Clare hurler Brendan Bugler pictured at the launch of the Littlewoods Ireland sponsorship of the GAA Senior All-Ireland Hurling Championship.
By Cian O'Connell
Brendan Bugler's drive and desire for the Clare cause hasn't diminshed. Making a serious impact in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship remains a burning Banner ambition.
Despite winning an All Ireland in 2013, Clare haven't contested a provincial hurling decider since 2008 and last triumphed down south in 1998.
Ultimately it means Clare are gunning to deliver a performance and a win against Limerick in Sunday's attractive clash at Semple Stadium.
“Yeah, I think we are putting a bit of pressure on ourselves, there has always been an excuse over the last few years,” Bugler admits.
“In 2014 it was a hangover after 13, in 15 we were decimated with injuries, last year it was too close to the League. There are no excuses this year, it is a shocking stat when you look back on 2008 I think was the last time we played in a Munster Final. I think on that day only one current panel member played, Patrick Donnellan.
“All of us want to play in a Munster Final, we want to tog out on that day because it is a special day in the GAA calendar. That is a motivation, to get to that day, we need to try to get over this hurdle.”
With Donal Moloney and Gerry O'Connor in charge Bugler is adamant that Clare are primed to produce this summer. “As you can imagine they have put their own little stamp on how they want us to play and also with the personnel they are going with this year,” Bugler says. “It is different, but it is good."
Clare hurler Brendan Bugler.
Bugler stresses the importance of Moloney and O'Connor's in-depth knowledge of the panel. “It is just their outlook on the way they want us to play number one, they’d have obviously worked with a lot of the guys at minor and under 21 level,” Bugler remarks.
“They obviously have a view that the game should be played a little bit different to the previous management. They work very well together, the two of them, they are very successful when it comes to their own jobs, they run the set-up like an organisation.
“They are both managers in what they do, they work with people on a day to day basis so their people skills are very, very good. They are a good fit and they know the players, they haven’t worked with me or one or two others, but they have worked with most of those players since they were 16, they know their strengths and weaknesses.”
A decade on the inter-county beat, Bugler still thoroughly relishes the opportunity to hurl for Clare. “I wouldn’t be playing it if I wasn’t and I enjoy the camaraderie at training, I love the Championship day with the crowd and the atmosphere that is around,” Bugler states.
“It is hard to 100 per cent enjoy when you are hopping into the car to go training, but you aren’t really thinking about that, you are thinking about what is going to happen a couple of months down the line when you are playing in the Championship.
“When you start off hurling at senior inter-county when you are 18 or 19, hurling is probably the be all and end all. Other things in life then take priority be it family, that is good too, hurling can’t be everything.”
The Cork versus Tipperary Munster SHC tussle thrilled, but Bugler only watched highlights later that evening. “I only saw it on The Sunday Game, because we were actually training at four.
“That was the view of the management, that game was irrelevant to our focus. Our focus was Limerick, they didn’t want us watching that game and thinking ahead, but I suppose it’s thrown things wide open. From our point of view, there’s only one game and we’ll see after that.” That match this Sunday will be revealing for Clare and Limerick.
