Clonlara reach the summit after 89-year wait
Last year Clonlara leapt out of the Clare intermediate hurling ranks with the intention of stabilising in senior hurling in 2008. Instead they embarked on a whirlwind ride of successes that brought them to yesterday’s senior final against Newmarket-on-Fergus, the club’s first time featuring in the decider since 1919. And in a game that may not have contained sparkling hurling but did produce a gripping contest, Clonlara continued their extraordinary run with a three-point win.
Clonlara overcame the concession of an early Newmarket goal and a second-half spent playing against a stiff breeze, with a plethora of individual standout displays. The half-back pair of Nicky O’Connell and Domhnall O’Donovan gave terrific displays in repelling the Newmarket attacks, while O’Donovan’s twin brother Cormac got through an amount of work at midfield.
