Dónal Óg Cusack has brought ‘Cork cockiness’ to Clare

I came in early yesterday morning to watch the Clare U21s play Dublin in a challenge game in Clare-abbey, our old pitch in Clarecastle. 

There was a good buzz around. A few locals were knocking around. Martin Hegarty, an uncle of the Clare kitman and former Clarecastle goalkeeper, Tommy, was home from Australia. He was mad keen to see Clare in action but Martin’s mood carried the same tone as everyone else around the place; Clare just looked to be missing too many players to get a result.

For a finish, Martin got a dinger of an outcome. Despite all the bodies Clare are missing, winning is contagious. This time last year, or even the year before, Clare would have lost that game by a point or two but a sequence of wins has given the players the confidence and momentum they couldn’t find last year.