After several Munster final and All-Ireland semi-final defeats, Banner veterans like Tony Kelly, John Conlon and David McInerney grasped the opportunity to add to their 2013 medals
Brian Lohan and Tony Kelly celebrate with the Liam MacCarthy Cup after Clare's win over Cork in a breathtaking All-Ireland final. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/InphoIn victory, Clare’s luminous resilience became the explanation for everything, even though the point about resilience is that it is impervious to outcomes. They needed it most when nobody could see it.
Winners will often say what they took from losing, but there is an element of make believe in that process. Clare must have managed that. In the first half of the All-Ireland semi-final this year it looked like they had learned nothing from the previous two All-Ireland semi-finals, but they found a way to prevail that involved winning a battle with themselves.
“I said last week, it’s appreciation more than anything. Eleven years ago we were coming off underage success thinking ‘Jeez, this is mighty – you turn up and you win, or you get to finals year in year out’. When you do that in your first or second year in senior you think it’s kind of run of the mill.”
“Since he has come in, everything has been for the betterment of Clare,” said Kelly. “Everything from a behind the scenes standpoint. We were probably in the media pre-Covid for not having our shit together. Our centre of excellence was always on it . We were never on it for an unbelievable match or performance, it was always, ‘What’s going on in Clare?’ or ‘Who is rowing with who?’
Weekend-That-Was Cork-Gaa Clare-Gaa
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