John Conlon: 'All week you were hearing that you were going to be taken to the cleaners'

To claim a second All-Ireland medal against Cork after a tricky time of it in the counties' Munster SHC clash in April made it one sweet year.

Clare's John Conlon with his GWA Hurling Personality of the Year award at the Gaelic Writers Association Awards. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

You hear all of John Conlon’s 2024 story and wonder just how he and his wife Michelle managed it.

There were Clare's All-Ireland and Division 1 titles, of course, and helping Loughrea to a third-ever Galway SHC title last Sunday, not to mention assisting in the management of Truagh-Clonlara’s camogie team to a senior county championship last month.

But Conlon’s personal life has been dramatic too. Former Clare camogie player Michelle is shortly expecting their first child while his parents suffered some ill health earlier this year.

In April, Conlon’s mother Bridget was fortunate to escape a close encounter with a cow that had just given birth. As he explains: “She saw the calf had rolled into the next pen and to get the beestings in before, get the calf to suck within a certain period.

“She was trying to try the brother (Patrick) and she couldn't get through to him. And she said, 'Sure look, I'll tip on up and try and see can I get the calf to go back inside and get it inside.'

“But sure the minute she opened up the gate, the cow bolted in around and obviously saw her then and rammed her and jammed her to the gate and two or three laps around her with her head on top of her and hitting her.

“She had a collapsed lung, was in intensive care for two weeks, had damage on her ribs and all that kind of stuff and looked like she'd had 10 rounds with Mike Tyson, you know?

“So that was a hard period for two or three weeks. And thankfully she's been super. I was kind of slagging the father that I see now where I get my bit of strength or that will to fight on the field comes from her, that's for sure.” 

The day before the accident, Conlon’s father Patrick was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He was later operated on. “The two of them were laid up for a long time, but thankfully they got back to the semi-final, final, and great memories of the final.

“Our house was nearly like an injury bay there at one stage, trying to mind and look after them and bring them to appointments and different things like that. But sure you'd do anything for your parents, and they did it for me long enough.” 

Conlon is currently in Nashville on the Clare team holiday. His brother Patrick was on hand to receive his Gaelic Writers Association hurling personality of the year award supported by the Dalata Hotel Group in Dublin on Friday night.

Clare players John Conlon, right, and Peter Duggan celebrate after their side's victory in the GAA Hurling All-Ireland SHC final between Clare and Cork at Croke Park. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

To claim a second All-Ireland medal as he debunked theories he wouldn’t be able to cope with Shane Barrett’s speed in the final against Cork after a tricky time of it in the counties' Munster SHC clash in April made it one sweet year.

“The level of detail that had gone in to try and stop him because I remember below in Páirc Uí Chaoimh first day that we played, he got once or twice on runs, and I was like, ‘Jesus I can't let that happen in the All-Ireland final, the pace he has is blistering.’ He's going to be a super Cork hurler going forward for years to come and it was a massive challenge.

“I was anxious going into that final. It was just all week you were hearing that you were going to be taken to the cleaners and you were too slow and you weren't going to be fast enough for him. I suppose it was a challenge that you had to take on. And thankfully, just on the day, things ran for me at times and that happened for the whole team.” 

At 35, Conlon has a few years on most of his Clare team-mates especially his fellow Clonlara men in the set-up. Ian Galvin is part of the furniture at this stage but Dylan McMahon and Colm O'Meara who are both 21 and club captain Páraic O'Loughlin are trying to make names for themselves.

They are part of what keeps him young, he says. “Our car journey this year with the five lads was nearly like a full-time disco coming home at times, the singing and playacting and messing.” 

Hurling-wise, being part of the Loughrea success against Cappataggle last weekend completed a remarkable year for Conlon although they still have next month's All-Ireland semi-final to look forward to. He has known their manager Tommy Kelly and coach Gavin Keary from 2018 when they came into the Clare set-up.

Clonlara’s own county triumph last year meant he couldn’t help them out as much as he would have liked but this year he was able to commit more of his time. “It was more an advisory role more than anything else.

“To see the joy that were in their faces was a cool thing as an outsider, I'd never kind of experienced something like that with someone different, another club that you're involved with. It was a cool thing to experience.”