O’Loughlin lands top job as Banner boss row ends

AFTER nearly two months of turmoil, the player/manager controversy that rocked Clare GAA reached its conclusion at the county’s annual county convention last night when, in a departure from the official Clár, former star Ger ‘Sparrow’ O’Loughlin was endorsed as the new manager of the senior hurling team.

O’Loughlin will take over for a term of what full-time secretary Pat Fitzgerald stated “I expect will be at least two years,” replacing Mike McNamara, who resigned earlier this week.

O’Loughlin, currently manager of three-in-a-row Limerick senior hurling champions Adare, had already been put forward for approval at a regular county board meeting last Tuesday evening, but the delegates had asked that the decision be postponed until last night. Without discussion and without dissent, the appointment was ratified.