NAME: Seamus Clancy DATE OF BIRTH: 15/9/64 HEIGHT: 6ft WEIGHT: 13st 7lbs CLUB: Corofin COUNTY: Clare HONOURS: 3 McGrath Cups, 1 All-Ireland B Championship INTER-COUNTY DEBUT: League 1983 PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: Self employed. My wife and I run an embroidery shop (Something Different) in Ennis where we put names and emblems on sportswear and towelling goods TOUGHEST OPPONENT: Pat Blake of Doonbeg FAVOURITE GROUNDS: Gaelic Grounds, Limerick FAVOURITE POSITION: Centrefield SPORTING AMBITION: To an All-Ireland Football Championship DO YOU PLAY ANY OTHER SPORTS? Hurling BOYHOOD HEROES: Jack O'Shea FAVOURITE PLAYER: Noel Roche BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON CAREER: Donal Clancy (father), John Maughan WAYS OF IMPROVING THE GAME: Improve the definition of the tackle DISLIKES ABOUT THE GAA: The way players are suppose to be amateur but have to put in long hours training PLAYERS WITH A PROMISING FUTURE: David Keane (Kilfenora) HOPES FOR 1992: A Munster footballing championship win CLARE FOOTBALL IS ON A HIGH AT THE MOMENT. YOUR JUNIORS NARROWLY WENT UNDER TO CORK IN THE PROVINCIAL FINAL AND YOU AND YOUR PALS ON THE CLARE SENIOR TEAM ARE THROUGH TO THE MUNSTER FINAL FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS. IT MUST BE GOOD TO BE A CLARE FOOTBALLER AT THE MOMENT: It is always good to be a Clare footballer, because it is an honour to put on a Clare jersey. There is great team spirit at the moment and we can see reward for the time we have put into the team TELL US ABOUT YOUR CLUB: Corofin is the only dual senior club in Clare, which is great for a small parish. We opened a new field in April 1991. There is a lot of interest in gaelic games in the parish which also has a soccer team YOUR BROTHERS AND FATHER ARE ALSO VERY MUCH INVOLVED WITH FOOTBALL IN THE COUNTY: My father is a selector on the Clare team (that is the reason I'm on the team). My brother Colm is also on the team. Three other brothers John, Fergal and Darragh also played at different grades for Clare YOU HAD A NEAR RELATION PLAYING WITH THE DUBLIN SENIOR FOOTBALL TEAM NOT TOO LONG AGO: My first cousin, Niall Clancy won an All-Ireland Minor with Dublin in 1984 and played with Dublin seniors since, is now playing with Salthill, Galway. Another first cousin Bernard Kavanagh won an All-Ireland minor with Dublin, while Gerry Kelly, Clare's full back at the moment, is also a first cousin YOU AND YOUR FULL BACK COLLEAGUES RECEIVED RAVE REVIEWS AFTER HOLDING MEATH'S O'ROURKE, STAFFORD AND FLYNN PRACTICALLY SCORELESS IN THE LEAGUE QUARTER FINALS. ARE O'ROURKE AND CO. AS GOOD AS THEY ARE CRACKED UP TO BE? A full forward line is only as good as the ball they get in, on that day the Meath half backs and midfield were put under pressure and so the ball was not as good as they liked. Kieran O'Mahoney and Gerry Kelly had great games that day EVEN IN DEFEAT THAT MEATH GAME MUST HAVE BEEN CLARE'S BEST PERFORMANCE IN YEARS: That Meath game is a game we should have won, we played well on the day but just did not have the killer instinct to win HURLING IS THE MAIN SPORT IN CLARE BUT IN SOME PARTS OF THE COUNTY THERE IS ONLY FOOTBALL PLAYED: West Clare was known for football and east Clare for hurling, but over the last few years there is some hurling in the west and some football in the east WHO ARE THE STRONG FOOTBALL CLUBS IN CLARE? Doonbeg, Miltown, Kilmihil, Cooraclare, Kilmurry-Ibricken, are all in with a good chance this year with Doonbeg winning the league and championship last year MANAGER JOHN MAUGHAN HAS IMPROVED CLARE CONSIDERABLY. WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS OF THE MAYO MAN? I would regard Maughan as the greatest thing to hit Clare football. He demanded commitment and a high degree of fitness and having achieved that players had a bit more self belief IS THERE A NEW FEELING OF SELF BELIEF IN THE PRESENT BANNER SQUAD? Yes. That comes from knowing that you are fit enough to compete with any team and also from a string of victories over the last 12 months DOES THE VERY NAME OF KERRY PUT FEAR IN THE HEARTS OF ALL CLARE FOOTBALLERS? We all admired the Kerry team of the seventies and eighties but this is a young Kerry team. They are a very good team, but still have to prove themselves ARE THE CLARE FOOTBALLERS TREATED WELL BY YOUR COUNTY BOARD I.E. AFTER MATCH MEALS ETC? For the last number of weeks we have been getting meals after training which is important because a lot of players have to travel a long way CLARE RELAXED SOMEWHAT TOWARDS THE END OF THE TIPPERARY GAME. A SIMILAR LAPSE ON SUNDAY COULD WELL PROVE FATAL: We started bad and finished bad against Tipp. Something we have worked on as it would prove fatal against Kerry THE OPEN DRAW IN MUNSTER HAS OBVIOUSLY HELPED THE LIKES OF CLARE. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF IT? The open draw has given great incentive to players in Clare to train harder now that they see a good chance of reaching a Munster final. It is the light at the end of the tunnel WHAT WAS THE REACTION IN THE COUNTY WHEN YOU BEAT LONGFORD IN LAST AUTUMN'S ALL-IRELAND BE DECIDER? It was the first bit of recognition this Clare football team got. It gave a bit of a lift to football in the county COULD THAT HAVE BEEN A BREAKTHROUGH FOR THE CLARE FOOTBALLERS? Yes, it gave us a taste of success and gave us the incentive to try harder to go on to bigger things ARE YOU NERVOUS IN THE LEAD UP TO SUNDAY'S GAME? No, I am not. Everybody expects Kerry to beat us. There is no pressure on us. I am normally relaxed before a game, the pressure is on Kerry DO YOU EXPECT TO HAVE BIG SUPPORT ON SUNDAY? Yes, there will be a lot of people from Clare in Limerick on the 19th. It is not often we get to a Munster final FINALLY, CAN CLARE CREATE HISTORY BY BEATING KERRY: The last Clare team to reach a Munster final was in 1949 after beating Kerry. They were beaten by Cork in the final. I believe that this Clare team can beat Kerry. But we have to be on top form Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 17th July 1992 Vol 2 No 64 Tweet

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