*Jack Browne. Photograph: Burren Eye Photography
Playing and winning with the friends you grew up with makes the journey with Ballyea all the more special according to Jack Browne.
Getting the opportunity to play in a third Clare SHC final is very welcome, Ballyea captain Jack Browne outlined when speaking at the club grounds ahead of Sunday’s decider with Inagh/Kilnamona.
He will lead the side into battle having been handed the captaincy at the beginning of the year. “Any team I was ever captain of, I don’t think they were too successful,” Browne noted. He previously captained the UL Fitzgibbon Cup hurlers in 2016 and the Ballyea U11 ground hurling side, their final loss in Newmarket-on-Fergus is still remembered by the defender.
There is “an added privilege” with being captain but it doesn’t impact how Jack prepares for a game. “The only thing I do different is to go up for the toss, if we’re lucky to win something I will have to go and collect a cup, that is the only thing that’s different in Ballyea. I’d say I talk less this year than I’ve talked any other year, there’s fifteen or twenty lads that know what they’re doing, there is no need to tell them”.
Ballyea GAA was the go to place for Jack and his friends during his formative years, it is also the location in which these friendships blossomed creating a bond that has been abundantly clear every time the men in Black and Amber go into battle. “The club means everything, I know it’s a cliche but it’s where it starts and it’s where it all ends, you’re playing with lads that you went to school with, I remember the years being down here, this was the meeting point in Ballyea, you would come down to the field, you would play soccer in the morning, you would cycle down the shop and then play hurling, rugby, everything and anything. The odd time we would go up to Gudgy’s (Gearoid O’Connell) house, up to Tony’s house or up to my own house, that’s where it was, that’s the group you grew up with and are still playing with, it is great enjoyment”.
“I remember coming down watching the Ballyea team and watching them doing laps with lads going in over the wall getting sick, we loved to see it, I remember coming down and standing behind the goals when they were doing shooting drills and pucking balls out to them, you look up to who is above and we’re lucky enough that we’re competing at senior, it is a big thing for young lads to see it”.
Tony Kelly’s absence for Sunday’s final is “a huge loss”, he acknowledged. “The only upside you could say to it is at least we know we won’t have him, it’s not like losing him mid-game and it’s a massive shock, we have to prepare without him albeit we would love to have him”.
Alongside Kelly, Browne is heavily involved in coaching at St Flannan’s College. “When you go to Flannan’s you love to manage teams and try win anything, there is a great atmosphere in there. As a hurler you just enjoy hurling whether that is coaching or playing, being in school and having a few days off helps it too”.
“Smart comments” from students are par for the course with the woodwork and technical graphics teacher on Monday mornings after games. He’s been a member of staff at the Ennis school for five years and is now facing off with more ex pupils on the field of play, “it’s becoming more common, Cian Galvin joined the Clare panel last year and I was teaching him for the Leaving Cert that year, it’s happening a bit more often”.
Away from hurling and school, greyhounds is the main passion of the two-time All-Ireland U21 winner. “Dogs can always be faster. It is an enjoyable past-time, my grandfather had dogs, my father had dogs, I swore I would never get dogs but I know have a lot of dogs, it is something I enjoy, it is very enjoyable and there is a satisfaction out of trying to train a dog, they are athletes like ourselves. It is my past-time, I could spend a lot of time with dogs, it’s what I do in my spare time”.
After making his debut for the Clare seniors in 2014, Jack became a regular at corner back, winning a National Hurling League title in 2016 and standing out as one of the top players when the Donal Moloney and Gerry O’Connor managed side reached the last four in 2018. Game-time has become less frequent in the past two seasons under Brian Lohan but Browne is determined to use the club campaign to put his hand up for selection, “every time you go out you’re trying to impress. When you go back to Ballyea it’s just thoroughly enjoyable to play hurling, you’re just trying to do your best for the boys and hoping for the best”.
A hamstring injury limited his involvement in this year’s group stages, absence through injury has been a very rare aspect of his playing career. “I don’t think anybody likes to sit and watch others play when you could be playing, I don’t like being on the sideline and I hope I’m not there too often”.
Key to their run to the final this year has been the collective leadership on the panel, he felt. “In big moments players stand up, in clutch moments different people have stood up, it might be Gary today or Deasy tomorrow, it’s a different person every time but somebody stands up. There’s a few things, there’s a great bunch of players with a never say die attitude, we have a good bond over the years having had a bit of success which brings lads together”.
