How a sunny weekend in Clare was when the Tipperary clouds lifted

You wouldn’t normally associate Clare’s Cratloe Woods with the sun-soaked Costa del Sol but as David Moriarty watched the Tipperary footballers go through their paces, he was filled with a renewed sense of hope.

Because there were dark days along the way, Moriarty admits, particularly when young stars Liam Casey, Jason Lonergan and Kevin Fahey announced they were heading to the United States following the conclusion of the Allianz Football League.

Moriarty, the team’s strength and conditioning coach, remembers nights driving home and wondering what on earth he was doing.