THE OUTCOME LAST Sunday evening would have left the locals in Ennis a little uneasy.
A third successive league loss was not something they wanted to digest, and yet the national trophy winning ways of 2024, ensured this Clare hurling group still had plenty credit in the bank.
The on-field slump that has characterised their early season league form, could be explained away in a large part by the staggered return of those stars that swept them to Liam MacCarthy glory last July.
Only nine of their All-Ireland final team started last Sunday against Wexford, it was the first start of the year for Tony Kelly, John Conlon, Mark Rodgers, and David Fitzgerald. Naturally there is some winter rust to be shaken off.
The concern over results might have dissipated with the comforting thought on Sunday evening that there were so many high-level hurlers to return to the Clare ranks, but that would have erupted into full-blown worry by Thursday afternoon’s news.
Shane O’Donnell. Shoulder surgery. A season-ender.
“We looked at every option with Shane but the medical advice was that surgery was 100 per cent necessary, so we wish him well and a full recovery,” Brian Lohan told the Irish Times.
Advertisement
If the public summary sounds composed, the private utterances must be different.
Clare hurling manager Brian Lohan. James Lawlor / INPHO
James Lawlor / INPHO / INPHO
It is a huge blow to Clare’s prospects this season, seven weeks out from the commencement of their All-Ireland title defence. The most important player in their ranks? O’Donnell is up there, with only Tony Kelly vying with him for the label of the x-factor talent that elevates a team from contenders to champions.
There is no need to look far for the evidence to back up that assertion. The 2024 Hurler of the Year award was fitting recognition of O’Donnell’s talents. From the opener against Limerick in Ennis to the finale against Cork in Croke Park, defences were unable to get a grip on him.
He ransacked the Wexford defence for 1-4 on quarter-final day, but it was his sharp movement, ball-winning capacity at various angles, that elusive, surging style, and his creative instincts in setting up team-mates for goals, that set him apart.
Clare began last July’s All-Ireland decider in a sluggish manner, yet it was O’Donnell who sent a jolt of electricity through their side with the incisive break that paved the way for Aidan McCarthy’s goal.
Shane O'Donnell with Eoin and Robert Downey. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
It’ll be a poorer hurling championship as a result of him watching on injured from the sideline, instead of sparking anticipation when he gathers the ball on the pitch.
A teenage sensation with his 2013 man-of-the-match contribution, Clare’s indifferent form and his own injury issues, most notably a serious concussion scare, had stalled O’Donnell’s career. The renaissance that saw him win All-Star awards in the last three years was striking.
The routine of Clare delaying his seasonal debut, skipping the mundanity of league games before being unleashed in the heat of championship, had been a major success story. It was a tribute to careful planning and shrewd management, yet the aims to replicate it this year have now been ripped up.
As the hurling season shifts into March, Clare have to gather themselves after that setback. The threat of relegation has grown – edged out by two by Kilkennny in the opener, before seven-point losses followed against Galway and Wexford.
A drop in their springtime status would not be a major issue. The league was utilised effectively last year when they won the title, national silverware was necessary then in the development of a team who had been locked in a cycle of Munster final and All-Ireland semi-final losses.
The status of All-Ireland champions offers greater entitlement to off-days at this stage of the year. The change in the rhythms of the hurling year, underlines the importance of having everyone firing properly come Easter weekend when the Munster championship takes flight. They’ll have to make do without O’Donnell, but the need is greater to get Conor Cleary, Conor Leen, Diarmuid Ryan, and David McInerney back in the defence, and Peter Duggan into their attack.
The Clare underage pipeline looks in good working order. In 2023 they claimed the All-Ireland minor crown, and their U20s pushed eventual champions Cork to the limit in the Munster final. The last two Fitzgibbon Cup winners, Mary Immaculate College and UL, have been populated with Clare hurlers.
That all adds up to a promising picture. Rodgers and Aidan McCarthy grew in stature as last summer unfolded, Shane Meehan and Ian Galvin made vital contributions off the bench.
Clare’s Shane O'Donnell and former All Ireland winning manager Ger Loughnane celebrate with the Liam MacCarthy Cup last year. Morgan Treacy / INPHO
Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
Still though there is a certain irreplaceable quality to O’Donnell. The suspicion is that the onus will fall even more on Kelly to lead and perform, that Clare will need the twin wing-forward threat of David Fitzgerald and Duggan to assume additional responsibility as well.
How Clare reshape their attacking game will be intriguing. Who will be the focal point of their inside forward line now, the player to test the likes of Dan Morrissey and Huw Lawlor and Eoin Downey, as O’Donnell did so frequently?
Related Reads
New bosses Ó Ceallacháin and Queally square off with no margin for error in Walsh Park
Who's eyeing promotion and dreading relegation in hurling second tier?
The injury bulletin is the backdrop as they head to the Gaelic Grounds tomorrow. Limerick are a team that are no strangers to suffering injury travails.
Nickie Quaid’s cruciate injury looked set to have the biggest transformative impact on the 2025 hurling year, until O’Donnell was ruled out. John Kiely has seen the Casey brothers, Sean Finn, and Cian Lynch all miss chunks of hurling seasons in recent times. More often than not, Limerick found a way to cope and keep winning.
League defeats, the challenge of a Limerick team fiercely intent on bouncing back this year, and the removal of O’Donnell from their 2025 playing picture.
The challenges keep coming for Clare as the under two-month countdown to championship begins.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
League struggles, Limerick test, but Shane O'Donnell injury is Clare's real challenge
THE OUTCOME LAST Sunday evening would have left the locals in Ennis a little uneasy.
A third successive league loss was not something they wanted to digest, and yet the national trophy winning ways of 2024, ensured this Clare hurling group still had plenty credit in the bank.
The on-field slump that has characterised their early season league form, could be explained away in a large part by the staggered return of those stars that swept them to Liam MacCarthy glory last July.
Only nine of their All-Ireland final team started last Sunday against Wexford, it was the first start of the year for Tony Kelly, John Conlon, Mark Rodgers, and David Fitzgerald. Naturally there is some winter rust to be shaken off.
The concern over results might have dissipated with the comforting thought on Sunday evening that there were so many high-level hurlers to return to the Clare ranks, but that would have erupted into full-blown worry by Thursday afternoon’s news.
Shane O’Donnell. Shoulder surgery. A season-ender.
“We looked at every option with Shane but the medical advice was that surgery was 100 per cent necessary, so we wish him well and a full recovery,” Brian Lohan told the Irish Times.
If the public summary sounds composed, the private utterances must be different.
It is a huge blow to Clare’s prospects this season, seven weeks out from the commencement of their All-Ireland title defence. The most important player in their ranks? O’Donnell is up there, with only Tony Kelly vying with him for the label of the x-factor talent that elevates a team from contenders to champions.
There is no need to look far for the evidence to back up that assertion. The 2024 Hurler of the Year award was fitting recognition of O’Donnell’s talents. From the opener against Limerick in Ennis to the finale against Cork in Croke Park, defences were unable to get a grip on him.
He ransacked the Wexford defence for 1-4 on quarter-final day, but it was his sharp movement, ball-winning capacity at various angles, that elusive, surging style, and his creative instincts in setting up team-mates for goals, that set him apart.
Clare began last July’s All-Ireland decider in a sluggish manner, yet it was O’Donnell who sent a jolt of electricity through their side with the incisive break that paved the way for Aidan McCarthy’s goal.
It’ll be a poorer hurling championship as a result of him watching on injured from the sideline, instead of sparking anticipation when he gathers the ball on the pitch.
A teenage sensation with his 2013 man-of-the-match contribution, Clare’s indifferent form and his own injury issues, most notably a serious concussion scare, had stalled O’Donnell’s career. The renaissance that saw him win All-Star awards in the last three years was striking.
The routine of Clare delaying his seasonal debut, skipping the mundanity of league games before being unleashed in the heat of championship, had been a major success story. It was a tribute to careful planning and shrewd management, yet the aims to replicate it this year have now been ripped up.
As the hurling season shifts into March, Clare have to gather themselves after that setback. The threat of relegation has grown – edged out by two by Kilkennny in the opener, before seven-point losses followed against Galway and Wexford.
A drop in their springtime status would not be a major issue. The league was utilised effectively last year when they won the title, national silverware was necessary then in the development of a team who had been locked in a cycle of Munster final and All-Ireland semi-final losses.
The status of All-Ireland champions offers greater entitlement to off-days at this stage of the year. The change in the rhythms of the hurling year, underlines the importance of having everyone firing properly come Easter weekend when the Munster championship takes flight. They’ll have to make do without O’Donnell, but the need is greater to get Conor Cleary, Conor Leen, Diarmuid Ryan, and David McInerney back in the defence, and Peter Duggan into their attack.
The Clare underage pipeline looks in good working order. In 2023 they claimed the All-Ireland minor crown, and their U20s pushed eventual champions Cork to the limit in the Munster final. The last two Fitzgibbon Cup winners, Mary Immaculate College and UL, have been populated with Clare hurlers.
That all adds up to a promising picture. Rodgers and Aidan McCarthy grew in stature as last summer unfolded, Shane Meehan and Ian Galvin made vital contributions off the bench.
Still though there is a certain irreplaceable quality to O’Donnell. The suspicion is that the onus will fall even more on Kelly to lead and perform, that Clare will need the twin wing-forward threat of David Fitzgerald and Duggan to assume additional responsibility as well.
How Clare reshape their attacking game will be intriguing. Who will be the focal point of their inside forward line now, the player to test the likes of Dan Morrissey and Huw Lawlor and Eoin Downey, as O’Donnell did so frequently?
The injury bulletin is the backdrop as they head to the Gaelic Grounds tomorrow. Limerick are a team that are no strangers to suffering injury travails.
Nickie Quaid’s cruciate injury looked set to have the biggest transformative impact on the 2025 hurling year, until O’Donnell was ruled out. John Kiely has seen the Casey brothers, Sean Finn, and Cian Lynch all miss chunks of hurling seasons in recent times. More often than not, Limerick found a way to cope and keep winning.
League defeats, the challenge of a Limerick team fiercely intent on bouncing back this year, and the removal of O’Donnell from their 2025 playing picture.
The challenges keep coming for Clare as the under two-month countdown to championship begins.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Banner Dilemma Clare GAA Hurling shane o'donnell