The Big Interview - Anthony Daly

By Tom Stakelum

As the 2024 GAA All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final comes into view, the Rebel Army and the Banner battalion are preparing for battle. It’s been 11 years for Clare and 19 years for Cork. A long time coming you might say.

How about 81 years? This was the gargantuan gap that existed before Clare captain Anthony Daly climbed the hallowed Hogan Stand steps in 1995, to raise the Liam MacCarthy Cup aloft, blowing up the established hurling order in spectacular fashion.

Fast forward 29 years, and Clare have won two more All-Ireland’s. One in 97’ with the Clarecastle man the leader once more, and then again in 2013, showcasing the emergence of a group of fearless young players whose talent threatened to dominate the game for years to come.

We sat down with the man himself to discuss all of the above and more, as he hopes his beloved Banner can mute the rebel roar.

Tom Stakelum: What were some of the key factors that contributed to the success of the 95’ and 97’ All-Ireland Winning Clare teams?

Anthony Daly: I’d give a bit of credit to a Tipp man first, Len Gaynor. When he came in '91, things were as low as you can imagine now, there was no ambition in the group, no one wanted to train hard, no one wanted to give up their social life. In fairness to him, he established savage groundwork and boundaries, and in his time, we beat Limerick, Tipp, and Cork in championship hurling, which at the time was knockout. So, he had huge victories, but we just couldn’t cope with the whole occasion of those Munster finals in 93’ and 94’ (lost these Munster finals by a combined 28 points).

Then I suppose Loughnane came in and brought the training to another level, with the speed of the hurling, and also, the physical side with Mike McNamara and Tony Considine. Now we wouldn’t have been gym bunnies or anything, but we would have been doing 200 press ups at six in the morning. It was very like army training, but once St. Patrick’s weekend would come, Loughnane would take over. People thought we were just extra fit and that’s how you do it, but everyone’s hurling, to a man went up about 20%, because of Loughnane’s coaching. Jesus he’d be driven demented to go faster.

So, we got into the Munster Final then (In 1995) and were going to be the first team to lose three Munster finals in a row. But when the day came, we were so ready to perform. I suppose we really weren’t focussed on bringing back what’s now known as the Mick Mackey Cup, we were just focussed on the fact that we didn’t do ourselves justice in the previous two Munster Finals and as a result, we were determined to do ourselves justice that day, whether that was win or not. As it turned out, it turned into a big win (Clare 1-17 Limerick 0-11).

The minors had been in the All-Ireland Minor Final in 89’ and then there was a great U21 team in '92, who were beaten by Waterford, who had a brilliant team with the likes of Tony Browne and Paul Flynn. So, there was talent coming through, obviously, and when those young lads came in like Frank Lohan, Ollie Baker, Eamon Taffe and Stephen McNamara, they gave it another lift on again from '94.

So, yeah, there were a number of things (that contributed to the success of the All-Ireland winning Clare teams of '95 and '97, but I’d mostly say Gaynor doing the groundwork and then Loughnane really giving it the big one.

TS: Once you finally got over the line in Munster, did that spark serious belief within the group?

AD: Oh yeah, we were nearly different people straight away. Now we had about four weeks until the semi-final with Galway (1995 All-Ireland semi-final), so he (Loughnane) let us enjoy ourselves for the first week and I’d say we brought the cup to every hurling parish in the county. Sure, it was a party for about a week, but he had us back training on the Friday.

We were playing Galway who were there or thereabouts at the time, they had a good team, but we went up there (to Croke Park), with confidence, the pressure was off if you like, and we played well that day and beat them with a little bit to add (Clare 3-12 Galway 1-13).

Offaly were raging favourites (for the 1995 All-Ireland Final), as they were the champions and had blown Kilkenny away in one of the great Leinster finals that year, a very wet day, but they played brilliant hurling. The general consensus was there was no way we could live with Offaly’s hurling, but we were confident, the group was very confident. We spent a lot of time working together, the backs (as a group for example), to only concede 2-8 in any hurling final. Now you wouldn’t consider it with today’s scores but even back then that was a very low score. We would have been very confident that we could do very well on the forwards we were on.

Sometimes you look at Kilkenny and even Kerry, now in the football, they’re going to get scrutinised by their own supporters for losing an All-Ireland semi-final, but for us there was going to be 30,000 people in the Dunnes car park if we lost.

It (the '95 All-Ireland final) was a celebration of the year, but we were very much focussed on the game and let the hype go over us. Now he didn’t encourage us to lock ourselves away or anything, but once the monkey was off the back (winning a Munster championship, we were quite relaxed).

We were under way more pressure going into the '97 final, because we beat Tipp in the Munster final and here they were, coming back to haunt us, and oh Jesus, that week I was peppered with nerves.

TS: Do you think finally getting over Kilkenny in an All-Ireland semi-final at the third time of asking, could have a similar effect on this team as eventually winning a Munster title did for your team?

AD: I think all of a sudden, there’s a lot of jeopardy in this game now. If Limerick had beaten Cork, there would have been a lot of tension because ‘could we stop the near neighbours?’ Could we stop the drive for five?’ But now it’s Cork and Clare who are looking at it saying ‘Jesus, here’s an All-Ireland without Limerick.’ But Limerick will be back next year. I think the stakes have gone through the roof with this one.

The lads themselves have beaten Limerick (in the 2023 Munster Championship), they have been unlucky in the last two Munster finals, to get nine more shots off in last years’ Munster final, than Limerick, would indicate we just pucked it away.

This year we didn’t play as good, but the key thing for me is that we beat Kilkenny. The league final victory was a big help to that, but we all know we played as poor as we did in the first half. Maybe Kilkenny should have been out of sight at half time. Just getting over line against Kilkenny was massive.

I suppose I would have said at the time, an extra week would have been brilliant just to let them soak it in and then build it up. But then you look at Cork who made history the following day by beating Limerick, and they played so much better than we did, so it’s harder for them really to get down. We’ve got to get up and hope that they come down. Usually, teams don’t produce what they did in a semi-final, in a final, but if they (Cork) could come within five per cent of that performance, we would have to play brilliantly well to do it. Now if they were to come down 15 per cent from that performance and we played really well.

The lads have beaten Cork in the last three Munster round robins, including this year, albeit Cork have improved a lot since then.

I do think there is a certain sense of freedom for the lads going into it, a bit like '95, they’ve reached the final, they’ve the league under their belt remember. I don’t make much fuss about the league, but at the same time it’s a national trophy for Brian (Lohan), after five years, which is significant.

So, after four years of losing Munster finals, not getting any trophy, and then losing to Kilkenny, we’re here now in the final, with the league tucked away. I think they’re in a lovely position mentally.

TS: You mentioned Brian Lohan there, it was reported that he gave his players a week break following the Munster Final defeat to Limerick. With him being in his fifth year in charge do you think he used his experience with that decision, knowing some of his main players have been around a long time, and could benefit from a break?

AD: Yeah, it was a bit of a gamble, as we played poorly in the Munster Final. I met lads when the news broke, as it tends to do, and they were asking ‘Are the lads back training?’ and I said ‘No, they’ve taken the week off until Saturday.’ I would have had them back training at six o’clock the following morning.

In some ways, that would be his own way, if things went bad for him in a game, he’d work double hard, he’d go out and do a run maybe the following night. He’s that sort of guy, who always believes that hard work will pay off. It must have been a bit of a wrench for him to say ‘okay, we’re going to change the way we do things, go away and relax for the week, bring out the wife or the girlfriend for a few meals and go have a couple of beers if you want.’ I know they went off up to Lahinch on Monday night and had a swim and a couple of beers together.

So yeah, it was a big call, and a little bit of a gamble, but I just think at this level of management you have to be willing to take the gamble, and trust your instinct, trust your gut. I’d say he maybe just said ‘I have to try something different’, and yeah, they did look that bit fresher against Wexford but the first half the last day didn’t look in any way fresh! So, I hope he gave them last week off, but I’m not sure.

TS: Do you think Clare having six remaining men from 2013, will count for anything? (Tony Kelly, Shane O’Donnell, John Conlon, David McInerney, Séadna Morey, Paul Flanagan)

AD: It’s probably too long ago now, and anybody coming out of the stadium that day that said John Conlon and Tony Kelly wouldn’t be in another All-Ireland final for 11 years, you would say ‘go away and get off whatever drugs you’re on’ Our underage was on fire at the time too, three U21 All-Ireland’s in a row, but we just didn’t kick on.

I don’t think it makes much of a difference. They played in it, and they won it I suppose, which is a good thing. They haven’t lost All-Ireland finals really, this bunch, whereas Cork had an awful All-Ireland experience in their last one. Maybe that’s some help to us but I don’t really see it as a massive advantage. Cork have beaten Limerick twice this year, and once in Croke Park, so I think they’ll be looking forward to this now. They seemed to thrive in the open spaces the last day, and they will look to play their big expansive game. I think they’ll relish going back there, and our lads should too after getting the victory against Kilkenny.

TS: What are some of the key matchups you envisage for Sunday?

AD: I think the form Brian Hayes has shown since the Clare Cork game in Munster (including 1-5 v Limerick in the semi-final) has thrown a big spanner in the works for Clare as he’s a big guy. Adam Hogan is probably, pound for pound the best corner back in the country at the moment, but he’s not a big guy and more suited to Hoggie. Conor Leen, meanwhile, is in his first year. Will they go with Cleary on Hayes for the size? But then you have Connolly as well. It’s that double threat, and obviously Hoggie takes huge watching. Is Hoggie due a big one?

At the other side of it then, I think midfield is massive. What do you do if you’re Clare? Do you hold Ryan Taylor? Which I think they might, but a lot of people in the county say he should start. But I would hold him until half time because I feel he could really change the game if we’re in the game. Do you go Cathal Malone then on Darragh Fitzgibbon, and say look Cathal close him down and then Cork may do the same with Tim O’Mahony on Tony Kelly? Or do you take a chance and put Kelly on Fitzgibbon and see who does the most damage?

On the other side of things, for Cork, who marks O’Donnell? Are they comfortable with Robert Downey centre back and O’Donnell coming out to 11? Which he has done an awful lot since the Munster final, in the games against Wexford and Kilkenny.

They’ve an outstanding player in Mark Coleman but is he suited to Peter Duggan or is he suited to David Fitzgerald? Who are two monsters of men!

Dilemmas both ways, but that’s the beauty of being there! I’d love to have those problems, if I was in the game now, in management. They’re lovely headaches but they are ones that will decide the outcome I feel.

TS: For a lot of these Clare players, it will be their first All-Ireland Final. What would you say to them, if you had the chance?

AD: Embrace it without being stupid. I read an article last week by John Mullane. He said, if he could, he would do it all over again in 2008. He was just so out there, and he went to a couple of schools in the build-up, and I think that is probably a bit over the top.

I remember in 1995, my own village, Clarecastle, had six of us on the panel, and it was just bedecked with Clare. Every single house with flags and bunting! I remember Loughnane saying on the Tuesday, ‘Did ye go in through Clarecastle?’ to some of the lads that wouldn’t be going that way and he said, ‘Jesus it’s unreal!’

The Sixmilebridge lads said, ‘ah it’s unreal, the mile ahead of the bridge and the mile ahead of Shannon!’

I remember Seánie Mc (Seán McMahon) saying to me ‘I drove down to ye’re place last night and aw it’s unreal’ and he nearly crying. ‘Ah that’s great,’ I’m living in the middle of it!’ says I.

You have to embrace it. Look, it’s one of the greatest experiences any young being could have, to play in an All-Ireland Final.

To loop back, I’d say ‘Jesus why didn’t I enjoy it?’ With the caveat that you have to stay focussed on the job you have to do. In '95 all of that was going around my head with Clarecastle and all of the colour, the occasion, and I was the captain, and would I make a speech? But 90 per cent of my focus was on Johnny Dooley.

You have to take it in and enjoy it as best you can.

TS: If you could take one player from the current Clare team, and put him on your Clare team, who would it be?

AD: On current form, I’m going to have to say Mr. O’Donnell, he’s on fire. We would have always probably said for the last 11 or 12 years, Kelly or Conlon would’ve walked onto our team. Would some of us have lost our places?

TS: How about anyone from your team, to go on this current Clare team?

AD: Frank Lohan was a phenomenal athlete and for these fast Cork forwards, he would be ideal. I would have often switched with Frank if I was struggling with a really quick fella. As a kind of utility defender, who could play full back, corner back, centre back, wing back, Frank would be a huge addition to any team in the country.

TS: Finally, I’m not going to ask you to call it , as I don’t want you to Jinx it!

AD: I think we’ll scrape it. But we’ll have to start well.