Kilkenny 3-3, Clare 2-3 1932 All-Ireland final

"It was a battle of wits. Clare's sweeping charges kept the Leinster champions' defence at bay," read The Irish Times report. Seems like some things never change - though Clare did line out as selected.

Clare, chasing their first championship since 1914 went into the break leading by a point. Their two goals in the second half proved not enough to sustain them. The vital second-half goal came when Lory Meagher cut a ball from the sideline which Blake drew on. The spin deceived Dr T Daly, Clare's goalkeeper.

Afterwards, a goodish crowd celebrated a game "singularly free of fouls and injuries." It would be 53 years before the Clare hurlers had the opportunity to contribute to such a sporting occasion at this level again.

Clare: Dr T Daly; J Higgins, P McInerney, J J Doyle, J Holden, J Hogan, I Blake, J Gleeson, T McInerney, M Falvey, M Connnery, M O'Rourke, J Mullane, T Burnell, T Considine.

Kilkenny: J Dermody; P Larkin, P O'Reilly, E Carroll; P Phelan, P Byrne, E Doyle; E Byrne, L Meagher; J Walsh, M Power, T Leahy; D Dunne, M Power, M White.

Clare 1-13, Offaly 2-8 1995 All-Ireland final

The revolution had begun in Limerick when Clare beat Munster champions Limerick by 1-17 to 0-11, prompting Anthony Daly to announce that Clare were the whipping boys no more.

Still, the general feeling was that the release from the province would sate them. Not so. In an All-Ireland defined by defensive grit, Clare proved their steel at the end. With four minutes left, Daly lofted a huge free which came back off the Offaly crossbar and substitute Eamonn Taffe pounced on the rebound for a goal.

Daly went on to add a 65 before Jamesie O'Connor settled things with a late free. Afterwards, Daly declared that better Clare teams had gone before this one and he declared that this was dedicated to their memory.

"We had decided there would be no turning point, that we'd just battle on no matter what," said Ger Loughnane afterwards. That has been the mantra ever since.

Clare: D Fitzgerald; M O'Halloran, B Lohan, F Lohan; L Doyle, S McMahon (0-3, two 65's), A Daly (0-1, a 65); J O'Connor (0-2, two frees), O Baker (0-1); F Touhy (0-4), PJ O'Connell, F Hegarty (0-1); S McNamara, C Clancy, G O'Loughlin (0-1). Subs: E Taffe (1-0) for McNamara, C Lyons for Clancy, A Neville for Taffe.

Offaly: D Hughes; S McGuckian, K Kinahan, D Hanamy; B Whelehan, H Rigney, K Martin; J Pilkington (1-0), D Regan (0-1); Johnny Dooley (0-5, three frees, one 65), J Troy (0-1), J Dooley; B Dooley (0-1), P O'Connor, M Duignan (1-0). Subs: D Pilkington for O'Connor, B Keely for Joe Dooley.

Clare 0-20, Tipperary 2-13 1997 All-Ireland final

It was the day they validated their greatness. Typically, they shunned the simple route, conceding two goals in the last 10 minutes to make it a cliff-hanger. Up stepped Jamesie O'Connor to nerve-lessly loft the final point.

Still, Tippperary could have snatched it when John Leahy, unmarked, drilled low for a winning goal. Davy Fitzgerald made a reflex save. Game over and Clare had beaten Tipperary twice in one summer (They also won the provincial final, forcing Tippearary to investigate life behind the back door).

Clare: D Fitzgerald; M O'Halloran, B Lohan, F Lohan; L Doyle (0-1), S McMahon (0-1, free), A Daly; O Baker (0-2), C Lynch (0-2); J O'Connor (0-7, four frees), C Clancy (0-1), P J O'Connell; N Gilligan (0-3), G O'Loughlin (0-1), F Touhy. Sub: D Forde (0-2) for O'Connell.

Tipperary: B Cummins; P Shelly, N Sheehy, M Ryan; L Sheedy, Colm Bonnar, Conal Bonnar; T Dunne (0-5, three frees), C Gleeson (0-1); L McGrath, D Ryan, J Leahy (0-4, one free), M Cleary (0-1), E O'Neill (1- 1), B O'Meara (0-1). Sub: L Cahill (1-0) for Cleary.

Clare 0-13, Offaly 0-16 1998 All-Ireland Semi-final second replay

The day when all the long summers and the turmoil of the preceding weeks finally caught up with Clare.

After shipping the blame for the blatant aggression in the Munster final replay against Waterford, Clare suddenly found themselves at war with the world. What looked to have been a simple task against a jaded Offaly team spiralled into an unforgettable trilogy, culminating in the first replay which was blown three minutes early when Clare looked home and dry.

The grace with which they accepted the replay and subsequent loss spoke volumes for the team's character.

Clare: D Fitzgerald; F Lohan, B Lohan, B Quinn; L Doyle, S McMahon (0-1, free), A Daly (0-1); O Baker (0-1), J Reddan (0-1); J O'Connor (0-5, four frees), F Touhy, A Mark- ham (0-1); N Gilligan (0-1), G O'Loughlin, D Forde (0-2).

Offaly: S Byrne; S Whelahan, K Kinahan, M Hanamy; B Whelahan (0-3, two frees), H Rigney, K Martin; Johnny Dooley (0-1), J Pilkington (0-1); M Duignan, J Errity (0-1), P Mulhare; Joe Dooley (0-5), J Troy (0-1, free), B Dooley (0-1). Sub: G Hannify (0-3) for Mulhare.