*Eoin O’Brien. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
‘LOVELY OLD MILTOWN’ is the ballad and while St Joseph’s Miltown have age on their side, that brings with it experience and for their cause a winning know-how.
That taste of success has been absorbed at senior level in 2015, 2018 and 2019 by the club, their return of three championships in a five year window has only been matched by their neighbours Kilmurry Ibrickane who claimed the Jack Daly five times between 2011 and 2020.
Goalkeeper Sean O’Brien, captain Enda O’Gorman, defenders Gordon Kelly, Seanie Malone and Eoin O’Brien along with the Cleary twins, Conor and Eoin, Darragh McDonagh, Brian Curtin, Kieran Malone, Cormac Murray and Jamesie O’Connor are still standing from the 2015 win, their first senior success in twenty five years.
Martin Guerin was a selector to Michael Neylon when they overcame Cooraclare 0-13 0-9 in the 2015 final and is now in his second year as manager. Eoin Curtin wore the number eleven jersey on that day nine years ago and is coaching the side now, having been involved with Liscannor last season.
Appearances in the business end of the competition have been more fleeting than Miltown supporters would like. Since their last win in 2019, they have only appeared in one semi-final, that being last year’s showdown with St Breckan’s where they lost by a single point after extra time.
Getting to the last four was a welcome change in fortunes, the team lost all three group games in 2022 while it was St Breckan’s who again reigned supreme in their meeting in the 2021 quarter-final.
In 2020, Cratloe dethroned them as champions when running out 0-16 2-8 winners in what was a quarter-final in all but name as part of a revised championship format during the pandemic.
Now the boot is on the other foot in a sense, granted Miltown don’t have the opportunity to eliminate Cratloe on Friday evening in Clarecastle but they get the first kick at the champions. “The challenge is big enough as it was, every team you play in first round they are preparing the last couple of months for the first round so it’s a battle no matter what and there’s no easy games in the championship. This is a good Cratloe team with plenty of experience facing a Miltown team with less experience but this is where they learn the ropes and hopefully by the end of the sixty minutes, we’ll be the team still standing,” said Miltown manager Guerin.
Starting off without both of the Cleary twins “is not an ideal scenario especially when you are playing the county champions,” Martin outlined. “That is a massive challenge, we’d love to have them obviously but you’ve to work with what you have and hopefully we have enough of work done with the group to get a result of some sort”.
Conor Cleary is to get a scan this week, the All-Ireland winning full back was forced off before extra time in Clare’s win over Cork in what is feared could be a recurrence of a shoulder injury which saw him miss last year’s Munster final. “I don’t think it’s long-term, I hope it is not but we have to wait and see what the scan says,” Guerin stated.
Eoin Cleary meanwhile has swapped Miltown for the Windy City and has been based in Chicago for the summer, where he is still in action on the gaelic football front. The former Clare football captain will be available for his club later in the campaign.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Guerin pointed out that if Miltown want to build on their run last season, there is only place they can go. “We got to the semi-final last year, if we have real ambitions we want to get to the final this year and hopefully we can achieve that target”.
On the learnings from his first year as Miltown manager, Martin said, “It was a team in transition for sure. We would have got lads working hard again, buying in and giving the commitment which were laying the foundations and getting the young players used to that kind of discipline”.
Some Miltown players may have plenty of miles on the clock but it is not glaringly obvious when it comes to the heat of championship. “They are still preparing the same way, they are in good shape, they are still hungry and eager, it is great to have them and it is great for our younger players to be learning from them”.
Although three teams will emerge from Group 3, Guerin is adamant that they have no intentions of having a slip-up in any outing. “You’ll be aiming to win all games and they are all tough games. We’ve Doonbeg in the second round, they are always a tough team, Ennistymon are a young, up and coming team with plenty of potential who will fancy their chances against us but to be honest most teams will when we’re down players. Three teams will get out of the group and we don’t want to be the fourth team which doesn’t”.
St Joseph’s Miltown
Management: Martin Guerin (manager), John McDonagh (selector), Eoin Curtin (coach), David Talty (selector), Jim Marrinan (selector)
Captain: Enda O’Gorman
Key Player: Cormac Murray
One to Watch: Ralph Whelehan
Fresh blood: Ronan Keavey, Gavin Toomey, Niall Toomey, Dominic Griffin, Ralph Whelehan,
Departures gate: Eoin Cleary, Paul Keane, Mark Cunningham, Conall Meade all in US, Euan Reidy (London)
Treatment table: Gearoid Curtin (hamstring), Gearoid Burke (knee), Conor Cleary (shoulder)
Titles won: 15 (1905, 1906, 1916, 1923, 1925, 1927, 1932, 1949, 1953, 1959, 1985, 1990, 2015, 2018, 2019).
Last year’s run: Exited in the semi-finals following extra time to St Breckan’s having recorded wins over Doonbeg, Clondegad and Kildysart.
Schedule:
Round 1 vs Cratloe (August 2nd)
Round 2 vs Doonbeg (August 17th/18th)
Round 3 vs Ennistymon (August 31st/Sept 1st)
