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Clare’s backroom team look for increased performance levels in a bid to clip the Cats and claim a first ever All-Ireland Under 21 title

This article is from page 41 of the 2009-09-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 41 JPG

THE biggest sports story in Clare this past generation undoubtedly oc- curred a few poc fadas away from Cusack Park last Tuesday – the day the old champ Muhammad Ali land- ed another knockout blow as Ennis and Clare welcomed him home as one of their own.

Hard to beat “The Greatest’, but the Clare Under 21 hurlers could land their own knockout blow to mighty Kilkenny on Sunday by adopting

as their own the mission statement of Muhammad Ali and the Alltech Group that were behind “The Great- est’ decision to raise the banner for his Irish ancestry.

OW atctamenvicKy (Oye Mniecincseeles el mpechercamelecam pe Ennis on more than one occasion last Tuesday as Alltech’s president, Dr Pearse Lyons, plugged the worldwide educational fund being promoted jointly by Ali and his biotechnology company.

“We want young people to be the best they can possibly be at whatever

they do,” said Dr Lyons to nods of approval from Ali.

Apply that theory to the Clare Un- der 21 hurlers and they have a chance of making their own piece of sport- ing history by landing a first ever All-Ireland Under 21 title.

That’s what it could take to win the title – Kilkenny are going for their fourth All-Ireland title in seven years and their 12th in all. Hurling in Kil- kenny has never had it so good.

Save the three outstanding per- formances of the Clare Under 21s

this term, Clare hurling never had it so bad at adult level.

However, being the best they can possibly be would make it Clare’s greatest hurling year since ‘98 when the curse of Jimmy Cooney’s whistle came between the county and anoth- er All-Ireland.

Or could it have been Biddy Early up to her old tricks again – the same day Muhammad Ali was in town, another one of Clare’s finest, Edna O’Brien, was on RTE telling the world how around 100 years ago

one WB Yeats was seen wandering around Feakle looking for Biddy Early and the meaning of it all.

Maybe Yeats had the curse lifted back then that helped Clare land the All-Ireland in ‘14. Maybe by talk- ing about it, the ‘Country Girl’ from Tuamgraney has lifted the modern day curse.

Something that could bring Mu- hammad’s mission statement of Clare being “the best they can pos- sibly be” alive.

It would be a great knockout blow.

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