As Clare ended their 11-year wait for an All-Ireland, one player who was key to both Liam McCarthy wins was captain Tony Kelly.
A young player in 2013, Kelly showed all his quality and experience in an incredible performance as Clare defeated Cork in a classic All-Ireland hurling final.
In those years, Clare, and indeed Kelly, went through tough times. Between 2013 and 2018, Clare did not play a game in Croke Park, while close defeats in All-Ireland semi-finals to Kilkenny in recent seasons had to have been tough to swallow.
While Munster rivals Limerick got all the attention as they dominated hurling, Clare must have wondered when their time would come.
For Kelly, he never stopped believing.
“You have to believe that you can compete or get to the business end of the Championship.
“From the start of the year, that is what the goal is – to put yourself in that position. Whether it works out or it doesn’t – for one reason or another – every year is different. You’ve no guarantee next year that we are going to get to the business end of the Championship.
“We’ve been fortunate the last few years, that we’ve been knocking around Munster finals and getting to Croke Park. In those years from 2013 to 2018 we hadn’t been back, for one reason or another.
“We didn’t play well enough, we didn’t have enough lads playing well enough, we were beaten by better teams. That Galway team, Tipperary, Cork. So, you have to believe.”
A 19-year-old when Clare won the All-Ireland in 2013, Kelly won Player and Young player of the year.
As one of several young players on the team, who enjoyed underage success, the Clare forward could have been forgiven for thinking more Liam McCarthy cups were on the way.
After being made to wait 11 years, and now 30 years old, Kelly appreciates how difficult All-Ireland titles are to come by.
“Some of us won when we were 18 or 19. Won nothing in our 20s. And we’re winning again now we’re in our 30s. That’s just sport. But yeah, we’re lucky to have those two.
“It is different to 2013. Back then, we probably came from underage success, and you’re thinking, this is great, this is what’s supposed to happen.
“You go from 2013 to 2024 without an All-Ireland – it makes you appreciate it more.”
Key to Clare becoming a major force again in hurling is manager Brian Lohan.
A memorable speech by Kelly showed how highly he is thought of in Clare, having won the All-Ireland with the Banner county in his playing days.
Under Lohan, Clare have reached three Munster finals in-a-row, and now have the biggest prize of all, under the man Kelly compared to God in Croke Park.
“Here in Clare, he’s revered. Probably more so for being an unbelievable player. He gets the whole preparation angle. He knows what goes into preparing an inter-county time. He knows the work that individuals have to do off the field and on the field.
“He can be easy-going. He can be savage craic at training. There isn’t a week goes by that he hasn’t got the panel laughing at some stage.
“What ye see in the media, he probably comes across very stern, very determined, very stand-offish.
“But inside our own camp, he can be the same but he can be great craic. He can be stern with lads when he has to be in terms of demanding more. But if lads are doing well, he’s a good communicator in terms of getting that across if lads need.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
