Football's dual influence on Banner hurling showpiece

Eight of Colm Collins’ Clare football panel as well as the county’s finest ever footballer, Gary Brennan, will tog out for the Clare senior hurling final

READING THE GAME: Eire Óg's Ciarán Russell with and Kilmurry Ibrickane's Andrew Shannon in last year's Clare SFC final at Cusack Park. Pic: Eamon Ward

Shortly before Ballyea made their breakthrough in 2016, they asked Tom Ryan, the former no-nonsense Limerick manager who guided that county to two Munster titles in the mid-90s, to come out and help with the coaching with the view of it being a long-term arrangement. So one evening he drove into the car park of the club grounds, took one look towards the field to see there were just eight players there, and duly circled back out through the gates, never to touch foot in the place or be seen there again.

Sure he’d seen enough: there simply weren’t enough hurling-only players there. What could he do when there were so many lads away also playing football? How and what could they win?