THE STORY OF Loughrea is one that goes a lot deeper than just a team of hurlers striving for their first All-Ireland title.
Consult the ancient texts and there it pops up: Loughrea was the site where one of the very first, exploratory, meetings to found the GAA was held.
Michael Cusack had friends in Loughrea and a strong contact in the MP for the area, William J Duffy. He brought Duffy with him along with other Loughrea men John P McCarthy and John Sweeney to the Bishop of Clonfert, Dr Patrick Duggan, and asked him to become the patron of the sporting body, at that stage no more than a vague concept.
Duggan politely stated he wished them the best in their endeavours but, at 71, he felt too old for such a role. He suggested the Archbishop of Cashel, Dr Croke, instead.
When you talk of identity, Loughrea have the relics. A table and chairs where that meeting took place now sit in the Croke Park museum. No wonder manager Tommy Kelly joked recently to Sunday Times writer, Christy O’Connor, “As I say, they only went to Thurles for the photograph.”
When Cusack and others began codifying the rules, it was with the help of Loughrea folk.
The playing of the games was always popular, but success was elusive. They won their first Galway championship in 1941, but lost finals in 1949 and 1951.
When they happened upon a crop of really talented youngsters that signalled their intentions with reaching national Féile finals in the 90s, they were in business.
To an extent. They delivered a title in 2006, over Portumna. Perhaps the good was taken out of it to an extent as the fall-out from that game was national news for the fractious spirit it was played in, topped by an incident when Portumna’s Joe Canning was lying on the ground and his faceguard was stamped on.
In the aftermath, it was said publicly that Canning would not join Ger Loughnane’s senior hurling squad and instead was considering a switch to playing rugby. Presented rightly or wrongly, it left Loughrea dealing with more than hurling and yet they reached the All-Ireland final, only to be beaten by Shamrocks Ballyhale.
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Johnny Loughlin consoles Johnny Maher after defeat in the All-Ireland club final to Ballyhale in 2007. Cathal Noonan / INPHO
Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO
Despite having got over the line, the name they got was one of chokers with county final losses in 2003, ’05, ’09, 2010, ’12 and ’13.
In the 2022 final, they had the last four possessions in the replay loss to neighbours St Thomas’ and scored just one point as they were beaten by a point.
Winning in 2024 was sweet. Winning in 2025 was sweeter because it was vindification that they were a proper outfit. And it was against St Thomas’, only up the road, the most powerful motivating factor in Gaelic games.
They had all the usual factors required to change things: youth coming through and excellent coaching, with the majority of the 32-man panel that won in 2006 now coaching at all levels of the club.
But they needed something more. Manager Tommy Kelly and coach Gavin Keary had been in with Clare. The two formed a strong relationship with the Banner’s defensive lynchpin John Conlon. He started going up there in 2024 for matchdays and soon his interest and involvement grew.
By that stage, Shane O’Brien had been on the senior panel for a decade and lived through the disappointments. He tore his hamstring in August and has been watching and studying those around the pitch as he has mounted a recovery that has him in contention for a place on the panel.
“He brings little pockets of knowledge,” says O’Brien of Conlon.
He wouldn’t be there every day because he is with Clare and Clonlara. But he brings great knowledge whenever he is there and if you don’t listen to John Conlon, who are you going to listen to, the quality of man he is.”
He admits to some scarring of previous losses.
“When you lose it’s not a nice feeling. In fairness, they always rallied and got back to county finals, all the way up to 2013 before this group came along.
“You can be as negative as you like, but you just go the following year and you drive on again, try your best. No lad goes out to lose any match.
“I wouldn’t say there was a mood around the place, but there was a small bit of negativity in the town, maybe.”
“I remember 2012, St Thomas’ beat us. Their first title that time. I remember that one, a wet day.
“I came into the panel in 2014 so I have vivid memories of disappointment leaving Pearse Stadium for us around that time, apart from 2006.”
What changed was the introduction of Michelle Caulfield to the group. It was a handy connection, given she is married to John Conlon.
But the former Clare camogie player is a mental performance coach, in with Laois senior footballers also.
Michelle Caulfield playing for Clare. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
“We have Michelle there with us and she is brilliant at what she does,” says O’Brien.
“She’s a vital part of our set-up. She did a bit of work with us and I wouldn’t have been one to believe in it beforehand, but in fairness she was a great part of our set-up in the background with the work she did with us.”
Quite a lot of that is around framing the game, and ridding themselves of anxiety around performance. They play with freedom now. On the dressing room wall for their last county final was a sheet with bold capitals, urging all to, ‘SEIZE THE DAY’.
“Loughrea had a name for itself as winning a game by one or two points back in the day. We kind of have a different style of hurling now and we are just trying to do our own thing,” adds O’Brien.
“If our own thing is good enough, it’s good enough. If it’s not, it’s not. We don’t dwell too much on these things, we just try to go out every day and work as hard as we can.”
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How Michelle Caulfield and husband John Conlon have helped put Loughrea in right frame of mind
THE STORY OF Loughrea is one that goes a lot deeper than just a team of hurlers striving for their first All-Ireland title.
Consult the ancient texts and there it pops up: Loughrea was the site where one of the very first, exploratory, meetings to found the GAA was held.
Michael Cusack had friends in Loughrea and a strong contact in the MP for the area, William J Duffy. He brought Duffy with him along with other Loughrea men John P McCarthy and John Sweeney to the Bishop of Clonfert, Dr Patrick Duggan, and asked him to become the patron of the sporting body, at that stage no more than a vague concept.
Duggan politely stated he wished them the best in their endeavours but, at 71, he felt too old for such a role. He suggested the Archbishop of Cashel, Dr Croke, instead.
When you talk of identity, Loughrea have the relics. A table and chairs where that meeting took place now sit in the Croke Park museum. No wonder manager Tommy Kelly joked recently to Sunday Times writer, Christy O’Connor, “As I say, they only went to Thurles for the photograph.”
When Cusack and others began codifying the rules, it was with the help of Loughrea folk.
The playing of the games was always popular, but success was elusive. They won their first Galway championship in 1941, but lost finals in 1949 and 1951.
When they happened upon a crop of really talented youngsters that signalled their intentions with reaching national Féile finals in the 90s, they were in business.
To an extent. They delivered a title in 2006, over Portumna. Perhaps the good was taken out of it to an extent as the fall-out from that game was national news for the fractious spirit it was played in, topped by an incident when Portumna’s Joe Canning was lying on the ground and his faceguard was stamped on.
In the aftermath, it was said publicly that Canning would not join Ger Loughnane’s senior hurling squad and instead was considering a switch to playing rugby. Presented rightly or wrongly, it left Loughrea dealing with more than hurling and yet they reached the All-Ireland final, only to be beaten by Shamrocks Ballyhale.
Despite having got over the line, the name they got was one of chokers with county final losses in 2003, ’05, ’09, 2010, ’12 and ’13.
In the 2022 final, they had the last four possessions in the replay loss to neighbours St Thomas’ and scored just one point as they were beaten by a point.
Winning in 2024 was sweet. Winning in 2025 was sweeter because it was vindification that they were a proper outfit. And it was against St Thomas’, only up the road, the most powerful motivating factor in Gaelic games.
They had all the usual factors required to change things: youth coming through and excellent coaching, with the majority of the 32-man panel that won in 2006 now coaching at all levels of the club.
But they needed something more. Manager Tommy Kelly and coach Gavin Keary had been in with Clare. The two formed a strong relationship with the Banner’s defensive lynchpin John Conlon. He started going up there in 2024 for matchdays and soon his interest and involvement grew.
By that stage, Shane O’Brien had been on the senior panel for a decade and lived through the disappointments. He tore his hamstring in August and has been watching and studying those around the pitch as he has mounted a recovery that has him in contention for a place on the panel.
“He brings little pockets of knowledge,” says O’Brien of Conlon.
He admits to some scarring of previous losses.
“When you lose it’s not a nice feeling. In fairness, they always rallied and got back to county finals, all the way up to 2013 before this group came along.
“You can be as negative as you like, but you just go the following year and you drive on again, try your best. No lad goes out to lose any match.
“I wouldn’t say there was a mood around the place, but there was a small bit of negativity in the town, maybe.”
“I remember 2012, St Thomas’ beat us. Their first title that time. I remember that one, a wet day.
“I came into the panel in 2014 so I have vivid memories of disappointment leaving Pearse Stadium for us around that time, apart from 2006.”
What changed was the introduction of Michelle Caulfield to the group. It was a handy connection, given she is married to John Conlon.
But the former Clare camogie player is a mental performance coach, in with Laois senior footballers also.
“We have Michelle there with us and she is brilliant at what she does,” says O’Brien.
“She’s a vital part of our set-up. She did a bit of work with us and I wouldn’t have been one to believe in it beforehand, but in fairness she was a great part of our set-up in the background with the work she did with us.”
Quite a lot of that is around framing the game, and ridding themselves of anxiety around performance. They play with freedom now. On the dressing room wall for their last county final was a sheet with bold capitals, urging all to, ‘SEIZE THE DAY’.
“Loughrea had a name for itself as winning a game by one or two points back in the day. We kind of have a different style of hurling now and we are just trying to do our own thing,” adds O’Brien.
“If our own thing is good enough, it’s good enough. If it’s not, it’s not. We don’t dwell too much on these things, we just try to go out every day and work as hard as we can.”
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All-Ireland Club Finals CHOKERS NO MORE GAA Hurling Loughrea On the brink