*Robert Downey chases Ryan Taylor. Photograph: Ruth Griffin
MUNSTER CHAMPIONSHIP games in Cusack Park are “unbelievable” and the encounters that Ryan Taylor most looks forward to all year.
Taylor is expected to assume a role in the middle of the Park for Sunday’s first round clash with Cork which commences at 14:00.
This championship feel that accompanies these Cusack Park clashes is something Clare feed off and indeed thrive off, he said. “It’s unbelievable. They’re my favourite games to play in the whole year, those home games. I think since the round robin was introduced it’s been a revelation. Even for the town of Ennis itself, to have those crowds. In fairness to Cork, they’re unbelievable supporters to travel so I’m sure it’ll be a cracker of a day up in Ennis”.
Businesses in Ennis get to experience this championship buzz, none more so than Taylor’s Bar in the Market which will welcome supporters from Clare and Cork on Sunday. “I think we’ve tripled our staff for that day,” Ryan noted. His parents Susan and Patrick have circled the date in the calendar for some time, not just for being match ready but also business ready. “They’re great days and I suppose we know all about them in the family pub. They’re magical days”.
Indeed his father Patrick previously told The Clare Echo that the home Munster championship games have “carried on the Fleadh fever” experienced in the county town in 2016 and 2017.
2025 has been a sobering run so far for the All-Ireland champions who relinquished their league title and also suffered relegation from the top tier. “We probably weren’t happy with a lot of our performances. There was some inconsistency there. It was no doubt a tough league campaign,” he said.
A one point loss to Tipperary on March 22nd was symptomatic of this seeing as Clare led 1-14 0-9 by forty two minutes but left a lot of chances behind. “We played well for patches of it but I suppose when you’re eight or nine points up and you’re reeled in, it’s not ideal. In fairness to Tipp, they’re going really well. We could have got a result but didn’t on the day and we’ll be looking to improve now,” Ryan recounted.
He continued, “There’s no doubt that you still want to play well in the league. It’s still a national competition. It just didn’t materialise. We’re doing a lot of hard training but our performances probably just haven’t had that bit of consistency. All eyes now are to the championship. I suppose the league is done and dusted now and we’ll move on. We’ve tried out some new lads and I feel like we’ve a good, strong panel now with a bit of depth. We probably would have preferred to have played better in a lot of those games but it is what it is. We’ve had a lot of work to do but definitely the belief is still there in this group”.
There is no shortage of hunger within the Clare camp, the Clooney/Quin clubman stressed. “It’s probably always a question posed to All-Ireland winners — can they come back again? But to be honest, I don’t really feed into it at all. It’s virtually the same team with some new faces, so for me, the hunger is still there. I think when you’re playing at this level and you’re training five, six nights a week, the hunger is there. If it’s not, you wouldn’t be there training and putting the effort in. The lads are training just as hard as they ever have. We’re really looking forward to the Munster Championship and we feel like we’re building nicely”.
He added, “I suppose there’s no doubt that the league and Championship can be different and lads are being tried out. But I think as soon as the Munster Championship starts, teams are at their strongest, full panels and that type of thing. I suppose in the first round of Munster, every team is going all out to win the games. On a given day, any team in Munster can beat any team so you have to be at your best the first day out”.
This first day sees Clare take on the high-flying Cork, the recently crowned league champions. “I suppose we haven’t started the Munster Championship with wins in the last couple of years. If you can get a win in your first game, it probably takes the pressure off a little bit. But all you can focus on is your first Championship game and you can’t look any further than that. Cork are probably the form team so far, so no doubt it will be a real challenge”.
A year-long ACL injury saw Ryan make his first appearance of 2024 from the bench with forty nine minutes played in the All-Ireland semi-final against Kilkenny and he had a game-changing impact versus the team he picked up the dreaded knee injury against twelve months previous. Fortunately for Ryan and Clare, he hasn’t experienced any ill-effects since returning to full fitness. “I haven’t been too bad, in fairness. I probably still feel like it takes a while to get back to 100 per cent or your pre-injury levels. But the physios and all have been great and thankfully I haven’t picked up any niggles, so I’m feeling good”.
Injury keeps Shane O’Donnell out of Clare’s plans for Sunday. “I had a long-term injury last year so I kind of knew what he was going through. I suppose for him personally it’s very tough. In the last couple of years he’s been playing the hurling of his life. He’s an integral part of our team, there’s no doubt about it. But these things happen. It’s the nature of sport that you can get long-term injuries and there’s no point in dwelling on them. We’ve been training hard and we’ll have to plan without him unfortunately, but that’s the way it is.”
“Shane is a special player and he’s irreplaceable in a lot of regards. But these things happen. Tony was out for a number of months last year as well. We’ve blooded a few young lads and Jack O’Neill has been very impressive and a couple of more lads, Daithí Lohan and Shane Woods, against Tipperary so Shane is definitely a huge loss but there’s nothing we can do about that now. We just have to move on”.
With both Seadna Morey and Paul Flanagan retiring from last year’s squad, it offers an opportunity for new players such as Taylor’s clubmate, Jack O’Neill. “He’s been hurling really well and you need that. You need those young lads coming in because I suppose we’re not going to be around forever, the current lads. He’s a really, really dedicated young lad and I suppose he’s very physically strong for a 19, 20 year old. He’s been looked at in the club for a long time as a big prospect. He has a great attitude as well. He’s a great player”.
Indeed O’Neill’s residence close to the Quin border with Newmarket-on-Fergus means he could have been lining out with the Blues as opposed to alongside Taylor at club level. “We wouldn’t let him go that easily. He’s too important. No, he’s a really nice young lad with a great attitude”.
