By Cian Murphy

There won’t be the traditional walk out and parade upon the battlefield they graced in triumph 25 years ago, but there will still be a chance for hurling fans to salute the All-Ireland winning Clare team of 1995 this weekend.

On an All-Ireland final Sunday like no other, one of the casualties of the Covid decider at Christmas will be the great tradition that is the celebration of the jubilee winners.

But inspirational Banner captain Anthony Daly, part of the RTÉ Sport commentary team this weekend, will be present and will be part of the official match day build up, and will place the Liam MacCarthy Cup in front of the Hogan Stand before the modern-day warriors of Limerick and Waterford emerge for the battle to claim the famous chalice for 2020.

It is 25 years since the Clarecastle wing back led his county to the pinnacle of an unforgettable journey that saw them defeat Cork and then Limerick to win a first Munster senior hurling title in 63 years, before ousting neighbours Galway and then coming from behind to defeat holders Offaly 1-13 to 2-8 to win the All-Ireland senior hurling title for the first time in 81 years.

Daly jokes that the loss of the traditional jubilee format due to restrictions will have one benefit.

“At least people won’t be able to say ‘haven’t they gone terrible old looking’,” he said.

But evoking the memory of that victory and the joy and celebration that it unleashed brings back the enormity of the breakthrough that day.

Far from being an overnight success, it was the result of some meticulous and punishing preparation led by Ger Loughnane, Mike McNamara and Tony Considine.

For Daly, who had been involved in harrowing Munster final defeats to Tipperary in 1993 and Limerick in 1994, that ’95 campaign had a do or die feel to it.

“I was there in ’93 and ’94 and if we had suffered another bad Munster final defeat in ’95 it would have been awful hard. We were being called chokers. I was 26 in that October of ’95 and while it is amazing to think you might have thought like that, the reality is if we’d lost a third one it would have been difficult to stay going at it.”

But win it they did. Defying the odds to overcome Cork, the Banner played with a confidence and class in the Munster final that made it look like their progress was pre-ordained.

The benefit of being Munster champions after a 63 year gap meant they could embrace whatever unfolded on the All-Ireland stage.

“The build-up flew in,” recalls Daly.

“And I remember Ger Loughnane encouraging us to take it all in, to go and look at the colour and then go out and cut loose.

“If you look back at our huddle, you’ll see lads smiling and smirking – that’s how relaxed we were. What actually happened was Fergie Tuohy came into the huddle and cracked a joke and asked what way were we playing and I just told him ‘well that’s Brian Whelahan over there, that’s Hubert Rigney there and you are marking Kevin Martin over there.

“Now as it turned out, in the final, we hurled very tight and so too did Offaly and t was a very cagey affair and then there was a whirlwind of a finish.”

Tuohy would find his bearings just fine and land 0-4 in a crucial contribution on a day when scores were hard won.

Chasing the game with the clock running down it was a long-range dropping free, delivered by Daly from inside his own half, that was batted out from under the cross bar - only to be whipped into the Offaly net by Eamonn Taaffe.

Daly then showed nerves of steel to stand over a 65 and drill it over to put Clare ahead and on course for their first ever Liam Mac Carthy Cup and their first All-Ireland senior title since 1917.

 “We were in a great place and I was feeling very relaxed coming up to the final. Ger, Mike and Tony exuded a great confidence and there is the famous line from Ger on the tv after half time in the final saying ‘we’re going to do it’ – that was typical of the confidence that was there.

“The Clare footballers had beaten Kerry to win Munster in ’92 - we were running out of excuses. Winning the Munster title took the pressure off us. The lads had us ready for Croke Park and we beat Galway and then in the final it was Offaly who were the favourites but we had no hang ups about playing them. They had been an inspiration to us, but we felt we could beat them.”

Early morning and late at night, Clare’s training in Crusheen and on a hill in Shannon and then Cusack Park quickly became the stuff of legend as team trainer Mike McNamara put them through their paces in a grueling regime that was as much about hardening the players psychologically as it was conditioning them physically.

“Every year a bunch of men win Munster,” was the charge McNamara levelled at the players as he drove them and Loughnane then worked on their mindset and the refusal to accept that they couldn’t take their place at the top.

“We missed out on the first few weeks of training because we were playing in the Munster club championship and when I was meeting the other lads they were telling me how tough the training was.

“We had done hard training and some gym work before. But when you went in then the training was savage. Some of the stuff would nearly remind you of Rocky. There was body work and long runs and it was tough. But after a while you’d be saying to yourself that you’d never felt as strong.”

At the final whistle it seemed as if the whole of Clare descended upon the Croke Park pitch. Daly was swallowed up by the ecstatic swarm of saffron and blue supporters – but not before he managed to get one important piece of work done.

“My brother-in-law Martin, who sadly passed away last year, was one of the first to get to me at the final whistle and I gave him my hurley and asked him to mind it. I loved it and I’d get to use it again there two years later. After that it was just madness and you were nearly pleading with the Clare crowd to let you get through to get the cup from Jack Boothman.”

Daly, eventually, made it across to the Hogan Stand and went up the steps to produce one of the most iconic victory speeches of modern times, saluting their proud traditional music heritage but declaring Clare as proud hurling country too.

Flying from Dublin back down to Shannon the next day, the Aer Lingus captain took them on a special detour arcing the plane over the Burren and above the towering Cliffs of Moher – the Clare monument that seemed to stand taller than ever that bright September day.

His mother May had only been to Croke Park for the first time ever for the All-Ireland semi-final. Now her son was on top of a bus leading the victorious champions to Clarecastle and Madden’s Terrace and on across to Ennis – as bonfires lit and one of the most memorable All-Ireland final victories was celebrated.