Not quite the festive season, but excuse enough for joy in Clare anyway. That county's extraordinary hurling renaissance has been the sort of running drama which colonises the popular imagination and yesterday's episode merely introduced some new characters to the soap.
St Joseph's Doora-Barefield became the fourth Clare club in succession to win the Munster title. It is a sign of the times that scarcely an eyebrow was raised in surprise. With Doonbeg in the shakedown for the provincial football title next weekend (again playing Tipperary opposition), these are dizzy times in Clare.
Toomevara haven't been playing especially well, certainly not producing anything like the form they did when winning three county titles earlier in the decade, and this defeat had the mark of inevitability about it. It could have been worse. St Joseph's declined a string of gaping chances in the second half at a time when they were stretching their limbs and exerting their superiority.
It is a commonplace in assessments of the club championships to suggest that stars don't matter and that the better teams are only as good as their weakest link. Yesterday St Joseph's three newly-inaugurated All Stars made the difference, however.
Ollie Baker, named man of the match but not quite that good, disrupted Toomevara's rhythm at midfield. Seanie McMahon was busy and sometimes worried, but he kept the lid on when it was vital to do so while Jamesie O'Connor swept his side into an early lead which then never relinquished. At the end of a long year, their contribution was remarkable.
St Joseph's started working for this back last February and there must have been a certain symmetry for them in finishing the season on such heavy terrain. The Gaelic Grounds in Limerick were heavy and difficult yesterday and although both teams endeavoured to play thoughtful hurling, much of the game hinged on fitness and strength. St Joseph's, who emerged triumphant off gluepot fields in the county final and against Mount Sion in their Munster semi-final, found the will to drag themselves through the mud again.
They started with fireworks and left the donkey work until later. Jamesie O'Connor, omnipresent in the opening quarter, delivered a point from 60 yards to open the scoring and then, minutes later, eclipsed that effort by taking receipt of the ball 50 yards out and riding two big breaking tackles before popping another score over.
It continued that way until Toomevara were five points behind with only 10 minutes gone. It was a start which the Tipperary team readily admitted afterwards deprived them of their confidence. By the time they found their senses, St Joseph's had settled into a hard working pattern.
The Toomevara half-back line worked their way back into the game after the early embarrassments inflicted by O'Connor. Tony Delaney hurled well and, as the game wore on, Padraig Hackett became increasingly prominent and even Phillip Shanahan reached a parity of sorts with Jamesie.
Up front Tomas Dunne contributed disproportionately to Toomevara's attempts at a revival. A point from play and three from frees helped his team get to within two points at the break, but Dunne's energy was unmatched elsewhere in a remarkably toothless attack.
St Joseph's were two points the better team in the first half and two points the better team in the second half, but it was the latter period which best illustrated the difference between the sides. The Clare champions came out and crucially scored the first two points after the break to re-establish a comfort zone.
Toomevara did well enough in terms of possession from then on to be in with a shout, but they wheezed and huffed around the goalmouth while St Joseph's threatened damage every time they moved the ball forward.
The best chance of a goal came 12 minutes from time when Greg Baker somehow emerged unscathed from a couple of wholehearted challenges and looped the ball into Ciaran O'Neill. The St Joseph's full forward turned and drew back as if to drive the ball through the goalkeeper rather than past him. Instead his swing went awry and he ended up fortunate to pull a point out of the transaction.
Towards the end, with their need growing keener by the minute, Toomevara moved Ken Dunne into full forward and switched several other key positions. The shifting inspired a momentary lift in their fortunes, but it was Jamesie O'Connor who fittingly nailed on the final score of the game to earn himself a brief Christmas break.
St Joseph's Doora Barefield: C O'Connor; G Hoey, D Cahill, K Kennedy; D O'Driscoll, S McMahon, D Hoey; O Baker, J Considine; J O'Connor (0-9, seven frees), N Brodie, L Hassett, capt (0-1); G Baker (0-1), C O'Neill (0-1), A Whelan. Subs: C Mullen for C O'Neill (54 mins).
Toomevara: J Cottrell; G Frend, R Brislane, A Maxwell; P Hackett, T Delaney (0- 1, free), P Shanahan (capt); P King, Terry Dunne; K Dunne, Tomas Dunne (0-7, five frees), P O'Brien; P McGrath, K Kennedy, K Cummins. Subs: B Dunne for K Kennedy (46 mins), B Duff for P O'Brien (53 mins).
Referee: P O'Connor (Limerick).
