O’Connell keen to raise Banner again

MAKING the best of a bad lot — that was the mindset of Clare’s Brian O’Connell after a less than auspicious introduction to Munster SHC hurling several years ago.

And as the Banner face into a provincial semi-final against hot favourites Tipperary tomorrow, that’s still his attitude. First, there was that debut: “It was an unfortunate day, against Waterford down in Thurles. I got thrown in as a greenhorn and John Mullane gave me a roasting. You have to take the good from all your experiences and that’s what I try.”

He did that, very successfully, and today Brian O’Connell is recognised as one of Clare’s best players for the past several seasons, to such effect that he has again been named captain. But what positive can he draw from a winless League campaign, that resulted in their relegation to Division Two?