How Tony Kelly became ‘the best Clare ever had’

A perfect blend of nature, nurture, and practice has allowed the Clare sharpshooter set new standards for club and county. Tony Griffin, Gary Brennan, and Jamesie O’Connor help to explain

RARE TALENT: Tony Kelly of Clare watches another shot sail over the bar. Kelly’s extraordinary scoring feats have elevated him to greatness. Picture: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

In a way they’re his peers, his equal. In fact at some stage or another, he’d have been the one looking up in awe at them.

Tony Griffin, who’d have lined out alongside him his first time playing senior hurling, knows what it’s like to come from a small, non-traditional, club like Ballyea and still win an All-Star.