This article is from page 72 of the 2011-06-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 72 JPG
A LOT of people forget that way back when things were rotten, that it was a junior team that showed the way for Clare hurling, winning a Munster final three days after the seniors were pummelled by Tipperary in their final, then going on to win the All-Ireland in Croke Park.
Still, being intermediate manager is a tough station – the seniors are the flagship team, the minors and the under 21 have a higher profile; the juniors are left to pick up the crumbs.
That’s what manager Kevin Kennedy must have thought many times over the past few months as he tried to piece together a panel of players to try and win a first Munster title in grade for 16 years.
“It was frustrating,” he says. “Very frustrating. I’m like Trappatoni. I’m depending on clubs to release players. There are players who don’t want to play for their county. Isn’t that great?
“There were number of players that I asked and they just weren’t interested. Then there were the clubs. Club managers wouldn’t release players for training. It’s practically impossible to prepare a team. What we did was gathered a group of players who were interested and we really pushed it for the last few weeks after the first two rounds of the club championship were over,” adds.
It was the arrival of Niall Gilligan and Tony Carmody into the squad that gave things a huge lift. “It gave lads a huge lift,” says Kennedy, “and now the players we have now are interested and very committed. Whether we’re good enough remains to be seen, because Cork are supposed to be very good.
“There is no doubt about it but there is a team in Clare that could be got together to win a Munster and All-Ireland title in this grade. Two or three years ago we had a good team and we were in a semi-final against Limerick. Ciaran Carey played for Limerick and was the difference between the sides. That’s why I invited the two lads in.”
With Gilligan and Carmody up front, the blend between youth and experience is provided by the younger brigade of Martin Duggan, Ivor Whyte and the precociously talented Daire Keane.
“I would have liked to have got more young fellas,” says Kennendy. “A few under 21s but the problem is that the under 21 management are not interested in having young fellas moving from one panel to the next.
“There are two or three fellas who would on the team, who are under 21 but didn’t join me. I can do nothing about that.
“We played two challenge matches against Galway and Limerick and were impressive in putting up big scores, but unfortunately we were conceding goals.
“That’s a worry, but I think we have the forwards this year to make a difference,” adds the 1997 All-Ireland winning manager.