Daly thanks Jamesie for Banner years
And he thanked his former team-mate for his input into the team's campaign this year, revealing he had asked him at the start of the season not to retire. The fact that he had finally decided to opt out, after 12 years at the top, hadn't surprised him.
"We've had a few chats, but he didn't want to say anything at that stage. He said he would think it out over Christmas. But the last time we met, I knew by him he wasn't coming back. Then the question of him getting involved with the minors next year came up and it was clear he was interested. It wasn't any great shock to me,'' he said.
"It's a hard decision to make at any time. He owes nothing to anybody in Clare and he owes nothing to anybody in hurling either. You come to a stage where you know yourself when it's time to go. He was seriously thinking about giving up last year, but I appealed to himself and Olly (Baker), Brian (Lohan) and Seanie (McMahon) and the likes of Brian Quinn to give me another year. I thought there might be a year in us.''
The effort the players put into the team delighted him, he said.
In particular, Jamesie gave him "an unbelievable commitment. He more than answered his critics".
"He tried everything to get himself back - and he came a long way back,'' added Daly. "But he couldn't quite get back to the Jamesie people would love to have seen. It was superb to see him scoring that equalising point in Croke Park against Kilkenny in the All-Ireland quarter-final.
"The overriding feeling that night was we were all thrilled to be still in the All-Ireland race. But everybody was thrilled for Jamesie - because of the stick he had taken inside and outside the county which we felt was undeserved, given all he had done for Clare.''
O'Connor scored 151 points in championship hurling, while managing just two goals. Few of his scores were as important as the winning point in the 1997 All-Ireland final - which saw Clare repeat their Munster final victory over Tipperary.
While Jamesie played outstanding hurling for Clare at midfield (often after being moved out from attack), Daly's view is that his best position was right half-forward. He speaks from personal experience.
"No one knows it better than myself - from marking him in training. It was a nightmare. He had unbelievable pace and vision on the ball. He was very accomplished left and right, he had a great all-round game and of course, he was brave for a small guy.
"In the early days when we probably hadn't an established midfield - as with Olly and Colin Lynch - Jamesie did a power of work out there for us. Olly was only coming on the team in early '95, he didn't even start in the first game (against Cork).
"For that reason, it was awfully important to have a utility man like Jamesie there at that time."
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