PATRICK DONNELLAN, THE man who lifted the Liam MacCarthy Cup after Clareโs triumph in 2013, has brought his inter-county hurling career to an end.
The OโCallaghan Mills club man has become the third Banner player to retire over the past week after Brendan Bulger retired last Wednesday and Colin Ryan, who had taken a year out this season, retired last Friday.
Donnellan made his senior championship debut for the Banner against Cork back in 2006 and went on to enjoy his greatest campaign in 2013, as he captained Clare to the All-Ireland title and won an All-Star that year at left half-back for his defensive exploits.
Since that All-Ireland triumph, Donnellan suffered a setback in January 2016 when he tore his cruciate in a challenge game with Clare. He missed the remainder of the season and although he returned to action in 2017, he did not see game time in this yearโs championship.
Donnellan was one of the most experienced members of the Clare hurling setup, himself and Bugler both lined out in the 2008 Munster final loss to Tipperary. That was Clareโs last provincial decider appearance until they contested this Julyโs final against Cork.
In an official statement released by the Clare camp, Donnellan described himself as โa privileged personโ to have played for Clare and the 2013 success was โa dream come trueโ.
โI wish to sincere thank everyone that has helped me and made sacrifices on my behalf to ensure that I could represent Clare to the best of my ability. To my wife Edel, my parents, my brothers and sister I will be forever grateful.
โI will always consider myself a privileged person to have been able to play for Clare and I hope that I did my utmost for the cause while playing. It is hard to express in words what it meant to me, my family and my club to captain a Clare team.
โTo be able to lift the Liam McCarthy on behalf of Clare and its people was a dream come true and I will always be thankful that I was considered worthy of the honour to be the representative of the Clare team by Davy Fitzgerald.
โThank you to my club OโCallaghanโs Mills, to all of my former managers and coaches who instilled a love and respect for the game in me every day I took to the field.
โThank you to Clare County Board, Club Clare Hurling Supporters and to all of the backroom staff who encouraged and supported me throughout my time with Clare. Thank you also to my employers and work colleagues in IAC for the wonderful support.
โI would like to thank all of the players that I have played and trained with over the years. I always felt a sense of belonging and brotherhood in a Clare dressing room and I have been lucky to be friends and teammates with you all.
โFinally, I am looking forward to supporting the team from the stands into the future and I wish the Clare team and management all the best for 2018 and onwards. An Clรกr Abรบ.โ
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Letโs face it, itโs been dreadful for yearsโฆfrom Givens to King. Awful. And I guess there is little chance Kerr will be given the role with John the Baptist in charge
Shock horror. High time the second coming of Don Givens was moved on. An ideal role for Brian Kerr.
Jesus Christ how is that man still in charge. Would love to see Kerr take over
Because heโs an FAI boy
How about hiring a coach who has a clue what heโs doing.
People throwing around fixture congestion as a valid excuse for Horgan not being called up for the seniors. Yet Maguire and O Connor playing tonight and a game tomorrow as well as tonight and this Ireland team were out regardless.
If not Kerr,Damien Duff would be a good choice.
How the F##k is Noel king still in charge of them? Itโs time for massive changes in Irish football starting at grassroots.