2024 Clare county hurling team season

Clare county hurling team

2024 season
Manager	Brian Lohan
All-Ireland SHC	Winners
Munster SHC	Finalists
National League	Winners
Top scorer Championship	Aidan McCarthy (2-61)
Highest SHC attendance	82,300 (v Cork 21 July))
Lowest SHC attendance	19,418 (v Tipperary 26 May)

The 2024 season was Brian Lohan's fifth year as manager of the Clare senior hurling team since taking over in October 2019.

Clare went on to win their fifth All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship after a 3–29 to 1–34 win against Cork in the final on 21 July.

2024 squad

Management team

• Manager: Brian Lohan ^[1]
• Selectors: Ken Ralph, Tommy Corbett ^{[2] [3]}
• Coaches: Shane Hassett, Brendan Bugler ^{[4] [5]}

Panel

No. Player Position Club 1 Éibhear Quilligan Goalkeeper Feakle 2 Rory Hayes Right Corner Back Wolfe Tones, Shannon 3 Conor Cleary Full back Kilmaley 4 Paul Flanagan Left Corner Back Ballyea 5 Diarmuid Ryan Right half back Cratloe 6 John Conlon Centre back Clonlara 7 David McInerney Left half back Tulla 8 David Fitzgerald Midfield Inagh-Kilnamona 9 David Reidy Midfield Éire Óg, Ennis 10 Cathal Malone Right half Forward Sixmilebridge 11 Tony Kelly (C) Centre forward Ballyea 12 Shane O'Donnell Left half Forward Éire Óg, Ennis 13 Ian Galvin Right Corner Forward Clonlara 14 Peter Duggan Full forward Clooney-Quin 15 Ryan Taylor Left Corner Forward Clooney-Quin

No. Player Position Club 16 Éamonn Foudy Substitute Inagh-Kilnamona 17 Paudie Fitzpatrick Substitute Sixmilebridge 18 Aron Shanagher Substitute Wolfe Tones, Shannon 19 Shane Meehan Substitute Banner 20 Aaron Fitzgerald Substitute Éire Óg, Ennis 21 Shane Golden Substitute Sixmilebridge 22 Darragh Lohan Substitute Wolfe Tones, Shannon 23 Cian Nolan Substitute Smith O'Brien's, Killaloe 24 Jack Browne Substitute Ballyea 25 Domhnall McMahon Substitute Tubber 26 Mark Rodgers Substitute Scariff

2024 Munster Senior Hurling League

The 2024 Munster Senior Hurling League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Munster Hurling League, was an inter-county hurling competition in the province of Munster, played by all six county teams in January 2024.

Clare played Limerick in their opening match of the competition on 10 January in Clarecastle on the AstroTurf pitch. Limerick won the game on a 2–21 to 1–19 scoreline. ^[6] In the second match on 14 January, Cork defeated Clare by 1–24 to 0–24 at Páirc Uí Rinn. ^[7] After the postponement of multiple games due to inclement weather, the tournament was unfinished. ^[8]

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Limerick	1	1	0	0	27	22	+5	2	Advance to final
2	Cork	1	1	0	0	27	24	+3	2
3	Clare (E)	2	0	0	2	46	54	−8	0

Updated to match(es) played on 14 January 2024. Source: Munster GAA
(E) Eliminated

2024 National Hurling League

The 2024 National Hurling League (NHL), known for sponsorship reasons as the Allianz Hurling League (AHL), was the 93rd season of the National Hurling League, an annual hurling competition held in Ireland for county teams.

On 6 April, Clare defeated Kilkenny by 3–16 to 1–20 to win the final and a fifth league title. Conor Cleary was captain and lifted the cup as Tony Kelly was injured and missed the match. ^{[9] [10]}

Results

4 February 2024 Round 1	Clare	1-25 - 2-19	Cork	Cusack Park Attendance: 7,380 Referee: M Kennedy (Tipperary)
	M Rodgers 0-13 (0-10 f, 0-1 65), S Morey 1-1, D Fitzgerald, D Reidy, R Mounsey, C Malone 0-2 each, D McInerney, S Meehan, G Sheedy 0-1 each.	Report	P Horgan 1-7 (0-7 f), S Kingston 0-3, T O’Connell 1-0, C Lehane, S Barrett 0-2 each, S Twomey, R O’Flynn, C O’Brien, S O’Donoghue, C Joyce 0-1 each.

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11 February 2024 Round 2	Waterford	1-16 - 0-20	Clare	Walsh Park Attendance: 3,951 Referee: L Gordon (Galway)
	Stephen Bennett 0-6 (6fs), S Walsh 1-1, P Curran, C Ryan, Shane Bennett (2fs) 0-2 each, J Prendergast, P Leavy, D Lyons 0-1 each.	Report	A McCarthy 0-8 (6fs), S Rynne, I Galvin, C Galvin, P Crotty 0-2 each, C Malone, D Fitzgerald, D Reidy, S Meehan 0-1 each.

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25 February 2024 Round 3	Wexford	1-13 - 0-16	Clare	Chadwicks Wexford Park Attendance: 4,386 Referee: T Walsh (Waterford)
	S Casey 1-4 (1-0 penalty, 0-2 frees), L Chin 0-3 (1 free), C Hearne, C Dunbar, C Byrne-Dunbar, M Fanning (free), J Doran, J O’Connor 0-1 each	Report	D Fitzgerald 0-5, A McCarthy 0-4 (3 frees), M Rodgers 0-2 (1 free), I Galvin, P Crotty, R Mounsey, S Meehan, P Duggan 0-1 each

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10 March 2024 Round 4	Clare	0-19 - 0-16	Kilkenny	Cusack Park Attendance: 6,824 Referee: J Owens (Wexford)
	A McCarthy (0-6, frees); D Fitzgerald (0-5); K Smyth (0-2); P Duggan (0-2); C Leen (0-1); D Reidy (0-1); M Rodgers (0-1 free); D Ryan (0-1).	Report	TJ Reid (0-9 frees); J Donnelly (0-3); P Deegan (0-2); D Blanchfield (0-1), E Cody (0-1).

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16 March 2024 Round 5	Offaly	1-19 - 0-23	Clare	Grant Heating St Brendan's Park Referee: C Flynn (Westmeath)
	E Cahill 0-10 (0-8f, 1 ’65), J Clancy 1-0, L Watkins and S Bourke 0-2 each, D Nally, L Fox, D King, E Kelly and D Maher 0-1 each.	Report	D Conroy 0-5 (0-3f), I Galvin 0-4, P Crotty and D Reidy (0-2) 0-3 each, S Meehan, K Smyth (0-2f) and S Morey 0-2 each, R Hayes and P Donnellan 0-1 each.

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24 March 2024 Semi-final	Clare	1-24 - 2-13	Tipperary	Laois Hire O'Moore Park Referee: L Gordon (Galway)
	A McCarthy (0-8, 6 frees, 1 65); D Fitzgerald (1-3); M Rodgers (frees), D Reidy (0-3 each); K Smyth (0-2); D Ryan, D Lohan, A Hogan C Malone, C Galvin (0-1 each).	Report	J Forde (0-6, 5 frees); J Morris (1-2); S Hayes (1-0); D McCormack, A Tynan, W Connors, S Kenneally, S Ryan (free) (0-1 each).

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6 April 2024 19:15 Final	Clare	3-16 - 1-20	Kilkenny	FBD Semple Stadium Attendance: 12,307 Referee: J Murphy (Limerick)
	A McCarthy (2-10, 0-9 frees); D Fitzgerald (1-0); M Rodgers (0-2); D Lohan, D Ryan, I Galvin, C Malone (0-1 each).	Report	E Cody (1-4, 0-3 frees); M Keoghan (0-4); A Mullen (0-3); C Kenny (0-2); B Drennan (free), S Murphy, B Ryan, L Blanchfield, R Reid, J Molloy, J Donnelly (0-1 each).

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2024 Munster Senior Hurling Championship

The 2024 Munster Senior Hurling Championship was the 137th edition of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Munster Council in 1888 and is the highest-tier of Hurling for senior county teams in Munster. It is contested by five Munster GAA county teams ranked 1–5 in the 2024 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.

Limerick retained the title for a record sixth year in a row after a 1–26 to 1–20 win against Clare. ^{[11] [12] [13] [14]}

Final Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	SF	SA	Diff	Pts	Qualification
1	Limerick	4	3	0	1	8-98	6-78	+26	6	Advance to Munster Final
2	Clare	4	3	0	1	9-89	8-89	+3	6
3	Cork	4	2	0	2	11-107	9-98	+15	4	Advance to All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals
4	Waterford	4	1	1	2	9-86	6-103	-8	3
5	Tipperary	4	0	1	3	2-90	10-102	–36	1

Results

Clare v Limerick

21 April 2024Round 1	Clare	1-18 (21)–(24) 3-15	Limerick	Ennis
2pm		(HT: 1-10 - 0-8)		Venue: Cusack Park
	Pts: Aidan McCarthy (1-10, 8f); David Fitzgerald, Mark Rodgers, Tony Kelly (f) (0-2 each); Shane O’Donnell, Seadna Morey (0-1 each)	Report	Pts: Aaron Gillane (1-5, 5f); Donnacha Ó Dalaigh (1-1); Gearoid Hegarty (0-3); Diarmaid Byrnes (1-0f); Cathal O’Neill, David Reidy (0-2 each); Kyle Hayes, Cian Lynch (0-1 each)	Referee: C Lyons (Cork) Attendance: 20,055 TV: RTÉ2

Cork v Clare

28 April 2024Round 2	Cork	3-24 (33)–(35) 3-26	Clare	Cork
14:00		(HT: 0-14 - 0-12)		Venue: Páirc Uí Chaoimh
	Pts: Patrick Horgan 2-10 (1-7fs, 2 65s), Declan Dalton 0-4 (3fs), Séamus Harnedy 0-3, Robert Downey 1-0, Darragh Fitzgibbon, Alan Connolly 0-2, Tim O’Mahony, Ciarán Joyce, Shane Kingston 0-1 each	Report [15]	Pts: Aidan McCarthy 0-10 (8fs), Mark Rodgers 1-6 (1f, 1 sideline), David Fitzgerald, Shane O’Donnell 1-1 each, David Reidy 0-3, Peter Duggan, Diarmuid Ryan 0-2 each, David McInerney 0-1	Referee: J Owens (Wexford) Attendance: 36,841 [16] TV: GAAGO

Clare v Waterford

19 May 2024Round 4	Clare	4-21 (33)–(32) 2-26	Waterford	Ennis
2pm		(HT: 2-13 - 0-14)		Venue: Cusack Park
	Pts: David Fitzgerald, Mark Rodgers (1’65) (1-4 each); Aidan McCarthy (0-5, 4f); Darragh Lohan, Tony Kelly (1-0 each); Shane O’Donnell, Ian Galvin (0-2 each); David Reidy, Cathal Malone, Diarmuid Ryan, Peter Duggan (0-1 each)	Report	Pts: Dessie Hutchinson (0-6, 5f); Stephen Bennett, Shane Bennett (1-0 Pen) (1-2 each); Kevin Mahony (0-4); Jack Prendergast, Tadhg de Burca (1f), Padraig Fitzgerald (0-2 each); Kieran Bennett, Jamie Barron, Jack Fagan, Patrick Fitzgerald, Ian Kenny, Calum Lyons (0-1 each)	Referee: L Gordon (Galway) Attendance: 19,893 TV: RTÉ2

Tipperary v Clare

26 May 2024Round 5	Tipperary	0-24 (24)–(27) 1-24	Clare	Thurles
16:00		(HT: 0-11 - 0-11)		Venue: Semple Stadium
	Pts: Jake Morris 0-11 (7fs), Seanie Kenneally 0-3, Ronan Maher 0-2 (1f), Eoghan Connolly and Gearoid O’Connor (2fs) 0-2 each, Barry Heffernan, Alan Tynan, Noel McGrath, and Bryan O’Mara 0-1 each	Report [17]	Pts: Aidan McCarthy 0-9 (6fs), Diarmuid Ryan 1-1, David Fitzgerald 0-3, Mark Rodgers 0-3 (2fs), Shane O’Donnell and Tony Kelly 0-2 each, Darragh Lohan, Peter Duggan, David Reidy, Ian Galvin 0-1 each	Referee: J Murphy (Limerick) Attendance: 19,418 TV: RTÉ News (TV channel)

Munster Final

9 June 2024

4:30pm

Final

Limerick	1-26 (29) – (23) 1-20	Clare
Gearóid Hegarty 1-2; Diarmaid Byrnes (3f), Aaron Gillane (4f) 0-5 each; Tom Morrissey 0-4 (1f); Declan Hannon, Kyle Hayes, David Reidy, Shane O’Brien 0-2 each; Cathal O’Neill, Adam English 0-1 each	Report	Aidan McCarthy 0-8 (6f); Peter Duggan 1-1; David Fitzgerald 0-4; Tony Kelly 0-3; Mark Rodgers 0-2 (2f); Shane O’Donnell, Ian Galvin 0-1 each

Semple Stadium

Attendance: 45,148

Referee: C Lyons (Cork)
Man of the match: Gearóid Hegarty (Limerick)

• Limerick advanced to the All-Ireland semi-finals and Clare advanced to the All-Ireland quarter-finals

2024 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

The 2024 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 137th staging of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county hurling tournament, since its establishment in 1887.

The All-Ireland final was played on 21 July at Croke Park in Dublin, between Clare and Cork. Clare won the game by 3–29 to 1–34 to claim their fifth title. ^[18]

Results

Clare v Wexford

22 June 2024Quarter-Final	Clare	2-28 (34)–(22) 1-19	Wexford	Thurles
3:15pm		(HT: 0-15 - 1-10)		Venue: Semple Stadium
	Pts: Shane O’Donnell 1-4, Mark Rodgers 0-6f, Tony Kelly 0-6 (1f), Ian Galvin 1-1, David Reidy 0-3, David Fitzgerald 0-2, Diarmuid Ryan 0-2, Aron Shanagher 0-1, Conor Leen 0-1, Shane Meehan 0-1, Aidan McCarthy 0-1 (65)	Report	Pts: Lee Chin 1-6 (1-0 pen, 5fs), Conor Foley 0-3 (1 sideline), Rory O’Connor 0-2, Cian Byrne 0-2, Mark Fanning 0-1 (f), Conor McDonald 0-1, Conor Hearne 0-1, Cathal Dunbar 0-1, Kevin Foley 0-1, Séamus Casey 0-1	Referee: J Murphy (Limerick) Attendance: 30,509 TV: RTÉ One

Kilkenny v Clare

6 July 2024Semi-Final	Kilkenny	2-16 (22)–(24) 0-24	Clare	Dublin
3pm		(HT: 1-10 - 0-8)		Venue: Croke Park
	Pts: TJ Reid 0-7 (4fs, 1 65, 1 sideline), Billy Ryan 1-2, Eoin Cody 1-0, John Donnelly and Cian Kenny 0-2 each, David Blanchfield, Mikey Carey, and Paddy Deegan 0-1 each	Report	Pts: Aidan McCarthy 0-11 (9fs), David Reidy and Tony Kelly 0-3 each, Mark Rodgers and David Fitzgerald 0-2 each, Shane O’Donnell, Ian Galvin, and Peter Duggan 0-1 each	Referee: L Gordon (Galway) Attendance: 39,241 TV: RTÉ One / BBC NI

Main article: 2024 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship final

Clare v Cork

RTÉ 2 BBC Two

21 July 2024 (2024-07-21) 15:30 IST (UTC+01:00) Final

Report

Clare	3-29 (38)–(37) 1-34 (a.e.t.)	Cork
(HT: 1-12 – 1-12) (FT: 3-21 – 1-27)
Gls: A McCarthy 1, T Kelly 1, M Rodgers 1 Pts: A McCarthy 7 (3fs, 1 '65'), T Kelly 4, M Rodgers 3, D Ryan 3, D Fitzgerald 3, P Duggan 2 (1s/l), D Reidy 2, S O'Donnell 2, R Taylor 1, I Galvin 1, S Meehan 1		Gls: R Downey 1 Pts: P Horgan 12 (10fs), S Harnedy 4, T O'Mahony 4, M Coleman 3, B Hayes 2, S Barrett 2, D Fitzgibbon 2, S Kingston 2, E Downey 1, A Connolly 1, C Joyce 1, R O'Flynn 1

Croke Park , Dublin Referee: Johnny Murphy (Limerick) Attendance: 82,300 [19]

Summary

Cork had two points scored in the first minute and added another before Mark Rodgers scored for Clare in the fifth minute. In the 12th minute Rob Downey won the ball on his own 65 and got away from Peter Duggan on the left before firing the ball high to the net straight off his hurl to put Cork into a seven-point lead. In the 18th minute Shane O’Donnell won the ball out on the left before passing to Peter Duggan and retaining the ball again before passing to Aidan McCarthy who scored with a finish to the right corner of the net past the advancing goalkeeper. The scores were level at half-time on 1–12 each. ^[20]

Clare got a second goal in the 40th minute when Mark Rodgers picked up a breaking ball before stepping inside Mark Coleman from the right and scoring with a low finish to the net. In the 52nd minute, Tony Kelly ran in on goal from the left before flicking the ball over Seán O'Donoghue’s head, touched it on the Hurley before flicking it past Patrick Collins into the right corner of the net to put Clare into a 3–15 to 1–18 lead. Clare were still leading by three with two minutes to go before Cork came back with Patrick Horgan sending the match to extra-time by scoring a free in the 76th minute. ^[21]

Trophy presentation

Clare captain Tony Kelly accepted the Liam MacCarthy Cup from GAA president Jarlath Burns in the Hogan Stand and the team then did a victory lap around Croke Park with the trophy. ^{[22] [23] [24]}

Reaction

Highlights of the final were shown on The Sunday Game programme which aired at 9:30pm that night on RTÉ2 and was presented by Jacqui Hurley with match analysis from Brendan Cummins, Jackie Tyrell, Ursula Jacob, Joe Canning, Shane Dowling, and Anthony Daly. On the man of the match award shortlist were Tony Kelly, Conor Leen and Rob Downey with Tony Kelly winning the award which was presented by GAA president Jarlath Burns at the post match Clare function at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Dublin. ^[25]

The Observer's architecture critic Rowan Moore wrote in praise of hurling, though also suggested it was "unexportable" and, were this not so, then it would be "a global sport". ^[26]

Homecoming

The Clare team arrived back in Ennis at 9pm on the day after the game on an open top bus. There was a reception held at Tim Smyth Park in Ennis with an attendance of over 35,000 people. They had previously visited Wolfe Tones GAA club grounds in Shannon, before going thru Clarecastle on the way to Ennis. ^[27] The players and manager were introduced on stage by RTÉ's Marty Morrissey. ^{[28] [29] [30]}

References

1. Gaa, Clare (31 October 2019). "Brian Lohan has been appointed Clare Senior Hurling Manager for 2 years with an option of 3rd year, following a review at the end of the 2nd year.pic.twitter.com/sKazhccPuI". @GaaClare. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
2. "Tommy Corbett satisfied about Clare's development". GAA.ie. 15 July 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
3. "No divided loyalties for Ralph ahead of Clare's Tipp test". Clare Champion. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
4. "Brian Lohan rings the changes to Clare backroom team with former Banner star Brendan Bugler a high-profile addition". Irish Independent. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
5. "Tipperary hurling coach plays a key role in groundbreaking Clare All-Ireland success". Tipperary Live. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
6. "Limerick return to action with comfortable victory over Clare". Munster GAA. 14 January 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
7. "Conor Lehane goal the difference as Rebels edge Clare". Munster GAA. 14 January 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
8. "Munster Hurling League is scrapped as time runs out in schedule for pre-season competition". Independent.ie. 22 January 2024.
9. "Goal-hungry Clare hold off Kilkenny in Allianz Hurling League final to end trophy drought". RTE Sport. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
10. "Clare get timely boost with first National League title in eight years as spectre of Limerick awaits". Irish Independent. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
11. "Limerick make it six in a row". Munster GAA. 9 June 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
12. "Limerick 1-26 Clare 1-20: As it happened". Irish Independent. 9 June 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
13. "Six of the best: Limerick make history with Munster final win over Clare". Irish Examiner. 9 June 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
14. "Munster SHC final recap: Limerick 1-26 Clare 1-20". RTE Sport. 9 June 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
15. "Clare take Cork's best shot but come out smiling in thrilling Munster clash". Irish Times. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
16. "Clare back on track after key Munster victory over 14-man Cork". the42. 28 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
17. "Shane O'Donnell shows full range of his threat as Clare defeat Tipperary". Irish Times. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
18. Ryan, Eoin (21 July 2024). "Clare find extra gear to edge Cork in historic hurling final epic". RTÉ Sport . Retrieved 21 July 2024.
19. Culhane, Darragh (21 July 2024). "Roy Keane cheers on Cork from Croke Park stands at All-Ireland Hurling Final". Cork Beo. Retrieved 21 July 2024. An 82,300 capacity crowd turned up for the game...
20. "Clare 3–29 Cork 1–34 as it happened: Banner claim All-Ireland SHC title after epic battle at Croke Park". Irish Independent. 21 July 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
21. "FT Clare 3–29 Cork 1–34 at it happened: Clare win All-Ireland hurling final". Irish Times. 21 July 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
22. "Clare's All-Ireland winners bask in 'greatest day' at Croke Park". RTE Sport. 21 July 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
23. "Full Tony Kelly speech as Clare win All-Ireland Hurling Championship". Irish Mirror. 21 July 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
24. "'In Clare, hurling is like a religion and Brian Lohan is like our God' – the gospel according to Tony Kelly". Irish Independent. 21 July 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
25. "Tony Kelly named All-Ireland SHC final Man of the Match". Hogan Stand. 21 July 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
26. Moore, Rowan (10 August 2024). "Hurling could be a global phenomenon if it weren't such an unexportable sport". The Observer. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
27. "Over 35,000 Fans Welcome Heroes Of 2024 At Clare All-Ireland Homecoming". Clare FM. 23 July 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
28. "Ennis homecoming to be held for triumphant Clare hurlers". RTE Sport. 22 July 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
29. "Homecoming celebration in Ennis this evening". Clare Echo. 22 July 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
30. "Over 30,000 hail triumphant Clare hurlers at homecoming". RTE Sport. 23 July 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2024.

External links

• Clare GAA Official Site
• Clare GAA on Hogan Stand