Lohan magic lives on in hurling brothers

LONG before the names of Brian and Frank Lohan hit public consciousness, long before the days of wall-to-wall sporting hype, the name Gus Lohan was almost as renowned as that of his two hurling sons today.

For 16 years, he graced the inter-county scene, first with his native Galway, from 1962 to 1967, then with Clare, where he was based as a Garda, from 1968 to 1977. Those were barren years for both counties, the only national title coming at the very end, making his achievement in reaching the national consciousness even more remarkable.

Considering, however, the way his career was book-ended by two outstanding achievements, perhaps it's

understandable.

At 14, in his native Cappataggle, he won minor East Galway and county titles, four years underage; in 1977, aged 37, and in his final inter-county season, as Clare won the National League, Gus Lohan took two national sportstar-of-the-week awards for his displays, including the final, against Kilkenny.

If his medal haul at inter-county level wasn't exactly up there with the Skehans, Rings and Doyles of this world, it was at club level that Lohan really prospered.

Transferred to Newmarket-on-Fergus in 1965, the hard-hurling star from Galway was just in time to join a

remarkable group of men on the rise.

Already they had won two county senior hurling titles on the trot, and with their new centre-back on board, they went on to complete the three-in-a-row in 1965; did it again in 1967/68/69, then capped that with a four-in-a-row, from 1971 to 1974 inclusive.

Added three more after that, the final win coming in 1981, against all odds. Eleven county senior titles, 13 for some of the team, but the one that came latest left the sweetest taste of all.

"We played a team in the early rounds that had won three Under-21 titles. Beat them, and afterwards this young lad came up to me, put out his hand, and said 'ye won, but ye won't go any further', sort of blaming us for putting a good team out of it. 'We'll go a bit further than ye anyway', I said, and we did," Lohan said.

Though he comes across as the most genial of men, gentle, soft-spoken, smiling, that sharp retort would come as no surprise to those who know him well.

"Sudden enough", an old rival described him as; "he'd be very even-tempered on the field, but there was a line you didn't cross if you did, he could be sudden enough".

The gentle demeanour isn't a front, he's a genuinely affable chap, but Lohan was a man you didn't mess with, on or off the field.

"His discipline, skill, fitness and work-rate were rivalled only by his fearlessness and team spirit," wrote an old team-mate, Val Arthur, in a recent edition of Pioneer magazine, where Gus was being recognised for 50 years of abstinence.

Val could have been describing Frank, or more especially Brian. Red-helmeted colossus, red-haired colossus, like son, like father. Even today, you wouldn't think of messing with him because even into his 60s, he maintains the solid look that made him such a stalwart on the field.

While Gus has remained constant, the same, unfortunately, can't be said of his old club. 1981 was the last senior success for perhaps the most storied club in Clare. Still heading the roll-of-honour, winners of a Munster double in the late 1960s, in 1995 and 1997, when Clare broke the hoodoo in Munster and All-Ireland, there wasn't a single Newmarket player, even on the panel. As they head into Sunday's final, the same holds true.

None of the blame for this can fall on Gus Lohan, or perhaps it can, indirectly. As treasurer of Newmarket in the early to mid-1980s, he was instrumental in raising huge sums, money that went into building a fabulous complex in the town. In the meantime, however, his sons were growing up in nearby Shannon, and their father was also heavily involved there, at underage. Success followed success, a new town, new club, even as the more traditional neighbours faded from sight.

"Every team has valleys, and one was bound to come no team was going to continue winning championships the way we were winning them, in bunches. Remember, too, Shannon had no club during that period, was part of the Newmarket parish.

"After Wolfe Tones were founded, and as Shannon was getting bigger, Newmarket was getting smaller, because Sixmilebridge were also moving in from the other side. But they're coming back, they're not far off now...They'll be back." Might, but another Gus Lohan would be a godsend.