Does anyone really think Clare’s number is up?

I was in the RTÉ radio booth in the cockpit of the Kinnane Stand yesterday, when the fourth official signalled there would be just one minute of injury-time.

I was commentating with Limerick’s Ollie Moran, who was nearly beside himself with delight. I couldn’t believe it. When I saw the number ‘4’ go up a few seconds later, I thought that reflected the amount of injury time still to play. So did everyone from Clare.

The Clare management were incandescent afterwards and I can understand that anger. The ‘4’ was apparently for Seamus Hickey’s substitution, but Hickey was gone at least three minutes by that stage. How does it make any sense anyway to put up a number ‘4’ after a ‘1’ has already gone up? I don’t remember a goalkeeper being substituted.