Anthony Daly: Eoghan Gunning has captained Clare to minor and U20 titles. Can he complete the triple?

Eoghan Gunning lifts the James Nowlan Cup after Clare beat Galway to win the All-Ireland U20 Championship. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

As a young fella from Clarecastle, I can still vividly remember going to Munster U21 games to support Clare. The feeling coming home after was mostly of devastation but I can recall the odd day when Clare did win and I was walking out of Thurles or Kilmallock or the Gaelic Grounds nearly floating on air.

That was a different time because, apart from the Munster minor win in 1981, we had no history of success in Clare, at any level. That has all changed in the last three decades, so much so that the feeling after Sunday's All-Ireland win was just cloaked in satisfaction rather than any mad outburst of elation.

Clare have this brilliant record now of having won the All-Ireland every time the county has won a Munster U21/20 title. It was in no way overconfidence, but Clare people went to Thurles expecting to win.

We have nearly been spoiled in Clare since the Tony Kelly-inspired era of three All-Ireland U21 wins in a row between 2012 and 2014. This was Clare’s first since, but Clare teams are so competitive at all different levels, it inevitably feels a different world from when I was growing up.

Galway were hampered by the injury to Aaron Niland and the distraction of Niland and Jason Rabbitte being with the seniors for the last few months but they are the rules. Niland did make a big difference when he came on early in the second half but he was only going to be able to do so much because this was an emphatic Clare victory.

Rabbitte scored 1-3 and was fouled for a few frees. He’s not an easy man to mark but Matthew O’Halloran did a superb job. Galway have a lot of firepower in their full-forward line but Clare had even more.

The Clare inside line of Marco Cleary, Thomas O’Connor, and Paul Rodgers were outstanding, accumulating 3-5 from play between them. Their work rate was just as impressive. The game was effectively over after Thomas got his second goal and Marco raised his green flag early in the second half.

The scoreline was a little false at half time, with the 1-1 Clare got in those closing minutes. It was a devastating blow to Galway, especially Jamie Moylan’s brilliant goal, but that’s hurling — when you get chances, you have to take them. And Clare certainly did.

Apart from Niland and Rabbitte, Brian Callanan was a threat but none of the other Galway forwards were really breaking any ground against an outstanding Clare defence.

Michael Collins was a deserved man of the match but Clare had outstanding performers in Graham Ball and Rodgers, both minors last year. Pound for pound, I’d nearly have given it to Rodgers.

Clare's Ronan Kilroy and Michael Collins celebrate after the game. Picture: INPHO/Stephen Heaney

Terence Fahy and his management deserve a lot of credit for how well they turned out this group.

The U20 is not an easy gig because there is so much else going on, between lads on the senior panel, Fitzgibbon, Freshers, second-level colleges, and lads doing the Leaving Cert.

Munster is a total minefield too. In fairness to Terence, he and last year’s team were very unlucky when the black card and penalty harshly awarded against Jamie Moylan had a big bearing on the result of the Munster final against Tipp.

Clare were sluggish in the opening round against Waterford, slightly better against Limerick in round two, but they have dramatically improved with every performance since, culminating in their best and most complete display of the year yesterday.

Once Clare got into the big stadiums in Thurles, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, and the Gaelic Grounds, they really thrived. What would they be like in Croke Park?

I’ve never been a fan of double-headers — as everyone reading this column knows — but I thought the GAA missed a trick yesterday by not having the Lory Meagher, Nickey Rackard, or Christy Ring final with that match. Those teams did get their big day out in Croke Park but I just think it would have been even more of an occasion for one of those finals if it was on the same billing. Those competitions could do with even more of a lift.

Yesterday was a tough defeat for a lot of those Galway players who also lost the All-Ireland minor final to Clare three years ago. It was another brilliant day though for Clare, who backed up their status as outstanding underage team of this age group.

It was a special day for Eoghan Gunning, an outstanding player and leader who has now captained Clare to All-Ireland minor and U20 titles. Is it too much to hope that he may complete the triple some day as senior captain?

After only dreaming of days like these for so long, everyone in Clare is entitled to believe that anything is possible.