Ennis history made as Éire Óg footballers secure the double in Clare

Eire Og players celebrate after the Clare Senior Football final at Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chiosóg, Ennis on Sunday. Picture: Eamon Ward

Clare SFC final: Éire Óg 1-16 St. Joseph’s Doora/Barefield 2-6 

Almost a century after the Ennis Dalcassians dominated the Clare landscape, their successors Éire Óg finally brought back the senior hurling and football titles to the capital town following a powerful unanswered finish of 1-8 in Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chiosóg.

A historic achievement not garnered since the club’s double in 1929, Éire Óg required all of that Dalcassians spirit to finally fend off plucky neighbours St. Joseph’s Doora/Barefield who certainly pushed the champions to their optimum.

After all, in what was their fourth Clare crown in five years, the Parish proved to be their trickiest opponents having led for over half the contest thanks to a first-half brace of goals through Odhran O’Connell before admirably blitzing the holders once more with a brace of two pointers to soar four clear by the three-quarters mark.

Crucially, a shellshocked Éire Óg managed to weather all three storms and in the end, it was their superior bench that essentially turned the tide as substitutes Gavin Cooney, Jack Joyce and Aidan McGrath combined for 1-3 of that 1-8 momentum-fuelled finale.

ON THE DOUBLE: Eire Og's Aaron Fitzgerald lifts the Jack Daly and the Canon Hamilton Cups. Picture: Eamon Ward

Such a remarkable 11-point turnaround could not have been foreseen for the majority of a compelling hour as despite being their first senior final in 13 years, Doora/Barefield were determined to make the most of their unique opportunity.

An opportunist goal in only the seventh minute from O’Connell was the settling score required for Donagh Vaughan’s side after Cian McDonough’s effort for a point came back off the upright.

Ikem Ugwueru didm’t enjoy the same fortune down the other end as his back post flick rebound off the post and wide, having already seen Luke Pyne flash an early shot wide of Tom O’Brien’s goal.

A Mark McInerney two-pointer and points from Ikem Ugwueru and Oran Cahill wrestled back control for Éire Óg by the midway mark of the opening half, only to be floored once more when Joe Rafferty offloaded inside to Odhran O’Connell to double his goal bounty and nudge the Parish back in front at 2-1 to 0-7.

A second McInerney two-pointer, this time from a free from 45 metres, ensured a half-time stalemate at 0-7 to 0-7, with goalkeeper Tom O’Brien coming to his side’s rescue to prevent Ugwueru from rattling the net.

That seesaw pattern would be maintained into the new half as David McNamara inched the Ennis side into the ascendency in the 33rd minute, only to be grounded by Paddy Bugler’s tenth two-point free of the campaign. Michael Nash then did likewise from play three minutes later on Doora/Barefield’s way to a 2-6 to 0-8 cushion by the two-thirds mark.

The champions were rattled but crucially never reached for the panic button as instead manager Shane Daniels kept faith in his squad and emptied the bench to narrative-altering effect.

Substitute Jack Joyce began the backlash with a superb two-pointer at the turn of the final quarter, the spark that inspired Ikem Ugwueru, Mark McInerney and Ronan Lanigan to complete the comeback and edge the minimum clear entering the final ten minutes at 1-13 to 2-06.

There would be no such kick from a war-weary Parish who would be powerless to prevent the returning former winning captain Gavin Cooney from finding the net off the bench, with a third McInerney two-pointer and replacement Aidan McGrath putting the icing on the double-winning cake.

Scorers for Éire Óg: M McInerney 0-7 (2tpf, 1tp, 1f); G Cooney 1-0; J Joyce (1tp), I Ugwueru 0-2 each; C Russell, O Cahill, D McNamara, R Lanigan, A McGrath 0-1 each 

Scorers for St. Joseph’s Doora/Barefield: O O’Connell 2-0; P Bugler (1tpf), M Nash 0-2 each; T McDonald, J Rafferty 0-1 each 

ÉIRE ÓG: C Howard; D Ryan, A Fitzgerald, M Doherty; C Russell, G D’Auria, R Lanigan; D McNamara, G Murray; O Cahill, I Ugwueru, D O’Brien, M McInerney, L Pyne, D Moroney 

Subs: J Joyce for Pyne (40), J Collins for O’Brien (40), A McGrath for Moroney (47), G Cooney for Murray (50), N McMahon for McNamara (61) 

ST JOSEPH’S DOORA/BAREFIELD: T O’Brien; E Thynne, D O’Shea, F Kelleher; E Boyle, C O’Brien, C McDonough; J Curran, T McDonald; O O’Connell, M Nash, L Clune, J Rafferty, T Curran, P Bugler 

Subs: N Hardiman for McDonald (45, inj), D Boyle for O’Connell (50), C Hannan for Clune (55), S Costelloe for T. Curran (59) 

Referee: N Quinn (St. Joseph’s Miltown)