*Robert Loftus charges out of defence for Clare. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
CLARE’S U20 hurlers have shown tremendous character in their run to a Munster final but they are now determined to claim silverware as reward for their efforts.
Tipperary stand in Clare’s way of winning a fifth provincial championship at the grade and a first since it was rebranded from U21 to U20.
Terence Fahy’s side take on the Brendan Cummins managed Tipperary at 19:35 in TUS Gaelic Grounds on Wednesday evening.
A powerful finish in last Wednesday’s semi-final in Páirc Uí Chaoimh saw Clare finish with 1-6 without reply to send Cork out of the championship. Dramatic finishes have been par for the course across their five provincial outings thus far in 2026.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Fahy remarked of their finish, “There was great character shown in a great finish, the boys had great defending at one end and a great expression at the other end with conviction going for it”.
He added, “It is always very tight against Cork and it is always nip and tuck between us. The heart rate is good after it because to get the win was very important for the group and to get a better performance than last week was very important for our group, we did feel it was within our group, they went after it hard today and got the reward”.
Clamping down on giving away scores from turnovers was a main focus for Clare in their rematch with Cork, the Whitegate native outlined. “We’re very happy with a lot of things from last week’s game except the concession of turnover scores, that was the only difference between the teams when we met first, we knew we had a gap to shore up and our team did that tonight. They are improving, the more they are playing the more they are learning, they are on a journey and we’re into game six, we corrected our first setback by winning the semi-final”.
Acknowledging the character within the group, Terence said, “There is that in the group, it is great to see it, they bring that, we’ve nothing to show for that and we will need loads of it next week, hopefully we can go back to the well again”.
It’s a seven day turnaround from semi-final to decider for Clare. “Seven days is a quick turnaround and a big challenge ahead, it is very basic to get the bodies right and do everything we can to get a fit squad going to the final next week and that will be a challenge but it is easier do that with a win under your belt”.
