Seoirse Bulfin spent a dozen years on the sideline with Davy Fitzgerald in Limerick Institute of Technology, so when Fitzgerald took Waterford over, he brought Bulfin along. Now Bulfin coaches Clare, another Fitzgerald-managed side.

If he’s sick of hearing about 2014, he hides it well. Colin Ryan collected an All-Ireland senior hurling medal with Clare in 2013 but last season the Banner couldn’t raise a gallop.

The pressure is on Clare hurling manager Davy Fitzgerald to deliver a Munster championship victory on Sunday, according to Tomás Mulcahy.

Alone, Shane O’Donnell may well stand as Clare’s sole full-forward line representative in Thurles on Sunday but as he showed in the relegation play-off in Kilkenny last month when he gave no less a defender than Paul Murphy a long afternoon it suits him to a tee.

The longest-standing proponent of the one v one penalty in hurling insists it should only be awarded if a referee adjudges a foul has denied a certain goal.

Davy Fitzgerald wants an end to "negativity" in Clare hurling following what he’s admitted has been a "trying month."

A defiant Davy Fitzgerald claimed Clare were too good to be relegated and were the better team in Nowlan Park yesterday.

If the Clare hurlers once turned their season round by convening to drink Davy Fitzgerald’s MiWadi, maybe the same trick will work with Kool-Aid.

Clare 2-22, Dublin 2-20:

Apart from being pointless after three games, if Clare ever needed a win they were never more desperate for a result after Davy O’Halloran’s comments in a newspaper interview on Saturday morning.

Cillian Kiely (Offaly)

Clare will meet Cork in the Waterford Crystal Cup semi-finals next weekend, following a slender 0-16 to 0-15 win over Tipperary at Sixmilebridge.

Cratloe 2-12 Éire Óg 0-11

Cratloe are poised to challenge for a senior hurling and football double in the Banner county.

Clare 2-28 University College Cork 1-04

There are All-Ireland home-comings, and then there was Clare last Sunday, a homecoming with a difference — certainly different to what we saw in the ’90s.

Last Saturday marked a second U21 All-Ireland title for Donal Moloney and Gerry O’Connor, but, watching Clare across the last couple of campaigns, it’s obvious just how much of an imprint Davy Fitzgerald (right) and Paul Kinnerk (below) have had on the way the team plays.

Clare 2-28 Antrim 0-12

Clare’s U21 strength doesn’t being and end with their senior stars, the All-Ireland winners’ joint manager Donal Moloney insisted after another Semple Stadium triumph.

Clare 1-16 Galway 0-07

The Tipperary 2012 glory story continued in McDonagh Park, Nenagh last night, the third leg of the Munster Grand Slam completed with this win over Clare in the Munster intermediate hurling championship final, adding to the senior/minor double won in Cork a couple of weeks ago.