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
Subscribe to The42 podcasts here:
Hon Irelandโฆ.finish this on a high !
@Jb Walshe: amazing how the media have decided that OโMahoney should be written off.
@Jp Cleary: his performances have more to do with that than the media. Does he really deserve to be one of the highest paid players in the country for so little output?
English referees coincidentally finding a knock-on where there wasnโt one and ignoring a head shot.
Absolute joke
@teuO6nLS: โ he didnโt see the โtryโ so couldnโt give it and the tmo ignored the head shot. Plus it was never a try in a million years and he lost control of it
@teuO6nLS: thank you. I thought the same thing. That was a try until Karl Dixon stuck his nose in, then suddenly it wasnโt. Oh I was seething, but weโve won it now, so justice is done :)
Refereeing laws need to be looked atโฆshould leave question open to TMO, try yes or noโฆand let them decide.
So the TMO sees that from Harry but misses the one on Furlong from a yard out. The refereeing really has been a farce
Cooooommmoooon Ireland. 38-16 win.
@Willie Murphy: Appalling tactics that will only give Scotland confidence. Possibly the worst half tactically in the AF era. Unbelievable idea to turn the fastest scrum half in the game into the slowestโฆ
@Thesaltyurchin: Ringrose needed,our centre partnership is fine defensively but attack wise Iโve sharper butter knives in the kitchen.
Terrible atmosphere there. So dead.
Are all the yuppies not feeling patriotic?
@Damien OโSullivan: was thinking the exact same. reminds me of the games during covid when the stadium was empty.
@Damien OโSullivan: every stadium lacks atmosphere when the home team is playing shite
@Pud: Well wake up boys!! Bring the passion
@Pud: Yuppies waking up a bitโฆ team too
Christ, still no work done to improve the lineout
Crowley, Nash and Larmour are a level or 2 below Sexton, Hansen and Keenan. Ringrose should be playing 13. We have 2 12โฒs out there right now. Scotlandโs defense has not really been tested, easy day for them so far.
All the armchair โexpertsโ on here. How may of you have played International Rugby?
Just enjoy the win and the back to back 6 Nations!
Itโs already a one man show from Bundee Aki.
Fair juice to the team and managementโฆProud to be Irish
hard to see how farrell and co are improving this team week on week. attack that is one dimensional and predictable. a set piece that is average at best.
@Niall English: prioritizing highlight reel moments over basics in the pack.
James Ryan gets dogโs abuse from those with red tinted glasses for โonlyโ doing the basics โ securing quick ruck ball, running the lineout and making a ridiculous number of tackles. All three things are missing badly from the team
@Niall English: iโd have ryan with beirney in the second row if all being fit. what we are lacking today is ball carrying in the pack. cant get over the gain line and get on the front foot and give our backs a platform to play from. our attack is basically running the same back line, screen pass move with one or two slight variations. so easy to defend against.
@teuO6nLS: James Ryan missed the tackle for Scotland last try. This says it all, no matter what colour you are.
@teuO6nLS: I was never as high Ryan as others, but it seems more than a coincidence that every time Ireland/Leinster seem to struggle/outright lose heโs not in the game day 23. It happened in the world cup, it happened in this years 6N and it happened to Leinster in last years Heineken Cup. Clearly he is their talisman.
@Joe Kelly: think youโve had a few too many beers, James Ryan is injured and wasnโt playing today
Larmour starting internationals in the year 2024 says it all. Another fella living on past โgloriesโ
@mWhSNsK2: heโs 26 ffs not like heโs a player on his last legs being picked again despite constantly failing to turn up like others
@teuO6nLS: he wasnโt good enough 4 years ago, heโs not in his clubs first 23 when all are fit. He should be nowhere near a 6N squad, nevermind starting. His first touch today was him running backwards ffs
@mWhSNsK2: heโs started on the right wing for Leinster all season what are you on about?
@teuO6nLS: because Lowe was on his extended break and JOB got injured. They come back in, heโs out of the 23
James Lowe shocking again today. Finishes a few tries in the corners that even I would score. The guy canโt tackle, defensive positioning is dreadful and he canโt kick.
@Ray Ridge: Iโd say you couldnโt finish a donut and know nothing about rugby or Lowe. He has an excellent kick and is a great finisher.
Leaving Henderson out, even as a sub, is looking like a mistake. Very little leadership in the team and clearly no one in the pack knows how to run a lineout
The penalty machine that is Joe Mccarthy at it again.
@Ray Ridge: whatโs the odds on more penalties conceded than carries?
Thank heavens for Gibson-Park, Aki and Loweโฆ.
@Michael KILLIAN: we need more Kiwis :)
Larmour needs to step up today
@Dave Moran: More headless chicken running around no doubt.
@Dave Moran: Keenan a big loss but this team has enough to cope without him. Larmour just needs to do the basics right.
@Ray Ridge: bore
Quinlan with his usual biased red tinted glasses comments, if a munster player had the scutters out there, heโd give them a standing ovation!!!
@den: Also only highlighting errors made by Leinster players โ he is a complete dose. Worst co-commentater out there. He makes Donal Lenehan look unbiased and that takes some doing.
@den: fool
I donโt know which is worse the effort from the players or the effort from the officialsโฆ
@Shanek: the effort from so called fans who canโt enjoy the game. Yuo know the ones who know everything.
Hopefully the Leinster players can do enough in the collision today to accommodate Beirne and O Mahony. Will be comfortable win if so
@Eoin H: Itโs Irish players not Leinster. This is International not provincial!!
@Eoin H: like they did against La Rochelleโฆ..twice?
@Eoin H: like small Joe last week?
@Eoin H: this is obviously a joke because you picked Beirne and POM. If youโd said Murray itโd be harder to tell if you were serious or notโฆ
@Eoin H: assuming omahony can stay on the field for once
@Eoin H: donโt forget Bundee without Leinster heโd be terrible. Sausage
@Eoin H: Yea, โcomfortableโ
@Eoin H: Dublin Jackeen.
@Eoin H: blue eyed fool, go home to mammy in d4.
I think Irelandโs golden era may be overโฆ
@M To The B: yeah, played terrible over the last 2 games
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS
Jesus, if we have to call on Larmour to plug a hole in fullback we are truly in trouble. He proved today he isnโt good enough at this level, hopefully we blood a rival fullback in the summer, oโbrien is injured i know and is a good option (you need at least 3 deep)but Haley is a far better option than relying on lads like larmour today. If only we kept Carbery as a full backโฆโฆ..
Jheez, its like they dont want to be there. Kick Kick Kick. boring, and inviting Scotland into the game. Worst tactics ever in a half of rugby
Terrible performance and it looked like last week really spooked them. Mind you, we were playing with 13 as Larmour contributed nothing and OโMahony was a passenger again
@Darragh Freir: leave the blue glasses at home
We are Not Favourites
We canโt be Favourites
Cโmon IRELAND
Have a feeling POM is gonna retire after this game
@mWhSNsK2: think heโs retired during the match
@orb7eckn: if he did, Ireland are goosed. Bundee is the only other player that has a semblance of a leader
@mWhSNsK2: The entire Irish pack looks like the donโt care.
@mWhSNsK2: No POM is still out there, but he ainโt a leader in any sense of the word.
@orb7eckn: then youโre a blind boy,as heโs doing as much carrying and tackling as Doris and VdF.
@mWhSNsK2: a lot of lads ought to retire after this shitshow.
@mark sheehan: I stand corrected, larmour should be nowhere near that team
Lineout is a shamblesโฆ limped to a title.. kiddin ourselves with the โone of best in the worldโ nonsense.
@barry fay: Best team in the 6 nations, top 3 in the world, which part of world class donโt you understand. Scotland are a good team
@Fergal Smith: Top3โฆ who ya kiddin.. get past a qtr final and we can talk.. all the rest is fluff.
@barry fay: you not asleep yet
@barry fay: You obviously donโt know the game or who they lost to. Negative Armchair expert, the cold and timid soul who neither knows victory or defeat.
Just awful. We havenโt improved thatโs it in a nutshell
Please, please bring the bench on at 50 mins
@rayridge Scotland by how much ??
@Gary Galligan: A bit like the England match last week, this wonโt be the cakewalk many people think.
First half was abysmal by Ireland just like
OโMahony last 2 performance. He really cost us the grand Slam. A passenger now really and keeping an excellent prospect from actually contributing something to the team.
A mistake making him captain this year ad the line out is still not functioning and also cost us a semi final in the World Cup.
St Paulie needs to be held to account.
@Jimmy Bean: hahahhahaha talk about bitter