The Friday Interview: Patrick Donnellan
April 20, 2012
Clare's Patrick Donnellan
It has been an excellent spring for the Clare hurlers and their new manager Davy Fitzgerald who were crowned Allianz Hurling League Division 1B champions two weeks ago following a dramatic comeback win over Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds.
Trailing by 0-9 to 1-14 10 minutes into the second half, the Banner County looked set to lose their second league final to their neighbours in the space of 12 months, but with the outstanding Conor McGrath helping himself to 12 points, they stormed back to register a sensational 0-21 to 1-16 victory. The success not only assured Clare of their place in the top flight next year, but also earned them a crack at All-Ireland champions Kilkenny on Sunday when a Division 1A final spot will be on the line.
Clare captain Patrick Donnellan sees this weekend's game as "a great test" for his young team as well as ideal preparation for their Munster SHC semi-final against Davy Fitzgerald's former Waterford charges in June.
"After winning Division 1B, playing Kilkenny is a bonus," says the O'Callaghan's Mills clubman, who has forged a formidable midfield partnership with Nicky O'Connell this year.
"It's going to be a great test for us and great preparation for the championship. When you're not involved in the latter stages of the league, there can be a lull at this time of the year, but a big game like this keeps you focused and sharp. It will be a new experience for us and will tell us exactly where we are."
Clare and Kilkenny haven't met in the league since 2009 when Kilkenny beat them 3-16 to 1-9 and the Banner were subsequently relegated after failing to win a single game. Later that year, Clare recorded a famous All-Ireland U21 final victory over the Cats when current senior stars like John Conlon, Sean Collins, Colin Ryan, Enda Barrett and Cian Dillon were to the fore.
The Banner also defeated Kilkenny in last year's All-Ireland intermediate decider and pushed them to the pin of their collar in the 2010 All-Ireland minor final when the Cats were the hottest of favourites. But at senior level, recent meetings have been few and far between - they last met in the championship in 2006 when Kilkenny triumphed in the All-Ireland semi-final and Davy Fitzgerald was the Clare goalkeeper.
"Because we haven't played them in a while, there is definitely a novel feel to this game. There is big interest in it in Clare. The supporters are getting behind us again, which is great to see," explains the 27-year-old, who is joined on the county panel by his older brother Brian and another club-mate, Conor Cooney.
Since Fitzgerald returned to manage his native county, Clare's fortunes have improved dramatically. They maintained a 100 per cent record throughout the triumphant Division 1B campaign and also reached the Waterford Crystal Cup final, where they suffered their only defeat of the year so far against Tipperary. So what does Patrick attribute their improvement to?
"It's been a culmination of things really. The younger lads are beginning to come of age, the older lads like myself are probably playing better and then you have the Davy Fitzgerald factor. He is a big character, a big personality in the dressing room and is fierce passionate. He gives it everything he has and is very professional in everything he does. I played under him in Limerick IT and I knew before he got the Clare job just how good he is as manager.
"He won a Munster championship with Waterford and also brought them to an All-Ireland final, so he has a lot of experience for someone who's not long finished playing."
Donnellan continues: "The big difference this year is that we are playing with a lot more consistency. We were up and down in previous years. It's no fluke that we've developed a winning habit because the effort in training has been exceptional. We put in a lot of work in the early part of the year and have reaped the rewards of that. Lads are putting in the extra work because they know we have a lot of catching up to do on the top teams."
With the losers of tomorrow's relegation playoff replay between Dublin and Galway dropping down to Division 1B next year, Patrick believes it would have more difficult than ever to earn promotion if Clare had spent another year in that division.
"We were down there for three years (two were spent in the old Division 2) and it was vital that we got promoted this year. It would be very difficult to win out a division next year that will include Dublin or Galway, and the likes of Limerick and Offaly, who were lucky enough to beat this year.
"The league couldn't have gone any better for us this year. We hit the ground running against Limerick in our first game and went on from there. Limerick were a different proposition in the final - we knew they'd be mad for revenge - and they were the better team for the first 45 minutes or so. But we stuck to our plan and finished the stronger. I think the memories of last year's final loss to them made us all the more determined."
Since making his debut against the then All-Ireland champions Cork in the 2006 Munster SHC semi-final, Patrick has seen the Clare hurlers fall into decline, only to be reawakened from their slumber this year. Currently working as a lecturer in Limerick IT, he is excited about what the future holds and has taken tremendous encouragement from this year's league. Nevertheless, he still feels the Banner have a long way to go before they can be considered major players in the championship once again.
"Even though we've improved this year, we would still be looked upon as the weakest of the five teams in this year's Munster championship," he claims.
"I know we've beaten Limerick a couple of times already this year, but they were very good in the championship last year and are a year ahead of us in terms of development. I know a lot of supporters will be expecting us to beat Waterford in the Munster semi-final, but they're a seasoned and battle-hardened team who will be looking to get back into another Munster final.
"We've had a good league, but the intensity is far higher in the championship and we have to be ready for that. As I said earlier, playing Kilkenny will give us a better idea of where we stand. While it would be great to qualify for another league final, the championship is our main focus at this stage. We've got what we wanted from the league and have the best part of two months to get ready for Waterford, and hopefully we'll be up to the task when that game eventually comes around," he concludes. Tweet
