Quinn determined to bridge the glory gap

SOME days it seems like only yesterday. Other times it feels like a lifetime ago. These are the conflicting emotions in Clare when memories of the great All-Ireland Final winning days of 1995 and 1997 are recalled.

The cold fact is, however, it was a long time ago. A decade has almost passed since that last All-Ireland championship success, a win that was to herald a new era in Clare hurling, and yet since then, nothing.

A few of the heroes from those two campaigns are still there, the veteran five — Davy Fitzgerald, Brian and Frank Lohan, Seanie McMahon and Colin Lynch — but it’s time now, surely, for the rest of this team to step forward, claim their own reward, before talk of another famine starts to kick in.

Guys like wing-back Gerry Quinn.

“In 1999 I came onto the team. I was a sub against Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final, which we lost. In 2002 in the All-Ireland final they beat us again, but we didn’t do ourselves justice that day at all, we didn’t play well. A few things went wrong, DJ got the early goal, then the second goal was a flick, which could have gone anywhere.

“Two years ago we met them again (in the All-Ireland semi-final), we had a great chance in the drawn game, should have taken it. We weren’t a million miles away in the replay either, even though we played poorly. In years gone by, all those defeats might have had some bearing on things, but it will have no relation to what happens on Sunday.

“There’s no-one looking to the past, we’re just looking forward to meeting this game now. We’re back to where we were last year, the semi-finals, and we’re happy to have done that.

“We need to go a step further now. Being beaten in the semi-final for the last two years — that’s no good. You want to reach the All-Ireland final at least, then see what happens. We’ve strengthened up our team since last year, though Kilkenny have done the same, but we’d be hoping we’re that bit stronger.”

They will need to be, of course. Kilkenny are in a transitional phase, but when the likes of John Tennyson, Cha Fitzpatrick, Michael Rice, Michael Fennelly, John Dalton, Richie Power, Willie O’Dwyer et al — multiple All-Ireland medallists at underage — are the ones involved in that transition, well, the potential is certainly there.

As one of those charged with limiting the Kilkenny attack, Gerry is conscious of the threat. “They have so many good players — in the forwards alone you have Shefflin, Comerford, Brennan from the old team and some very good young players after coming on.

“You have to be very aware of them. Our forwards will have to play a pressure game, make sure the clearances aren’t finding the Kilkenny forwards. If any of those six get a free ball in the hand from 40 yards out, they’re going to score. “We would be worried about that. They have a very good strike rate, and they’re also a goal-scoring team. There’s a big onus on our own forwards to defend, but they’re well capable of it, they’re well drilled on that.”

They’re not a bad unit themselves, the Clare forwards, and from his own experience trying to mark in training the likes of Diarmuid McMahon, the Tonys, Carmody and Griffin, Niall Gilligan, Alan Markham, Andrew Quinn, not to mention bench options Barry Nugent and Daithi O’Connell or James McInerney, Gerry is also confident that they can pose problems of their own.

“I wouldn’t like to be marking any of them in a match,” he says of his colleagues. “It’s all about performance on the day and if they produce in the game what they’re producing in training, we should be alright. Definitely yes, they have to do it, but I don’t think individually we’re going to get any better players than those lads.”

Any possibility then that after this year, the likes of the Lohans will no longer be able to wave those All-Ireland medals in their faces?

“It’s so long now since they won them I’d say they’re nearly lost. This team has won nothing, and I’d say that’s the attitude of those lads also. The past is the past. They need big performances the next day as well, I don’t think they’ll be looking back to what they’ve won. It’s nearly ten years since the last All-Ireland title. This is a very good team, certainly the best team we’ve had since the 90s. It always comes down to the day, but if we perform to the best of our ability, get the bit of luck, get the scores at the right time, I think we should come out on top.”