WHEN THE FINAL whistle blasted in the Gaelic Grounds a fortnight ago, the implications for Clare football were far-reaching.
After a spring where league relegation generated gloom, they had rescued their season. Their Sam Maguire interest for 2023 was preserved by the win over Limerick. A Munster final place booked for the first time since 2012.
And they had claimed two championship wins in the province in the one season for the first time since 2000.
A sharp upswing in their fortunes.
The game started with two Éire Óg Ennis players populating the Clare teamsheet, Manus Doherty and Ciaran Russell in defence. Over the course of the game manager Colm Collins brought on five substitute, all club-mates from the reigning county champions – Ronan Lanigan, Darren O’Neill, Gavin Cooney, Ikem Ugweru and Mark McInerney.
The club have had standout days before. In the 1997 Munster final, a game defined by the thunderbolt that Kerry’s Pa Laide cracked to the net for the only goal, there were four Éire Óg starters in John O’Keeffe’s Clare team – James Hanrahan, Alan Malone, Barry Keating and Cathal Shannon, while Peter Cosgrove and Aodán Mac Carthaigh were on the bench.
A further link between then and now existed in Doonbeg’s Francis McInerney, captain for that famous moment of Munster glory in 1992, and his son Mark, an attacking option in the current setup.
Six representatives was impressive. To better it a quarter of a century on, even more so.
“We’ve had good numbers before, but the difference this year is that all seven are in the 26 every week,” says Éire Óg manager Paul Madden.
“It is an amazing statistic and obviously I’m biased towards Eire Og, but they are there on merit. The traditionalist in Clare football would always suggest the football was in West Clare you know, and I don’t think it’s the case anymore.
“So we’re very proud of the lads. The reality is that if they weren’t good enough, they wouldn’t be playing. They’re clearly good enough. It’s fantastic to see.”
Super to see all 7 Éire Óg lads play their parts in tonight's win over Limerick in the Gaelic Grounds. Senior Munster final incoming on May 7th, mark it down 📅
— CLG Éire Óg Inis (@CLGEireOgInis) April 22, 2023
Well done Ikem, Ronan, Darren, Mark, Ciaran, Gavin, Manus & the Clare team#magnificentseven Hon the Banner 🟡🔵🏐 pic.twitter.com/He8va9jDtW
They’re grateful to see them all in action, particularly those that spent time away from the club before returning.
At weekends Ciarán Russell is a mainstay in the Clare defence, during the week he works as a Garda. Now he is stationed in Mayorstone Park in Limerick city, but previously he was in Dun Laoghaire in Dublin. The commute was punishing and that saw him make the decision to switch his club football to Kilmacud Crokes for the 2019 campaign.
“He approached me about it at the time,” recalls Madden.
“His dad Tom, is involved in every facet of Éire Óg GAA club, great guy. Tom and myself and Ciarán had chats about it. It was just unworkable for him to keep coming up and down and playing for Éire Óg.
“He said he obviously wanted to relocate long term back to Ennis. We thought, if you could play for Kilmacud Crokes, that’s not going to bring you back a poorer player to Éire Óg. So he went up there and he had a great year or two.”
Over the past few seasons Madden has witnessed Russell flourish at the highest level.
“I’ve watched Ciarán since he was 12 years of age. I felt he was really hard done by not to get an All-Star nomination last year.
“He’s just been fantastic, a superb athlete, tenacious, tough and a highly strung competitor. He’s been around a while, probably doesn’t get the credit.
“He certainly gets it in Éire Óg, because he’d be one of our stalwarts. Colm (Colins) will admit to that too, he’s a brilliant player for Clare. Since David (Tubridy) retired and Gary previously, he is one of the senior players along with the likes of Eoin Cleary and Jamie Malone.
“I think he’s one of the best defenders in Munster in his natural habitat in the half-back line, but certainly he can play in the full-back line too.”
Darren O’Neill has had a similar comeback career arc. In the summer of 2021 he made his first championship start for Clare in a decade. In the interim he had been based in Dublin, playing for Naomh Olaf and had rebounded from a cruciate injury.
“Darren played in county finals for Éire Óg at 20, 21 years of age. Again, work brought to Dublin, not feasible obviously for him to be up and down all the time.
“So he played with Naomh Olaf in Dublin, won a league with them and really got a lot of credit for being a very good player up there.
“Came back a mature, better player, no question. They’ve been backboning the Éire Óg team for the last couple of years. It just worked for them to be in Dublin but equally we’ve a lot of good lads who never went to Dublin.”
The recent win over Limerick marked a milestone for Ikem Ugwueru as he sampled senior championship action for the first time.
Rugby competed for his sporting allegiance before football took over in recent times.
“Ikem has been playing football for Éire Óg since the very early ages, played soccer with Avenue United as well. All of the lads that are featuring at senior level in Éire Óg now, there’s a cohort of them that were buddies growing up.
“Ikem was an exceptional rugby player with the Ennis underage teams. Just before he went to college, he got called into one of the Munster development squads
“So that’s when he came on the radar to Shannon. He played rugby, but he’s always loved his football. It’s very difficult to have two task masters.
“He decided last year having been very prominent for us that he was going to give Clare football a real shot. He had been asked in before, but you can’t go try and juggle club rugby with intercounty football.
“This year he decided to concentrate exclusively on football and there’s no doubt that Ikem is becoming a better footballer now.”
At club level they have prospered. Éire Óg lifted the Jack Daly Cup in 2021, ending a 15-year wait, and held onto the label of Clare senior football kingpins last season. Their Munster forays have been competitive, semi-final losses against eventual champions in Cork’s St Finbarr’s and Kerry’s Kerins O’Rahillys.
They only fell short by a point in the hurling decider against Ballyea as they pursued the double in 2022. Shane O’Donnell, Aaron Fitzgerald and David Reidy are all embedded in Brian Lohan’s Clare hurling camp.
It all adds up to a spike in the club’s profile. That creates challenges, Madden estimates they have been without at least 18 players of last year’s county final panel of 26 for recent club league games.
But seeing them all get regular exposure with Clare teams is a benefit.
Madden runs the Temple Gate Hotel in Ennis. He has a front-row view of the interest in the county’s flagship teams, the boost provided by the footballers’ first Munster victory over Cork in 26 years and the hurling success in last Saturday’s epic with Limerick.
There is a sizeable crew from the club heading today, he progression of the Colm Collins era at last culminating in an appearance in a Munster decider.
Kerry in the Gaelic Grounds on Munster final day has a familiar ring to it for Clare football.
It was the setting for the county’s momentous breakthrough in 1992, where they fell just short in 1997 by five points and where they were soundly defeated in 2000.
Returning to the venue for such an occasion is something to savour.
“Well, it’s funny because after we beat Cork and then subsequently beat Limerick, I didn’t actually realize that Colm had never been in a Munster final.
“We got caught badly against Tipperary a couple of years back and that really frustrated the Clare lads because we had gone well in the league
“And you had to beat one of the traditional powers in Cork to get there this year, which is no mean feat. The one thing that Colm has developed. with his backroom team, is a great bond. They never give up.
“Nobody’s under any illusions, Kerry are All-Ireland champions. They’re looking beyond Munster but they won’t disrespect Clare.
“From our perspective, we’re guaranteed a minimum of four more games now.
“And on any given day, you never know what can happen.”