The building blocks behind the Banner
It’s not often that Clare make a hurling trip to Kilkenny and come away successful but it happened five years ago and the county is reaping the benefits ever since. It wasn’t for a match, however, it was much bigger than that.
We had all been hearing about Kilkenny’s new development structures, put in place several years earlier by some visionary people, led by county chairman Ned Quinn and hurling great Pat Henderson. At the time Kilkenny were at the top of their game, so the benefits of those new structures were becoming obvious. Three men, Seánie McMahon, Brian Quinn and Jim McInerney, three stalwarts of Clare teams of the 90s, took it on themselves to head for Kilkenny, investigate, then adapt what they found to suit the needs in Clare.
They couldn’t have had a more open reception. They met Ned, Pat and many others, they were shown what was being done, how various underage teams were being developed but more significantly, how individual players were being improved and developed at every stage. For the three lads, it was an eye-opener, for Brian especially. He was surprised, he told me, at how advanced Kilkenny were in relation to Clare, but he was more surprised the line they were taking.
We all associate Kilkenny with winning, with what seems an insatiable appetite for silverware. That wasn’t what they was being taught, however. Those development squads weren’t about winning, they were about improving skills, not just in the standout players, but in every player in the programme. That was the biggest lesson the delegation brought back from Kilkenny.
First challenge was to get the structures in place and many a late cup of tea was had in Seánie McMahon’s house as the three of them put a plan together. Three regions were established, Mid-Clare, South-Clare, East-Clare (the west is football territory!), contact made with every club in those regions, venues found for squads to meet, coaches chosen from various clubs who would impart the right knowledge to the players, the age-groups 14-17 the target.
It was a huge undertaking but they got it going. There were hiccups, of course, but the three were determined; any club that wasn’t pulling its weight got a phone call to see what could be done to help.
As always in the GAA, there was great work being done at club level, men like Joe McGrath in Cratloe (a Toomevara native, father of Conor) and Donal Kelly in Ballyea, father of Tony, heavily involved in coaching the skills to their own club youngsters.
Shortly afterwards, two significant developments: first, the appointment of Donal Moloney and Gerry O’Connor as joint managers of the county minor team, both outstanding coaches and managers, then the involvement of Clare’s two full-time county coaches, Paul Casey and Ronan Keane, bringing their expertise to bear on the development squads. Very quickly things gelled and results began to flow. Two Munster minor titles and an All-Ireland final reached in that grade; three Munster U21 titles, including Clare’s first, in 2009, two of those capped with All-Irelands, Clare in the final again this year.
Now we come to the senior team and again Clare have been fortunate in their management team. Davy Fitzgerald, Louis Mulqueen and Mike Deegan have done an outstanding job to get this young side to an All-Ireland final in this, only their second year in charge but already progress was being made, Division 1A status won last year, then retained this year in a hugely competitive group.
One man we must also mention is Paul Kinnerk. After Clare lost that All-Ireland minor final (to Kilkenny, ironically), I met Gerry O’Connor in Ennis and congratulated him, said he and Donal had to stay on. “Whatever about us,” he said, “One man we can’t afford to lose is Paul Kinnerk.” I thought he was just being modest; now I know he was deadly serious. Since then Paul has been involved with all the successful U21 teams and now too, he’s included in the senior set-up.
In a way then it’s been almost a perfect storm for Clare hurling. The Clare county board failed to capitalise on the success of the 90s; it’s great now though to see that so many players from that side are all giving back to the county, and there are others like Brian Lohan and Jamsie O’Connor. More could be done though. If you’re standing still in this game you’re falling behind and Brian Quinn feels there is a need for more full-time coaches. These are tough times for the country; great times in Clare however, and hopefully, better to come!
.
