Clare’s ‘old man’ proud of kids

Clare captain Pat Donnellan has a lot to answer for. Brendan Bugler too. But for the 28-year-olds, this Clare team’s average age would be lower than an already decidedly youthful 23.

The captain’s fellow half-back is a few months older than him as, is substitute Fergal Lynch, but that hasn’t stopped his younger team-mates from dubbing him the grand old duke of the side.

Bugler and himself are the anomalies in one of the greenest sides ever to compete in an All-Ireland final. Donnellan won’t attempt to hide that fact.

“They are only a few years younger than us but when we are on the Clare team we all have the one mentality, and they have a huge amount of professionalism and give a huge amount of commitment to Clare.

“The way they apply themselves on the field and off the field is great, and is a great example. Their age means in certain ways they can be a bit more childish, but in terms of how they handle themselves and the way they play on the field it’s definitely a level of maturity that they show beyond their years.”

When Donnellan talks about a different mentality, he doesn’t mean the likes of himself, Bugler and Lynch have been sobered by seasons of disappointment.

“I don’t really have too much baggage. Different teams might have different kinds of baggage but this team has changed over the last four or five years. It’s not like we’ve been a team on the road for the last 10 or 12 years and we have a huge amount of defeats behind us.

“When the team changes and new players come in it’s essentially a new team. They don’t have any inhibitions or they don’t have fears of any teams. They grew up with winning, they are used to winning and that is a great mentality to have.”

And yet Donnellan speaks of how the squad, despite the slight age difference between his trio and the rest, are a “very close group”.

“I would be childish enough in certain ways!” he laughs, “there is no fear of that. We are a very close panel.

“We all try and make the most of each other and make sure we get to see everyone’s personality fully. That is a sign a team is growing together.

“We spend more time with each other than we do with anybody else outside of our close family. It’s important we all get on and we all make an effort with everyone.!”

Even though they don’t have All-Ireland final experience themselves, the role of Donnellan and the older crew is important in the sense of dealing with the hangers-on and extent of well-wishers.

“You take it with a pinch of salt,” he says. “There is nobody coming into your dressing room or nobody sending you a text on the day you lose, you know that. I would never turn away a well-wisher or you would never tell someone to stop texting you if they were trying to congratulate you.”

No, he hasn’t thought about what he might say in an acceptance speech. A lot has to fall Clare’s way before that happens.

“I would never think about those kinds of things,” insists Donnellan. “If I’m going up the steps I’m sure I’ll be able to think of a few words and nobody will worry about what I’m saying anyway.”