*David McNamara shields the ball from Joey Rouine. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
ÉIRE ÓG were driven on by the devastation of losing the Clare SHC final by a single point in their quest to retain the county football title, midfielder David McNamara has said.
A powerful presence at wing-forward for the Matt Shannon managed hurlers, McNamara was equally as forceful all year for the footballers forming a strong midfield partnership with Darren O’Neill.
For players in the middle third, trying to break down a strong Ennistymon defensive setup was far from easy, he admitted. “We knew that coming into it that Ennistymon if they came up to the 45m line would go back to their goalkeeper if they could to just hold possession, in fairness in the first half they frustrated us and it was 0-03 0-01”.
Aiding their ability to cope with the Ennistymon approach was the patience in their play, a trait that has been drilled into them since Seanie Buckley’s arrival as coach two years ago. “Seanie Buckley came in as a coach and has been training us based on that, it takes patience and once that gap comes we have to take it, in the first half the gaps weren’t really coming, we were getting a bit frustrated with a good few turnovers but we got our few scores in the second half and held out then thank God”.
At half-time, there was a determination in the Éire Óg dressing room to bring an even stronger display. “When we went in at half time we were disappointed with our performance, I think in the second half there was more holes and we got more opportunities and we took them. We’re delighted with the win, it’s a great feeling”.
An audit trainee with Grant Thornton, David said the hurlers falling short in their bid to claim the Canon Hamilton strengthened the resolve of the footballers managed by Paul Madden not to exit the county grounds without Jack Daly in their arms.
“Last week was a massive disappointment, obviously we were gutted over it and it probably took most of the week to get over it but we came back training on Wednesday evening, we met Monday night and we said we had to bounce back and there was no doubt about it that we weren’t leaving Cusack Park without the cup”.
