Clinical Clonlara bridge 15-year gap to secure Clare SHC title

A tally of 2-9 from Michael O’Loughlin did most of the damage while his full-forward partner Ian Galvin was class throughout

Sun, 22 Oct, 2023 - 15:54

Maurice Brosnan

Clare SHC Final: Clonlara 3-18 Crusheen 2-16

Canon Hamilton was born 200 metres from Clonlara’s pitch. On Sunday, the village secured the cup named in his honour for the third time after an enthralling Clare SHC final.

It bridges a 15-year gap since their last county final triumph. A tally of 2-9 from Michael O’Loughlin did most of the damage while his full-forward partner Ian Galvin was class throughout.

Oisin O’Donnell and John Conlon traded scores during a frantic opening period that saw Clonlara squander two goal chances. The first fell to an under-pressure Dylan McMahon, the other saw Colm O’Meara cut through a scrambling defence and opt to shoot himself despite Ian Gavlin’s supporting run. The high effort was well-stopped by former Clare number one Donal Tuohy.

They were in again after 15 minutes with Ian Galvin spinning away from full-back Cian Dillon to race in along the endline. The Crusheen captain did remarkably well to recover and hook the strike. It was yet another warning shot across the bow. The defensive structure failed to adapt in time.

Three minutes later, Galvin spun his man once more and teed up Michael O’Loughlin who made no mistake. Tadhg Dean was swapped back in a bid to stifle the electric full-forward, but O’Loughlin added two points, one from a free, immediately after as the favourites stretched away.

Clonlara would raise another green flag before the turnaround thanks to Colm Galvin. Aidan Moriarty timed his run to the puckout break perfectly and managed to get his handpass away for Galvin to collect and drive home their advantage.

At 2-7 to 0-6 down, Crusheen needed an immediate response. Their first port of call to steady the ship was improving a lowly 54% first-half conversion. They started the second half with four shots at the posts for four points with a fine Diarmuid Mullins long-range effort, a looped Conor O’Donnell point and a double from Oisin O’Donnell.

The margin was back to just four by the 40th minute as Galway All-Ireland winner Aidan Harte roared his approval on the Crusheen line. Clonlara meanwhile looked to their bench as several players showed signs of cramp.

Two quickfire frees stemmed the tide until Breffni Horner sent Oisin O’Donnell away for a goal. With their lead whittled back to just three, Clonlara turned to their thrilling full-forward line for relief. A long ball was brilliantly collected by O’Loughlin who managed to recover after his initial effort was hooked by Luke Hayes to beat Tuohy for a second time.

Horner added a late goal to ensure the scoreline was deservedly closer at the final whistle. Then Clonlara collected their silverware and brought it home.

Scorers for Crusheen: Oisin O’Donnell 1-4, Breffni Horner 1-3 (2 free), Ross Hayes 0-3 (3 free), Conor O’Donnell 0-2, Fergus Kennedy 0-2, Diarmuid Mullins 0-1, Jamie Fitzgibbon 0-1.

Scorers for Clonlara: Michael O’Loughlin 2-9 (7 free), Colm Gavlin 1-0, John Conlon 0-2, Ian Galvin 0-2, Dylan McMahon 0-1, Aidan Moriarty 0-1, Jathan McMahon 0-1, Colm O’Meara 0-1, Diarmuid Stritch 0-1.

Crusheen: D Tuohy; E McMahon, C Dillon (C), Luke Hayes; D Mullins, R Hayes, T Dean; E McMahon, J Fitzgibbon; G O’Grady, C O’Donnell, C Mullins; O O’Donnell, F Kennedy, B Horner.

Subs: I O’Brien for McMahon (41), L Ketelaar for Mullins (51), G O’Brien for O’Grady (64), M Perrill for Kennedy (64).

Clonlara: S Gully; M Clancy, G Powell, L Ryan; D Fitzgerald, D McMahon, P O’Loughlin; A Moriarty, J McMahon (C); C O’Meara, J Conlon, C Galvin; D Stitch, I Galvin, M O’Loughlin.

Subs: C Moriarty for O’Meara (53), M Stritch for Stritch (59), C Bourke for Moriarty (62).

Referee: N Malone (Éire Óg)