This week is county final hurling week and while we are not involved in the game itself, this year the club will have a big presence on county final day when our senior hurlers of 2000 will be honored as the jubilee team at half time in the county final. In the lead up to Sunday we will be relaying some of the memories of the glory days here for this group of players and try and figure out where have the last 25 years gone. Here is part 1 with more snippets to follow as the week goes on.
Building the team of 2000 With Clare reaching the Munster finals of 1993 and 1994 it was clear to see there was a renaissance of some kind happening at county level in Clare - The 'Bridge had a strong presence on these teams through Davy Fitzgerald, John O'Connell and John Chaplin and come 1995 Michael O'Halloran and Christy (Rusty) Chaplin had joined ranks. This was at the same time that the 'Bridge minor club were starting to make inroads again winning an all Ireland Feile in 1995 along with a Minor A title in 1994 and U21A titles in 1997 and 1998. We also had a big presence in Clare underage panels with close on 23 of the panel of 2000 having being part of a clare underage panel at some stage.
The task of gelling the experienced gang (alot of which had won numerous titles including an All Ireland club in 1996) with the new kids on the block fell to the management team of Paddy Meehan, Kieran (Toc) O'Shea, and Leo Quinlan who took over the Senior team in 1999. Their backroom team included Martin Murray (RIP), Noel Murphy (RIP) and John Corbett. They didn't wait long before announcing their leader and captain in Christy (Rusty) Chaplin and on their maiden voyage into Championship action, this new look 'Bridge team reached the final against St. Josephs Doora Barefield which was played in Miltown Malbay as Cusack Park was being renovated.
While the result did not go our way many felt it was a year too early for this new team and the experience would stand to them. With a hungry group of players many of which were chasing their first medal and the fact that Doora Barefleld went on to win the All Ireland club title that season the 'Bridge boys felt they were not far away from the holy grail.
New Training Regime Around Christmas 1999, word started spreading that TOC had been spotted going for walks in Cratloe Woods - Not much was thought of this initially until the first team gathering of 2000 when he made a statement which was to be his catchphrase for the year - "Ye are all mentally weak". He then announced that come championship we would know every hill in Cratloe woods like the back of our hands and that there were a lot of trails and hills down there that he didn't even know existed! Twas music to the ears of Sox and Adrian Chaplin who had taken it easy on the mince pies and socialising over the Christmas in anticipation of a tough pre season ahead.
What happened in Cratloe Woods is now legendary and never to be forgotten - in fact some of the team of 2000 have admitted that they still get the shakes and imagine they can still hear TOC shouting at them when they bring their dog down to the woods for a stroll while others take credit for the rings of mushrooms that are growing in the forest having fertilised the area after the final hill run on Saturdays. On the flip side and great to hear there are still a handful of these lads still meeting up and running in the woods on Saturday mornings 25 years later.
Recognising the achievement The lads have been suited and booted in advance of Sundays final thanks to the generosity of the club and will have a social gathering in the village on Saturday night to relive the memories and toast their achievements the highlights of which include:
- 1st Team to Win the Clare Senior Championship this Millennium - 1st Team to Win the Clare Cup (Senior League) this Millennium - 1st Team to Win the Munster Club Championship this Millennium - 1st team to win the treble this Millennium (League, Championship & Munster club) - 1st team in Clare (and possibly Ireland) to charter a plane to a hurling match - more to follow on this!! - Winning the clubs 9th County Senior Hurling Title - Completing the 6 in a row of Munster club titles for Clare clubs (started also by the Bridge in 1995)
The medal collection which was won in 2000 is unique to the 26 Bridge hurlers as the GAA introduced a once off Millennium medal to mark the turn of the century and the turn of the millennium - Medals below are: Clare Cup (Senior League), Clare Senior Championship (Canon Hamilton Cup), Munster Club (O'Neill Cup) and GAA Millennium Medal (Year 2000)
