Shane O'Donnell hint on Clare future, fellow double All-Ireland winners' plans

Irish Daily Mirror

30-06-2025

Shane O'Donnell says a number of Clare's All-Ireland winning veterans had intended for this to be their last season.
But, he reckons the way the Banner's defence of the Liam MacCarthy Cup ended - with a surprise Munster Championship exit - makes it very difficult for their older hands to hang up their boots.
2024 Hurler of the Year O'Donnell, whose season was blighted by a serious shoulder issue which required surgery, had intended to head to America for work with his girlfriend.
However, he says 'the gloss' has been taken off America in recent months and that they may now look at Australia as an alternative down the line.
This could be good news for Clare hurling fans, but O'Donnell reckons that if one of their experienced cohort does decide to go, others may follow.
Tony Kelly is already on record as saying he would have to be scraped off the floor of the Clare dressing room rather than retire.
O'Donnell is a different character: 'I think in your mind you're thinking, 'Do you know what, things like last year (All-Ireland win), we're at that level now,'' said the Éire Óg club man.
'So there's no way we're not going to go again. But we'll see what happens, essentially.
'When push came to shove, I remember the week of our game against Limerick - obviously we were out at this stage and the Tuesday training had just wrapped up.
'I turned to Davie Mc(Inerney) and just said, 'That's our last Tuesday session ever.'
'I was under the impression he was going to be leaving. He just turned to me and was like, 'no' basically.
'I think when it comes down to it, it becomes very difficult to actually take that step away.
'Even in the couple of weeks before that - I had a very compressed campaign - I was very aware that these could be my last games with Clare. And it started to become quite uncomfortable.
'But I will also say that I'm not of the same mindset as Tony, so I don't intend to be scraped off the floor of a Clare dressing room to get me out of there.
'I will hopefully be able to walk out on my two feet. But I think there is that group that have played there for so long - it is hard.
'It's going to be a big decision from the first person to move out. Then, if that person moves, then I think the rest of them will flow pretty quickly.'
The Ennis man, who is based in Dublin and Clare, continued: 'We saw a lot of opportunities to talk at the end of last year after we had our win. We just said that this year was probably going to be our last year.
'A lot of us actually explicitly had plans to leave and weren't going to be available for the year after.
'It wasn't one isolated conversation or it wasn't a one-to-one. I wouldn't say it was an agreement, but that was definitely the path we were going to go, which has changed slightly.'
The veterans of their 2013 All-Ireland victory under Davy Fitzgerald are O'Donnell, McInerney, Kelly and the daddy of them all, John Conlon.
Management wise, O'Donnell reckons no news means good news and that Brian Lohan is likely to stay on for a seventh year, a move he would welcome.
'I have no actual information about it,' he continued. 'I know that Brian cares deeply about the continuity of Clare hurling.
'No news I would expect to mean as he feels like he wants to stay, or is going to stay. Because if he wants to stay, he will be. Obviously, we all want him.
'I think he would not make a decision late in the year and decide, 'Oh, actually I'm not going to go (on),' and then leave Clare searching for a manager. He would never do something like that.
'The fact we haven't heard anything I think maybe gives some indication. But that's all I have to go on.'
For himself, O'Donnell says now is not the time to make any decisions on his own future.
'Obviously, I've thought about it,' he says. 'I had talked about this year being my last year.
'I can't remember if one of yourselves (journalists) reprimanded me on saying this every year.
'So I'm a bit more careful about how I phrase this. I think a number of us had genuinely intended for this to be the last year.
'With how disappointing it ended, it makes it very difficult to hang up the boots.
'I don't know, to be honest. It depends on a number of factors. Not least whether other players are staying or going. It definitely will be up in the air until the end of this year.
'When other players make that decision, then we'll see. My girlfriend and I initially talked about going to the States. But for us at the moment, the States is a less appealing place to be honest.
'The whole visa thing has got a lot more complicated, so that is probably off the cards.
'We'll still be looking to go somewhere like Australia, but that does push the timeline out a small bit more, so it's (playing on for Clare) potentially available.'
**** Clare hurler Shane O'Donnell was promoting Bord Gáis Energy's new solar campaign. With €400 off, there's never been a better time to switch to solar with Bord Gáis Energy – Ireland's most trusted name in home solar installations.