ALL-IRELAND CHAMPIONS ARE often built on outstanding underage teams. Clare and Limerick are no exception.
The Banner’s greatest era of underage success was capped by the All-Ireland treble of 2012-14. Their Shannonside neighbours’ golden age was built around national titles in 2015 and ‘17.
Clare are still reaping the benefits of those days with Tony Kelly, Shane O’Donnell, Peter Duggan, David McInerney, Conor Cleary, David Reidy, Cathal Malone, Éibhear Quilligan, and John Conlon (an All-Ireland U21 champion in 2009) still linchpinning the seniors more than a decade later.
O’Donnell, at 31, is the youngest of that cohort, but has expressed the intention for 2026 to be his final year in saffron and blue before emigrating. The 2024 Hurler of the Year revealed that McInerney and himself, among others, had previously planned to exit at the end of 2025 before Clare’s early elimination prompted a U-turn.
Others will hurl deeper into their 30s. Conlon, at 36, recovered from a horror injury where he almost lost a finger to extend his inter-county career.
Reidy, when asked about the suggestion that this could be a last dance for Clare, replied: “I wouldn’t classify it as that. I think Brian (Lohan)’s going to have to kick me off the panel before I retire.”
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Clare's David Reidy shakes hands with Billy Nolan of Waterford. Natasha Barton / INPHO
Natasha Barton / INPHO / INPHO
Limerick have a couple more years in hand. Many are the age, this season, that those Clare stars were when delivering Liam MacCarthy silverware in 2024.
John Kiely has suggested that S&C and medical advances can extend players’ careers beyond what was achievable even in the 2000s.
“They’re not made of metal or steel. They don’t rust, they don’t corrode. The body is designed to renew, to heal, to get stronger. It’s what you do with it rather than what it’ll do to you,” said Kiely last year.
“It’s really important that we don’t almost pre-empt an earlier than necessary step away from the game.”
For all their injury woes of the past 12 months, Clare must feel like a runaway is clearing for them to lift off into the All-Ireland Series. They are set to face a Limerick team minus two Hurlers of the Year in Cian Lynch and Aaron Gillane, could strike the mortal blow to a Tipperary team who dumped them out last year, and then meet a Cork side shorn of their All-Star defensive spine.
The two points they already have stashed away look all the more valuable since Waterford split the pot against Tipp.
Lohan, perhaps triggered by life in Division 1B and injuries, has gone deeper into his panel, using 37 players during the league compared to Kiely’s 29. When push came to shove in Cork, the Limerick boss called upon just three subs and pushed Kyle Hayes into the forwards to give chase.
Lohan’s three-year extension could be further boosted by Clare’s promising underage push. Since the Treaty’s last productive year of underage results in 2022, Clare have recorded 11 wins at U20 level compared to Limerick’s three, and 18 wins at minor versus Limerick’s six.
But for now, it’s about maximising the incumbents. Cleary and Malone have played more minutes than anyone else this season.
It’s that area, the defence, that will require most examination as the year progresses. Consecutive four-goal concessions against Dublin and Waterford can’t be continued. The manner of those leaks, from route one supply and breaking ball, will concern a legendary full-back like Lohan.
Waterford's Stephen Bennett scores a goal despite the efforts of Adam Hogan, Niall O'Farrell, and Éibhear Quilligan. Natasha Barton / INPHO
Natasha Barton / INPHO / INPHO
Yet when Clare won the All-Ireland in 2024, they began by conceding three goals each against Limerick and Cork. In their subsequent six games, they permitted just seven goals.
They have found the answers before, and some returning personnel like McInerney could help to provide reinforcement. Once fit, could he solve the centre-back question or release Malone from wing-back to play in his usual midfield berth?
Without Gillane, Limerick are less likely to rain in that long ball. Tipp took Clare for four goals last year and five in ‘23, while Cork have the muscle memory of drilling home six during the 2025 league. It’s a department Clare must get a handle on.
If they do, the firepower is there. Their 2-33 total against the Déise featured the most white flags by any team in the seven-year history of the Munster round-robin. They got off 46 shots, converting more than three-quarters of those.
Limerick are less likely to allow such peppering of their posts. But if Clare can tighten up at the back, they could put themselves right in the All-Ireland mix.
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Can Clare find the answers to recapture golden years?
ALL-IRELAND CHAMPIONS ARE often built on outstanding underage teams. Clare and Limerick are no exception.
The Banner’s greatest era of underage success was capped by the All-Ireland treble of 2012-14. Their Shannonside neighbours’ golden age was built around national titles in 2015 and ‘17.
Clare are still reaping the benefits of those days with Tony Kelly, Shane O’Donnell, Peter Duggan, David McInerney, Conor Cleary, David Reidy, Cathal Malone, Éibhear Quilligan, and John Conlon (an All-Ireland U21 champion in 2009) still linchpinning the seniors more than a decade later.
O’Donnell, at 31, is the youngest of that cohort, but has expressed the intention for 2026 to be his final year in saffron and blue before emigrating. The 2024 Hurler of the Year revealed that McInerney and himself, among others, had previously planned to exit at the end of 2025 before Clare’s early elimination prompted a U-turn.
Others will hurl deeper into their 30s. Conlon, at 36, recovered from a horror injury where he almost lost a finger to extend his inter-county career.
Reidy, when asked about the suggestion that this could be a last dance for Clare, replied: “I wouldn’t classify it as that. I think Brian (Lohan)’s going to have to kick me off the panel before I retire.”
Limerick have a couple more years in hand. Many are the age, this season, that those Clare stars were when delivering Liam MacCarthy silverware in 2024.
John Kiely has suggested that S&C and medical advances can extend players’ careers beyond what was achievable even in the 2000s.
“They’re not made of metal or steel. They don’t rust, they don’t corrode. The body is designed to renew, to heal, to get stronger. It’s what you do with it rather than what it’ll do to you,” said Kiely last year.
For all their injury woes of the past 12 months, Clare must feel like a runaway is clearing for them to lift off into the All-Ireland Series. They are set to face a Limerick team minus two Hurlers of the Year in Cian Lynch and Aaron Gillane, could strike the mortal blow to a Tipperary team who dumped them out last year, and then meet a Cork side shorn of their All-Star defensive spine.
The two points they already have stashed away look all the more valuable since Waterford split the pot against Tipp.
Lohan, perhaps triggered by life in Division 1B and injuries, has gone deeper into his panel, using 37 players during the league compared to Kiely’s 29. When push came to shove in Cork, the Limerick boss called upon just three subs and pushed Kyle Hayes into the forwards to give chase.
Lohan’s three-year extension could be further boosted by Clare’s promising underage push. Since the Treaty’s last productive year of underage results in 2022, Clare have recorded 11 wins at U20 level compared to Limerick’s three, and 18 wins at minor versus Limerick’s six.
But for now, it’s about maximising the incumbents. Cleary and Malone have played more minutes than anyone else this season.
It’s that area, the defence, that will require most examination as the year progresses. Consecutive four-goal concessions against Dublin and Waterford can’t be continued. The manner of those leaks, from route one supply and breaking ball, will concern a legendary full-back like Lohan.
Yet when Clare won the All-Ireland in 2024, they began by conceding three goals each against Limerick and Cork. In their subsequent six games, they permitted just seven goals.
They have found the answers before, and some returning personnel like McInerney could help to provide reinforcement. Once fit, could he solve the centre-back question or release Malone from wing-back to play in his usual midfield berth?
Without Gillane, Limerick are less likely to rain in that long ball. Tipp took Clare for four goals last year and five in ‘23, while Cork have the muscle memory of drilling home six during the 2025 league. It’s a department Clare must get a handle on.
If they do, the firepower is there. Their 2-33 total against the Déise featured the most white flags by any team in the seven-year history of the Munster round-robin. They got off 46 shots, converting more than three-quarters of those.
Limerick are less likely to allow such peppering of their posts. But if Clare can tighten up at the back, they could put themselves right in the All-Ireland mix.
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