Bridging the gap Carr’s occupation

MICHAEL CARR is a blue chip, dyed-in-the-wool Clarinbridge hurling man.

He started playing for the club at 11 years of age and he has been in most, if not all roles within the club since then.

From team manager at all levels, to various officer positions in the club over the past 50 years to Chairman and sponsor today.

And this afternoon will be one of his proudest days as he sees the club’s loyal supporters hoist their colours in the Hogan Stand as Paul Callanan leads the team out onto hallowed ground.

“It is a most fantastic occasion. We are enthralled by the whole thing. It is a terrific honour for us as a club to be in the final and to be chairman at such a time is a great personal pleasure.

“We are all praying that the lads can bring the Tommy Moore cup back west to the ‘Bridge’. Galway clubs have won the All-Ireland club title 10 times, and we would love to be the eleventh.

“There is a great buzz all around the village and it has been building since the semi-final win over De La Salle. We just want to go on now and finish the job. As club officers we have a job to do, and the players and the team management have a different role to fulfil.”

Carr has been around long enough now to read the mood of a dressing room and a panel of players, and he is impressed with what he sees.

“The mood is very positive and they are a wonderful bunch of lads. They don’t know when they are beaten and you have to be in the dressing room to see the belief that they have. They are made of the right stuff and they are great characters. There is a nice mixture in the panel, from young lads to the more experienced ones. Guys like Mark Kerins who has been one of the most consistent hurlers in the club in my lifetime, have given great leadership and there are many others like him leading from the front.

“The management team have done a superb job over the past year or two. The success we have had this year did not happen overnight and it takes time and effort to get to where we are. Thankfully, there is great unity in the whole set-up. We will go up on the day and even the ‘MiWadi Express’ will probably be late home if we are lucky enough to win.

“Michéal (Donoghue) has done a terrific job. He was a marvellous hurler himself and would probably be playing only for injury. But the fact that he had to give up the game itself, has turned out to be a positive in some regards as he is such a tremendous team manager.

A final question; What would it mean to Michael Carr, if Clarinbridge could win the All-Ireland senior final on St. Patrick’s day 2011?

He looks you straight in the eye, smiles and replies;

“Well look-it, to be honest, I could die a happy man”.