cup for the first time in their history, they exited at the All-Ireland semi-final stage to St Kieran’s College of Kilkenny. For both St Joseph’s Tulla and the Clare U20s, Hogan had the task of man-marking the main opposition forward.
Captain of the U20 side, Conner Hegarty has also been added to the senior squad. His use of the ball in the centre of the field and decision making is one of his key attributes coupled with quick pace and an ability to cover a lot of ground. Alongside Cian Galvin, he was joint captain of the St Flannan’s College team that were crowned Harty Cup champions in 2020.
Similar to Hogan, he played every minute for the U20s this year, he was prominent in their home clash against Cork compared with their one point loss to Limerick. Coming up along the underage ranks, he primarily lined out in the forwards but following his exploits for Inagh/Kilnamona in the Clare SHC last year, he showed his ability at midfield.
Although he didn’t get a starting jersey in either of Clare’s outings in this year U20 championship, Keith Smyth appears to have got the last laugh. The Killanena stickman is the third and final member of this year’s squad to join the senior panel in the past week. He was behind Meehan and Hegarty as the third top scorer for the Clare minors in 2019.
Introduced as a first half substitute in both the Limerick and Cork games, Smyth scored a combined 0-08 and took over the free-taking duties from Shane Punch after replacing him in their clash with the Rebels.
Both Hogan and Hegarty were standout performers during the Clare SHC last season and their omission from the senior panel up until this point had been a surprise. Hogan was brought in for an internal training match earlier this year and has continued to impress. Though, not confirmed it is probable that Lohan and Fahy had reached an agreement to leave the duo with the U20s until their championship had concluded with Whitegate native Fahy admitting last year that the former full-back was pivotal to him agreeing to accept the offer to become U20 manager.
