IN MID-APRIL last year the Clare U20 hurling team saw their season grind to a halt.
A two-point defeat at the hands of Cork in Sixmilebridge nudged them towards the exit door.
Adam Hogan’s involvement with the side at his own age grade had concluded, but recruitment to an elite level was in the pipeline.
The only issue was he couldn’t quite believe that he was being contacted by such an icon of Clare hurling in the senior manager Brian Lohan.
“I got a text message but I thought it was one of the lads pranking me. I was like, ”Jesus, is this true or not?’
“So I texted one of the lads, Paddy Donnellan’s on the senior team as well, saying is that his number. He said yeah. I didn’t believe it really, to be honest. I got called in, me and Keith Smyth and Conner Hegarty.”
Hogan was born in 2003, a year after Lohan had collected his fourth All-Star award to go with the two All-Ireland senior medals he had earned.
The Feakle youngster was not an eyewitness for Lohan’s exploits but the name is still treated with reverence.
“Funny enough actually, we were going on holidays one time, on the ferry to England. I was a young lad about seven or eight and I used to idolise Brian. I saw him there (on the ferry) and I was like in shock, I didn’t even go over to him. My parents had to go over, my mother introduced me.
“He probably doesn’t remember now but it was surreal. I was too shy to go over. I even knew Brian then, like that’s how (big a) character he is in Clare, he’s one of the heroes.
“I was watching there a week ago the 1995 final, it was unbelievable to be fair. Back there, he’s inspirational, like he is as a manager I suppose.”
Hogan utilised the 2022 season to try to get up to the speed that senior county hurling demanded.
“Just getting used to the pace and stuff of the game was (hard). Sure it’s high standard and the physicality. The lads were showing me the scenarios and (what) happens in games, in fairness to Conor (Cleary) and the lads to be showing me tricks and stuff.
“Conor’s an unbelievable figure to have, especially for me as a young lad coming in. He was showing me things and stuff. I think he’s the best full-back out there.
“Against (Limerick) the last day, we kind of knew on Thursday night, he wasn’t playing. So he was kind of showing us how to deal with (Aaron) Gillane because he does it best really I think in the country.”
Hogan has an impressive hurling pedigree. His grandfather Phelim Murphy from Turloughmore was the long-serving secretary of the Galway county board.
His father Micheál is the current treasurer of Feakle GAA, who in his own hurling playing days won Harty Cup medals with St Flannan’s, enjoyed Fitzgibbon Cup success with UL and was part of Feakle’s Clare county senior winning team in 1988.
His son came to the fore last year as the defensive anchor on the Tulla team that made history in landing the Dr Harty Cup for the first time.
He credits that school management of Clare U20 boss Terence Fahy, Galway All-Ireland winner Aidan Harte and Thomas Kelly as central to his development.
“Sure Tomas and Terence and Aidan have a serious part to play in my career. All the way up from first year, literally like a county team near the way we do stuff, couldn’t thank them enough I suppose.
“Aidan came in first in 2019, he was playing with Galway, he was a very good trainer and like, he shows the situations and sure he’s played the highest level so he knows like the ins and outs of the
game.”
Hogan has enjoyed a meteoric rise, pinning down a starting defensive spot in 2023 and sampling the Munster final atmosphere as a player.
Now he hopes Clare can push forward in the All-Ireland series as Dublin await tomorrow.
“I just tried to prepare myself best before every training (session). Realistically, did I think I’d be starting? Probably not, but I thought I’d love to get a place on the bench and maybe coming on (as a a sub).
“But (it’s) fairly surreal that (I’m) starting on the Clare team, my first year
“We were a bit flat last year in the Wexford and Kilkenny game, I suppose we want to show ourselves that we’re better than that.
“We’re not looking towards the semi-final, we have to beat Dublin first, but we’d love to get back and show how better we are than what we did last year.”
