Home comforts lure back Clarke
Clarke’s reasoning for making the trip back to Ireland is a familiar one – homesickness – and it seems he made his mind up last month while home to attend his sister’s wedding.
“He’s an outstanding talent who is very highly regarded by his peers and everyone at the club, and he will be missed,” said Collingwood football manager Geoff Walsh yesterday.
“I’m sure Marty will be successful in his future endeavours and, on behalf of everyone at the club, I would like to wish him the very best back in Ireland.”
Michael Shields and Aisake O hAilpín have also cut short their own Australian sojourns recently and resumed their inter-county careers with some degree of success and Carlow’s Brendan Murphy will be hoping to do likewise in 2010 having left the Sydney Swans.
Kevin Dyas has also informed Collingwood that he will be returning to Ireland while Tadhg Kennelly has announced his decision to stay in Ireland rather than return to link up with the Sydney Swans.
Whether such decisions cool the interest of AFL clubs in Irish talent is another thing and players continue to be targeted by agent Ricky Nixon and other clubs who are acting independently.
Clarke left Ireland in 2006 to sign a two-year international contract with the ‘Pies’ and played 46 AFL games for the club, the last of which was Round 12 tie against the Swans this season.
In a letter to supporters, staff and teammates Clarke said: “My decision to return home was not an easy one. But I simply miss my home and the people close to me too much. I also have a burning desire to be a teacher and I want to start that stage of my life as soon as possible.”
He went on to state his belief that his best sporting days were ahead of him and, at 22, that will be music to the ears of Down supporters who were hailing him as the next big thing prior to his departure for Australia.
Before leaving for Australia, a teenage Clarke was instrumental in Down’s capture of the All-Ireland minor football title in 2005 and he also featured in two MacRory Cup finals for St Louis, Kilkeel.
Clarke also thanked Collingwood for all they had done for him in the last three years, especially national recruiting manager Derek Hine who travelled to Ireland in 2006 to sign the player.
With Mourne County great James McCartan, newly-installed as manager of the county team, these are exciting times for Down supporters, who will be hoping Clarke can have a similar impact to that of Kennelly in Kerry.
Meanwhile Tyrone’s Sean Cavanagh has undergone surgery to repair ankle ligament damage sustained in this year’s Ulster football final against Antrim.
By coincidence, the 2008 Footballer of the Year’s fellow Moy and Tyrone team-mates Colm Cavanagh, Ryan Mellon and Philip Jordan are also due to have operations in the near future. Cavanagh’s brother Colm and Ryan Mellon are both booked in for operations at the Ulster Independent Clinic tomorrow, while Jordan will go under the knife on October 16 to remedy a long-standing hip problem.
“It’s very much a coincidence that we are all facing surgery just at this time but there is nothing else for it,” Cavanagh said.
“Both Colm and Ryan face ankle reconstruction surgery while Philip, who had a deep-seated groin problem for a spell in the past, is now going to have a hip operation.”
The Moy quartet were prominent in Tyrone’s march to this year’s All-Ireland semi-final, but now face lengthy spells of recuperation.
Cavanagh hopes to cast the crutches aside long before he weds Dr Fionnuala Vernon – sister of Armagh midfielder Charlie – on December 5.
“I received a series of injections prior to playing against Kildare and Cork but I was at less than full throttle, as was Philip. Now is as good a time as any for us to have the injuries properly treated and obviously we will face recovery periods.
“I would imagine that we might not be back until maybe the March-April period.”
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