*Seán Rynne. Photograph: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
Championship hurling brought to you in association with McKeogh’s Ballina
WEARING THE underdog tag has been embraced by Clare’s hurlers for Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final showdown, wing forward Seán Rynne has said.
First called up to the Clare senior panel in advance of the 2023 All-Ireland quarter-final, Seán has had to bide his time, making only his second ever championship start in this year’s first round but he has certainly grabbed the opportunity and has been one of the side’s standout players en route to the last four.
Sunday will be his first time playing in Croke Park which is something he is “really excited” about. “It is savage, I’m just buzzing for the game, all the hard training has been done during the year, the hard work is nearly almost done, we’re really excited for the next week,” Seán told The Clare Echo.
Rynne was under no illusions when he was drafted into the panel prior to Clare’s one point loss to Limerick in the 2023 Munster final that he would have to wait his time before trying to break into the side. “I didn’t mind being patient, there’s savage quality in the squad, I knew I would have had to improve my game when I got called in initially. Getting called in at the start gives you confidence to know you are good enough to be there but it is about putting in the hard work to get into a position where you could be involved in playing”.
Receiving the trust of Brian Lohan and his management gives huge confidence to any hurler, the Inagh/Kilnamona clubman outlined. “If the management are putting their trust in you then it gives you huge belief to go out and play with less weight on your shoulders because if they trust you then you just have to repay them by putting in a performance”.
Injury kept Seán sidelined for the bulk of Clare’s Division 1B National League campaign. To some this may have put his chances of breaking into the team at jeopardy but he used the layoff to improve certain aspects of his game. “I’d be fairly alright to watch a game, you’re obviously hoping the lads do okay but being out for most of the league gave me a chance to get on top of my fitness and do a bit of running. I got back for the latter end of it so it wasn’t too bad, I don’t mind watching games, I don’t get too nervous but you’re just hoping the lads play okay”.
He continued, “Obviously you want to play as many games as you possibly can, that is the reason we start training in November and December because you want to play as many games as possibly, I couldn’t so I had to focus on what I could do at the time so for me that was getting as fit as possible and getting myself in the best situation I can be for when I do come back”.
Fresh from completing his final year studies at the University of Limerick, Rynne will this week receive his results and intends to start a masters in finance at UL for the next academic year.
At the minute, he’s assisting his father John at the family pub, The Ramblers Rest in Inagh. “I wouldn’t be behind the bar too much, I’m generally working out the back, I wouldn’t mind chatting away about hurling but I wouldn’t be getting too in-depth in conversation with lads”.
With 0-14 from play in Clare’s campaign this year, Rynne has certainly done his bit for the cause. “I’m pleased enough with how I’m going, the main aim is for the team to win and to perform, to try and push on because we know we have a good group of lads and we won’t be satisfied unless we do win something because we believe we are good enough, hopefully we can go and push on over the next few weeks,” he outlined.
Five points from play against both Waterford and Dublin, Seán’s displays have resulted in him being named as an eir ambassador alongside Cork captain, Darragh Fitzgibbon. “It’s a privilege to be up here in Croke Park, it is my first time doing something like this, it is a great experience”. Perks of the gig may not include free WiFi for The Ramblers Rest. “I’d say it could do with a bit of WiFi alright, the signal isn’t great in Inagh a lot of the time,” he quipped.
On what he has done to try bring his game to a new level, the Inagh native said, “There’s a few different aspects you always have to look at, you can’t just focus on one area, your speed of hurling, speed of thought, how good your decision making is, the physical side of things, your speed, power and also the mental aspect of it, we have a psychologist Nollaig (O’Sullivan) who is very good, Tony Griffin too and they are both working on the mental side of things, they have done huge work with us”.
As the only player substituted at half time during Clare’s fifteen point loss to Limerick, Seán’s withdrawal was considered harsh. He consulted with Nollaig and Tony to try bounce back strong from this setback. “You would always link in with them, they’d always be keeping in touch with us. I was obviously disappointed to be taken off but you just have to trust the management that they are doing the right thing and they saw something that they needed to tweak so you have to always respect whatever they do”.
Younger brother Conor was part of the Clare U20 squad to claim All-Ireland and Munster medals, completing the collection he had from his minor days. “He wouldn’t be too bad for the slagging but in the back of his mind he knows he has more medals than me, he has the bragging rights for now,” Seán remarked of his sibling’s success.
Switching off from the demands of inter-county hurling is not too difficult, he said. “I meet up with the lads, now it’s going for swims, playing a bit of golf, going for spins or a few pucks with the lads, play a bit of PlayStation, it’s not hard to switch off”. The golf game does require improvement, he admitted, “I’m not that great, I’ll have to invest in a new set of clubs and give it a good go over the summer, there’s a lot of practice to be done”.
Focus for now is firmly on Limerick who are raging hot favourites to eliminate Clare from the All-Ireland SHC. “It is nice to go in as underdogs, we’re going in with a mentality of having nothing to lose, we’ve to try close the gap, hurl as best we can and put our best foot forward,” the Ennistymon CBS past pupil stated.
Wins over Waterford, Tipperary and Dublin alongside comprehensive losses to Limerick and Cork have represented an up and down campaign from Lohan’s charges. It has underlined the importance of staying tuned in for every single ball, Rynne said. “We know we have to be really tuned in, really focused, we have to be on our game in order to compete. If we switch off against Cork or Limerick and if we’re not up to the pace of it, we’ll get walked all over. Both of those teams when we’re on it we’re hard to beat and when we’re not, we’re easily beat so it is trying to get that balance and consistency back into our game”.
eir ambassador Seán Rynne marking eir’s continued support of the GAA All‑Ireland Senior Hurling Championship and the fourth year of the Poc Tapa Challenge, a competition open to every GAA club in the country, where the fastest team wins €5,000 for their club and the chance to play in Croke Park on semi-final day. To enter, visit @eir.Ireland on Instagram. eir is recognised by Opensignal as having Ireland’s No.1 5G network coverage.
