Specialists Doonbeg stand in way as Liscannor bid to end 70-year drought

THE storyline never changes, but the protagonists often do.

Tomorrow it’s the turn of Liscannor GAA club – a tiny parish hugging the western seaboard, aiming to win their first senior title when they face the mighty Doonbeg in the Clare SFC final.

The contrast couldn’t be any more stark. Liscannor are hoping to end a 70-year drought while the football empire of Doonbeg have contested 26 finals since their creation in 1954, winning 17.

Marty Guerin is in his first year as manager of his native Liscannor and pauses when asked what victory would mean. He said: “It would be impossible to put into words what winning would mean. It would mean everything to these players – they’ve given their lives to the club.”

Captain and full-back David McDonagh credits the ‘family nature’ of the club as its strongest asset.

“Without the current bunch of players we’d be nothing. We wouldn’t have any fundraising or anything to sustain us. All the lads and a few of their wives are acting as treasurers, secretaries, pros, it’s all coming from the squad and their families.

“Everyone in the club is double jobbing to be honest, if you weren’t training a team you’d be involved in some administrative role, you’d be doing something. Brian Conisdine is our secretary, he’s playing midfield Sunday. Niall Considine (no relation) is the treasurer, he’ll be centre-forward; Dara Blake, centre back is youth officer; Kieran Considine, full forward is the former chairman and secretary. I could go on ....”

What’s just as astonishing is that such a small pool of players is now an hour away from a county title.

McDonagh said: “I think it’s about 23 (players) in total we have, we’ve brought in about four lads this year who are only about 16 or 17. We just brought them in to give them a bit of experience, so you’re looking at a panel of possibly only 20 players.”

Liscannor, with a population of just 350 people draw its players from the town lands of Fanfield, Lahinch, Moymore, Lislarkin but have been crippled at underage in recent years due to a drop in numbers.

There is no U21 or minor team at present and from U12 to U16 they amalgamate with neighbours Kilfenora and Michael Cusack’s. Which adds significance, if not pressure to tomorrow’s game, admits Guerin.

“I suppose the time is now for Liscannor to win one, without putting too much pressure on anyone.

“We played in the 2002 and the 2008 finals and lost both to Kilmurry (Ibrickane) and in the ‘08 final they went to the All-Ireland semi-final so we’re not far away.”

He recalled: “They were sickening. I was full-back in ‘02 when we should have won and a sub in ‘08. In ‘02 we dominated but kicked a lot of wides and in ‘08 we lost one of our best players in the first few minutes and ended up losing by five. That was a setback and it affected the team.”

Things tend to happen in cycles and now, Guerin has one staring him in the face.

“The club was only formed in 1985, we won junior league and championship that year and progressed to intermediate, we won that in ‘88, played senior in ‘89, but dropped down again because of emigration and we lost a lot of players. At the way things are going here at the moment that could happen again so this game brings extra importance because it could be a while before our panel is as good.”