No need to second guess the other manager

THROUGH the course of this season’s Clare SHC campaign, Fergie O’Loughlin almost discovered the secret art of bi-location.

He divided his evenings, between training his own club Clarecastle and parish neighbours Ballyea. It was a good relationship, with his native club in the top flight of the league and championship, while his adopted charges were keener on retaining their existence in senior B ranks.

But then the unthinkable happened. Ballyea, the minnows of Clare hurling shocked the county, and themselves by reaching the senior final, against the mighty Clarecastle. Once the last whistle blew in their semi-final win over Eire Óg three weeks ago in Cusack Park, O'Loughlin made up his mind.

Tomorrow in the final it will be very different. He will be wearing his Clarecastle hat and his visit to the opposition dressing-room after the game, whatever the circumstances, will be a fleeting one.

While he may not be as well known outside the county as his brother Ger (the 'Sparrow'), Fergie has enjoyed a high profile in Clare circles, as a player, referee, and in more recent times as a coach.

Losers to Sixmilebridge in last year's decider, Clarecastle are appearing in their 25th final and have every reason to feel confident of success.

For one thing, they have a stronger team, as Ken Ralph, Danny Scanlan and Anthony Daly were missing for all of last season's campaign.

Fergie first became involved in coaching with Clarecastle three years ago, when they lost in the semi-final to Doora-Barefield. Despite the disappointment of losing last year, he still made up his mind to continue.

"I think that every year we'd have the potential to get to the county final. At times we beat ourselves. We just didn't perform; we pressed the self destruct button,'' he says. It is a lesson he has learned, absorbed and passed on.

But what of his other role.

In late February Ballyea chairman Michael O'Neill approached him to take charge of their team. The mission statement was simple: retain their status in senior 'B' and stay up in the same division in the Clare Cup.

"That seemed to me to be a reasonable challenge to take on and that hopefully we could meet it,'' O'Loughlin agreed.

It was one he and his charges surpassed with ease to set up a most amazing story. The journey truly began in the SHC quarter-final.

"That day O'Callaghan's Mills were hot favourites to beat Ballyea. At the back of my mind I expected they would win.

"Then, in the semi-final against Eire Óg when you were saying it was getting closer and there was always the possibility you'd always have to be giving the hand to Eire Óg who were senior for years and have a lot of youth and experience.

"I felt that Ballyea would give them one hell of a game. But whether they would have the experience at the end to carry them through I wasn't so sure.

"Until that final whistle blew, I just could not believe it was going to happen, because we had already beaten Wolfe Tones."

A day of mixed emotions certainly looms large.