Clare relishing another opportunity to sit at Munster’s top table

The photos popping up on John Maughan’s phone last weekend instantly prompted a broad smile. Separate strands of his life knitted together because of something he had been involved in, once upon a time.

“My daughter was at a wedding in west Clare, and they ended up in Martin Flynn’s pub in Miltown Malbay,” says Maughan.

In the summer of 1992, Flynn was corner forward on the Clare team that beat Kerry in the Munster SFC final. Maughan was the Clare manager. It’s 31 years ago now, and for Maughan the speed of time feels fraudulent.

For he can still see Tom Morrissey pulling the ball from a cluster of clouds above the Gaelic Grounds, he can still hear the guttural Banner roar spilling down from the terraces, he can still smell and taste the sweet salty Atlantic Sea air drifting in over the wind-battered coastline while touring the bonfire-silhouetted footballing heartlands of west Clare the following night.

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On Sunday, Colm Collins will become only the fifth person in 73 years to manage Clare in a Munster senior football final.

They contested a couple of provincial finals during the 40s, including 1949, but from 1950 onwards they have only made four appearances – 1992 (under Maughan), 1997 (John O’Keeffe), 2000 (Tommy Curtin) and 2012 (Micheál McDermott). The Irish Times spoke with all four managers.

2012: Cork 3-16 Clare 0-13

Micheál McDermott still spends his time between Clare and his native Cavan, and he continues to be a regular attendee at Banner matches.

He was a selector under John O’Keeffe in 1997, but in 2012 McDermott managed Clare to what was, until this weekend, their last Munster final appearance. They faced Cork in that decider, the Rebels were All-Ireland champions in 2010.

“I remember Pat Spillane saying afterwards we were naive because we didn’t go with a blanket defence,” recalls McDermott. “But my belief was if you went with a blanket defence against Cork you’d have been beaten by three or four points while not having actually tried to win. We decided we were going to have a go.”

But Cork scrambled three goals.

“They all came from mistakes we made, I can still picture them,” says McDermott. “The scoreboard doesn’t reflect our performance, the players died with their boots on. You think you’ll be back in a final again soon, but it doesn’t happen like that.”

Still, McDermott is delighted Collins is the man who has brought Clare back to that stage.

“Colm has given his heart and soul to Clare football. They have been so consistent, at an elite level, because of their collective spirit and qualities as players.

“Their performance against Dublin in the league this year was full of heart and belief, it didn’t matter that it was Dublin at Croke Park. And that’s why, despite Kerry going in as hot favourites, I think they will find Clare difficult to break down on Sunday. They won’t be overawed by Kerry, I give Clare a chance.”

2000: Kerry 3-15 Clare 0-8

Of the quartet, Tommy Curtin is the only Clare native. After carving out success with St Flannan’s College and managing the Clare minors to a Munster final appearance in 1994, he was persuaded by the late Noel Walsh (Mr Clare football) to take the senior gig.

They beat Waterford and Tipperary to advance to the Munster final in 2000, where a formidable Kerry outfit backboned by Séamus Moynihan, Éamonn Fitzmaurice and Darragh Ó Sé awaited. John O’Keeffe, who had recently stepped down as Clare manager, was now part of Kerry’s backroom team. Only five points separated the sides after 50 minutes, but Kerry finished strongly.

“What Clare needed was the qualifiers,” suggests Curtin. “Unfortunately the opportunity to test yourself away from the likes of Kerry and Cork in the championship wasn’t there for us at the time.”

Curtin remains a passionate Clare supporter and is among the loyal band of fans that follows the footballers around the country.

“I’ll be there on Sunday,” he says. “Colm has done a great job, beating Cork was fantastic and I thought the team showed a lot of character against Limerick. I believe they will give it a right good shot on Sunday.”

1997: Kerry 1-13 Clare 0-11

Kerry native John O’Keeffe, then Clare manager, remembers standing on the sideline watching his club colleague conjure up the game-changing score in the 1997 Munster final.

O’Keeffe and Pa Laide are both of Austin Stacks in Tralee. Laide’s thunderbolt early in the second half was the difference-maker.

“Pa had blistering pace, he caught us for a goal that day,” recalls O’Keeffe. “Over the years there would have been some slagging between us about it. There’s no doubt it was the defining score.”

O’Keeffe spent four years as Clare manager. They recorded a famous win over Cork in the Munster semi-final that summer but Kerry proved a step too far in the final. Two months after that provincial decider, Kerry were crowned All-Ireland champions.

“That shows you how close Clare were,” recalls O’Keeffe. “People didn’t realise the work those players put in, they were a great group and I enjoyed my time in Clare.

“I expect it to be an awful lot closer on Sunday than most people think. Clare were unlucky to be relegated in the league, for me they are definitely a top 10 team.”

1992: Clare 2-10 Kerry 0-12

John Maughan is not the sentimental type, but it has been impossible to avoid drifting towards nostalgia this week. The WhatsApp group for the 1992 Clare crew has been busier than usual, the achievement of the present team triggering renewed chatter among the heroes of the past.

“1992 still feels like last week,” says Maughan. “It’s hard to comprehend it’s so long ago. I was only a nipper at the time.”

Maughan was just 28 when he took charge of Clare for the 1990 season. Clare were looking for a coach, but Maughan walked out of the meeting as manager.

“Things were pretty desperate,” he remembers. “No manager had been appointed, so I just said, ‘sure let me at it’. Wildly enthusiastic!”

Two years later he presided over history.

“The players were there, they just weren’t maybe as focused as they should be, so we just tried to bring a bit of organisation and discipline to it.”

Clare won the All-Ireland B title in 1991 and despite losing to Kerry in the Munster SFC that summer, the Kingdom only pulled away in the last quarter.

“We realised then it was a fitness thing that let us down, so we decided to put more work in that department,” adds Maughan.

Depending on who tells the story, the training would have fast-tracked the players to become either international athletes or Navy SEALs.

“We were very confident before the Munster final. I recall meeting in the West County Hotel that morning and feeling it was going to be a glorious day for Clare. Quite a few of my family and friends had travelled down from Crossmolina because of what they were hearing from me.”

In injury-time, and with three points separating the sides, Morrissey made a majestic fetch in the middle of the field. His onward pass to Gerry Killeen was more functional than majestic, but it got the job done. Killeen kicked over the insurance score.

“I remember the catch vividly,” says Maughan.

Shortly after his appointment, Maughan had called to Morrissey’s house and coaxed him back to play. The big midfielder had been left disgruntled by how he was treated (or ignored) by Clare officialdom after suffering two fractured ribs while playing for the county’s under-21s.

“He just needed some encouragement,” smiles Maughan. “He was a bit of a character, you’d look around and suddenly he’d be there smoking a Major cigarette, lots of talent but you’d have to keep an eye on him.”

As the party was cranking up in Clare that night, Maughan made his way back to Salthill, where he was living at the time. He hit the hay around midnight but by seven he was sitting at the bottom of the stairs answering the first what would be an endless stream of phone calls.

“I must have been in the front hallway until about midday,” he says. “Eventually somebody was dispatched to tell me I was wanted in Ennis, the tour of Clare was about to commence. They were waiting for me.

“I didn’t realise the enormity of what the win meant until that day. We were arriving to places in west Clare about two o’clock in the morning and there were families waiting hours to see the Clare football team bring a Munster title to their parish. It only started to dawn on me then. It was a joy to be involved.”