Ger Loughnane
Encyclopedia
Ger Loughnane is a Irish
hurling
manager
and former player. He played hurling with his local club Feakle and with the Clare
senior inter-county team in the 1970s and 1980s. Loughnane has often been described as a controversial character in the world of hurling.
As a player Loughnane was involved with the Clare team of the 1970s, a team often described as one that under-achieved somewhat. In his senior inter-county career that lasted from 1972 until 1987 he won two National Hurling League
titles and three Railway Cup titles with Munster
. Clare came close to winning a Munster
title in both 1977 and 1978, however, they were defeated by Cork on both occasions. Loughnane was also the first Clare person to be presented with an All-Star
award.
As a manager Loughnane has had remarkable success. As manager of the Clare senior inter-county team in the 1990s he guided his native-county to two All-Ireland
titles and three Munster
titles. Loughnane's achievements with Clare are all the more remarkable considering the fact that between 1933 and 1994 the county failed to win a provincial title. Loughnane later served as manager of the Galway
senior inter-county from 2006 until 2008, however, in spite of promising an All-Ireland within two years his tenure at the helm was not a successful one.
, before later attending St. Flannan's College
in Ennis
, a virtual academy for young and gifted hurlers. During his tenure at St. Flannan's, Loughnane won a Munster Colleges Under-15 medal, as well as playing on the college teams that lost Dean Ryan and Harty Cup finals. He also played hurling with St. Patrick's College in Dublin, where he trained as a primary school teacher. It is interesting to note that one of his contemporaries at St. Patrick's was Brian Cody
, a future hurling star with Kilkenny
and the current manager of the team. Following his graduation Loughnane returned to County Clare
and he currently is the principal at St. Aidan's primary school in Shannon
.
with his local Feakle club. He enjoyed some success at underage levels before winning a senior county title in 1988.
minor hurling team. As a minor he played in the 1971 Munster final but only faced defeat. He later became a member of the under-21 side that lost Munster finals in 1972 and 1974. Loughnane made his senior debut in 1972 in a National Hurling League
game against Tipperary
. It was the first of over 100 appearances for Loughnane in the National League and he soon became a key member of the team that captured back-to-back League victories in 1977 and 1978. One of Loughnane's biggest disappointments is the failure of that Clare side to capture at least one Munster Championship
title. He made his championship debut in 1973, coming on as a substitute against Limerick
, and later played in five Munster finals. Unfortunately Loughnane ended up on the losing side on all five occasions in 1974, 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1986. In spite of this his talent was recognised when he became the first Clare
man to win an All-Star
award in 1974, with a second award following in 1978. Loughnane’s exceptional talent was also evident when he was picked as a player on six Munster
Railway Cup teams. In all he won three winners’ medals in that competition. Loughnane retired from inter-county hurling in the late 1980s.
senior hurlers in the 1990s that he is best known. His managerial career began in the early 1990s when he became a selector on the Clare senior hurling team under Len Gaynor
. He was later dropped after a heavy defeat, serving as manager of the Clare under-21 team in the intervening period, but returned as a senior selector in 1993. When Gaynor stepped down in 1994 Loughnane immediately became manager and was charged with preparing the team for the 1995 championship
. His training sessions became infamous among players for their intensity and he made sweeping changes throughout the team.
After a winter of intense training Loughnane's side proved their worth by reaching the final of the National Hurling League
. Kilkenny hammered Clare on that occasion. Loughnane was particularly annoyed when he saw one of the Kilkenny players putting the winning trophy into the boot of his car. In spite of this Loughnane still predicted that his side would win the provincial championship. Clare defeated Cork in the Munster semi-final and qualified for a final appearance against Limerick
. Clare had lost the last two Munster finals, however, on this occasion Loughnane's side hurled Limerick off their feet and captured a 1-17 to 0-11 victory. It was the county's first provincial title since 1932. Clare celebrated and even took the provincial trophy on a tour of the county, however, they were given little chance against Galway
in the All-Ireland semi-final. In the end the 3-12 to 1-13 victory was an easy one and Clare qualified to play reigning champions Offaly
in the All-Ireland final. At half-time, in spite of conceding a goal, an animated Loughnane did a brief interview in which he confidently predicted "We're going to do it," before rushing off. His prediction came through and Clare were the All-Ireland champions for the first time in 81 years.
Clare surrendered their Munster and All-Ireland titles in their opening game in 1996. In an exciting game against Limerick Ciarán Carey
provided one of the greatest match winners of all-time when he soloed the sliothar for 70 yards before scoring the winning point.
After an early defeat in 1996, Clare were out for victory in 1997. Once again they defeated Cork in a Munster semi-final before taking the scalp of Tipperary
in the Munster final. The score line of 1-18 to 0-18 made them firm favourites to capture a second All-Ireland title. The subsequent All-Ireland semi-final saw Loughnane's side take on Kilkenny
. Clare were on top for the entire game and ended up winning on a score line of 1-17 to 1-13. In the first year of the so-called 'back-door system' Tipperary had qualified for an historic All-Ireland final against Clare. It was the first all-Munster All-Ireland final. In what has been described as one of the games of the decade Clare came from behind at half-time to defeat Tipp for the second time that year with a score of 0-20 to 2-13. It was Loughnane's second All-Ireland title as manager. Furthermore, Clare had defeated the big three of Cork, Kilkenny and Tipperary on the way to the All-Ireland title. Only Waterford
in 1959 had achieved that feat before.
The 1998 championship
was to prove controversial for Loughnane and his Clare team. The replayed Munster final against Waterford
was played in an extremely poor spirit with Colin Lynch
of Clare and Michael White of Waterford being sent-off after a huge melee. Lynch received a three-month ban for his part in the game and Loughnane was disgusted at the decision. In spite of that Clare captured a third Munster title in four years. The subsequent All-Ireland semi-final saw Clare draw with Offaly. More controversy was to follow when Clare played Offaly in the semi-final replay. Clare were winning by two points when the referee
, Jimmy Cooney, blew the whistle with two minutes of normal time left to be played. The Offaly fans were outraged and staged a sit-down protest on the pitch. The result wasn't allowed to stand and Clare were forced to meet Offaly for a third time that year. They lost the second replay, however, it has been said that if they won they would have captured a second All-Ireland title in-a-row. 1998 marked the end of the success for Loughnane's Clare side.
In 1999 Clare reached a sixth Munster final in seven years, however, in spite of aiming to retain their title a young Cork team caught Loughnane's side off guard and defeated the most dominant team in the provincial championship. Clare later drew with Galway in the All-Ireland quarter-final, however, they overcame the men from the West in the replay. Kilkenny provided the opposition in the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final, however, 'the Cats', under new manager Brian Cody
, defeated Clare by 0-19 to 0-16.
Loughnane decided to remain in charge for one more season to see if he could gain revenge. The plan came unstuck in the Munster semi-final when Clare suffered a particularly heavy defeat by Tipperary
. Loughnane resigned as manager of Clare shortly afterwards.
senior hurling team, devoid of a manager after the resignation of Conor Hayes
, issued a press release indicating their desire for Loughnane to take the vacant managerial position. Although he had already stated his disinterest in the position, he remained the favourite candidate to succeed Hayes, before Loughnane himself withdrew for the contest. In true Loughnane fashion, however, he re-entered the managerial race again and was named successor to Hayes. After stating in 2000 that he would never take charge of an inter-county team again Loughnane was back.
Loughnane's first game in charge saw Galway take on Laois
in the first-round of the qualifiers. A comprehensive 3-20 to 1-14 victory gave Loughnane hope for his next game against his own-native county of Clare. The game, which took on a derby-type feel to it, was an exciting and close one, however, victory went to the Claremen. The final whistle saw scenes resembling that of an All-Ireland final win with hundreds of Clare supporters bursting onto the pitch. A huge victory over Antrim
allowed Loughnnane's team advance to an All-Ireland quarter-final meeting with Kilkenny
. This would be the first meeting of Loughnane and Brian Cody
, two of the greatest managers of the modern era. For sixty minute both sides were neck and neck with no team taking too much of a lead. On several occasion it looked as if Galway might pull away and win the game, however, Kilkenny's Eddie Brennan
scored two goals in the last ten minutes to give KIlkenny a 3-22 to 1-18 victory. Following the game Loughnane entered into a war of words with Brian Cody after the former accused Kilkenny of striking late with the hurley and then referees letting them away with it.
When Loughnane took the Galway job he famously promised to quit if he failed to deliver the All-Ireland within two years. Galway had gone unbeaten in the National Hurling League
and pipped Tipperary
to a semi-final spot. Galway defeated Cork in this game, resulting in a league final showdown with Tipperary. The team has been a lot more settled compared to this time last year especially in the area of defence which is considered Galway's greatest weakness. Loughnane himself has adopted a much lower media profile with less of his trademark outbursts and wasn't even present for the launch of the National Hurling League
. His side went out of the All-Ireland in the qualifiers after failing to beat Cork in July 2008. Following a county board meeting on 19 August 2008 Loughnane agreed to stay on for one more year as Galway manager. This decision resulted in some players expressing unease about his style and tactics. Amid accusations of 'player power', Loughnane was voted out of the job in October 2008.
newspaper and regularly appeared as a pundit on RTÉ
's The Sunday Game
. In this capacity he earned a reputation as an outspoken critic of many hurling teams, including Clare.
and the team manager in the 1970s when Clare, with Justin McCarthy
acting as coach, won two National League titles.
The omission of Loughnane from the team and the decision to give such an award, the first of its kind, to Fr. Bohan raised questions about the deepening divide between Loughnane and some of the County Board officials he worked with during his tenure as county hurling manager. Loughnane had also received a backlash from some of his past players, most notably goalkeeper Davy Fitzgerald
, and supporters in the county for his critical TV and newspaper analysis of the Clare hurling set-up and the team's performances throughout the previous two hurling seasons.
Loughnane telephoned the County Board Chairman Michael McDonagh to make known his displeasure about the awards. He confirmed that he used colourful terms to describe his annoyance. Loughnane made the call on speakerphone and forgot to hang up properly afterwards. He then called his friend Colum Flynn on his mobile phone. Flynn was the Clare hurling team’s physical therapist at the time and believed he was being undermined by the team management, then under the stewardship of Anthony Daly
. Loughnane detailed to Flynn how he'd imagined shooting a certain person's head (reported by The Star
newspaper to be Fr. Harry Bohan) that was on top of an oil can while out hunting. Heavy breathing emanating from the speakerphone alerted Loughnane to the fact that he failed to terminate the call to McDonagh, who is a member of the Garda Síochána
. McDonagh then reported the matter to the Gardaí.
Loughnane was on holidays in France
when the media storm erupted. He agreed to be interviewed by local radio station Clare FM
from his holiday destination. Loughnane was asked to confirm if the character he had imagined shooting was Fr. Harry Bohan. Refusing to confirm or deny, Loughnane accused “this character” of being “insanely jealous of Clare’s success” during his tenure, adding: “I would regard (him) as the man, hurling-wise, who was the greatest failure ever in the history of Clare hurling.” Bohan was manager of the Clare team in the late 70s when it was widely perceived that that Clare team, which included Ger Loughnane, left at least one All-Ireland after them. He also hit out at another award recipient (widely believed to be top Croke Park official Sean Ó Laoire) describing him as “a traitor to the county” for his role in the Jimmy Cooney/early-whistle affair in 1998, which denied Clare a crack at a third All-Ireland in four years. In the same interview, Loughnane also suggested that the Clare Champion newspaper, co-sponsors of the awards, were hostile to him because they did not obtain rights to print exclusive extracts from his autobiography, ‘Raising the Banner’, before it was published five years previously.
It was falsely reported on the 28th of July 2011 that Loughnane had died. The news had spread over a number of social networking sites although it was quickly exposed as a hoax.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
manager
Manager (Gaelic games)
In Gaelic games, a manager or coach is an individual involved in the direction and instruction of the on-field operations of a team. Managing, or coaching, entails the application of sport tactics and strategies during the game itself, and usually entails substitution of players and other such...
and former player. He played hurling with his local club Feakle and with the Clare
Clare GAA
The Clare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Clare GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Clare. The county board is also responsible for the Clare inter-county teams....
senior inter-county team in the 1970s and 1980s. Loughnane has often been described as a controversial character in the world of hurling.
As a player Loughnane was involved with the Clare team of the 1970s, a team often described as one that under-achieved somewhat. In his senior inter-county career that lasted from 1972 until 1987 he won two National Hurling League
National Hurling League
The National Hurling League is an annual hurling competition between the county teams of Ireland. Contested by 35 teams , it operates on a system of promotion and relegation between four different divisions, with Division One...
titles and three Railway Cup titles with Munster
Munster GAA
The Munster Council is a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, rounders and handball in the province of Munster.-Constituent counties:*Cork*Clare*Kerry*Limerick*Tipperary*Waterford-Honours:...
. Clare came close to winning a Munster
Munster Senior Hurling Championship
The Munster GAA Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1888 for the top hurling teams in the province of Munster in Ireland....
title in both 1977 and 1978, however, they were defeated by Cork on both occasions. Loughnane was also the first Clare person to be presented with an All-Star
GAA All Stars Awards
The All Stars Awards, currently sponsored by Vodafone, are given annually since 1971 by the Gaelic Athletic Association to the best player in each of the fifteen positions in Gaelic football and Hurling in Ireland. Additionally, one player in each code is selected as the player of the year...
award.
As a manager Loughnane has had remarkable success. As manager of the Clare senior inter-county team in the 1990s he guided his native-county to two All-Ireland
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the top hurling teams in Ireland....
titles and three Munster
Munster Senior Hurling Championship
The Munster GAA Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1888 for the top hurling teams in the province of Munster in Ireland....
titles. Loughnane's achievements with Clare are all the more remarkable considering the fact that between 1933 and 1994 the county failed to win a provincial title. Loughnane later served as manager of the Galway
Galway GAA
The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Galway GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway. The county boards are also responsible for the Galway inter-county teams.Unlike all other counties in Ireland,...
senior inter-county from 2006 until 2008, however, in spite of promising an All-Ireland within two years his tenure at the helm was not a successful one.
Biography
Ger Loughnane was born in Feakle, County Clare.He was educated at his local national school where he was first introduced to the game of hurlingHurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
, before later attending St. Flannan's College
St. Flannan's College
Saint Flannan's College is an Irish secondary school located in Ennis, County Clare. Formerly an all-boys boarding school, the first girls class was entered in 2002 and in 2005 the boarding school was closed. In 2003 an extension which added over 20 new rooms to the college was completed...
in Ennis
Ennis
Ennis is the county town of Clare in Ireland. Situated on the River Fergus, it lies north of Limerick and south of Galway. Its name is a shortening of the original ....
, a virtual academy for young and gifted hurlers. During his tenure at St. Flannan's, Loughnane won a Munster Colleges Under-15 medal, as well as playing on the college teams that lost Dean Ryan and Harty Cup finals. He also played hurling with St. Patrick's College in Dublin, where he trained as a primary school teacher. It is interesting to note that one of his contemporaries at St. Patrick's was Brian Cody
Brian Cody
Brian Cody is an Irish hurling manager and former player, currently managing the Kilkenny senior inter-county team, where he has been in charge since 1998...
, a future hurling star with Kilkenny
Kilkenny GAA
The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...
and the current manager of the team. Following his graduation Loughnane returned to County Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
and he currently is the principal at St. Aidan's primary school in Shannon
Shannon, County Clare
Shannon or Shannon Town , named after the river near which it stands, is a town located in County Clare. It was given town status on 1 January 1982. The town is located just off the N19 road, a spur of the N18/M18 road between Limerick city and Ennis....
.
Club
Loughnane played his club hurlingHurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
with his local Feakle club. He enjoyed some success at underage levels before winning a senior county title in 1988.
Inter-county
Loughnane's skills as a hurler were quickly noted and he soon became a member of the ClareClare GAA
The Clare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Clare GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Clare. The county board is also responsible for the Clare inter-county teams....
minor hurling team. As a minor he played in the 1971 Munster final but only faced defeat. He later became a member of the under-21 side that lost Munster finals in 1972 and 1974. Loughnane made his senior debut in 1972 in a National Hurling League
National Hurling League
The National Hurling League is an annual hurling competition between the county teams of Ireland. Contested by 35 teams , it operates on a system of promotion and relegation between four different divisions, with Division One...
game against Tipperary
Tipperary GAA
The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or C is one of over 30 regional executive boards throughout the world. These executive boards are known as County Boards even though some no longer correspond to the area under the jurisdiction of the counties from which their names...
. It was the first of over 100 appearances for Loughnane in the National League and he soon became a key member of the team that captured back-to-back League victories in 1977 and 1978. One of Loughnane's biggest disappointments is the failure of that Clare side to capture at least one Munster Championship
Munster Senior Hurling Championship
The Munster GAA Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1888 for the top hurling teams in the province of Munster in Ireland....
title. He made his championship debut in 1973, coming on as a substitute against Limerick
Limerick GAA
The Limerick County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Limerick GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Limerick...
, and later played in five Munster finals. Unfortunately Loughnane ended up on the losing side on all five occasions in 1974, 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1986. In spite of this his talent was recognised when he became the first Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
man to win an All-Star
GAA All Stars Awards
The All Stars Awards, currently sponsored by Vodafone, are given annually since 1971 by the Gaelic Athletic Association to the best player in each of the fifteen positions in Gaelic football and Hurling in Ireland. Additionally, one player in each code is selected as the player of the year...
award in 1974, with a second award following in 1978. Loughnane’s exceptional talent was also evident when he was picked as a player on six Munster
Munster GAA
The Munster Council is a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, rounders and handball in the province of Munster.-Constituent counties:*Cork*Clare*Kerry*Limerick*Tipperary*Waterford-Honours:...
Railway Cup teams. In all he won three winners’ medals in that competition. Loughnane retired from inter-county hurling in the late 1980s.
Managing Clare
Although Loughnane was noted as a great hurler in a county that was starved of success, it is for his exploits as manager of the ClareClare GAA
The Clare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Clare GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Clare. The county board is also responsible for the Clare inter-county teams....
senior hurlers in the 1990s that he is best known. His managerial career began in the early 1990s when he became a selector on the Clare senior hurling team under Len Gaynor
Len Gaynor
Len Gaynor is a retired Irish hurling manager and former player. He played hurling with his local club Kilruane McDonagh's and with the Tipperary senior inter-county team in the 1960s and 1970s...
. He was later dropped after a heavy defeat, serving as manager of the Clare under-21 team in the intervening period, but returned as a senior selector in 1993. When Gaynor stepped down in 1994 Loughnane immediately became manager and was charged with preparing the team for the 1995 championship
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1995
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1995 was the 109th staging of Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition...
. His training sessions became infamous among players for their intensity and he made sweeping changes throughout the team.
After a winter of intense training Loughnane's side proved their worth by reaching the final of the National Hurling League
National Hurling League
The National Hurling League is an annual hurling competition between the county teams of Ireland. Contested by 35 teams , it operates on a system of promotion and relegation between four different divisions, with Division One...
. Kilkenny hammered Clare on that occasion. Loughnane was particularly annoyed when he saw one of the Kilkenny players putting the winning trophy into the boot of his car. In spite of this Loughnane still predicted that his side would win the provincial championship. Clare defeated Cork in the Munster semi-final and qualified for a final appearance against Limerick
Limerick GAA
The Limerick County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Limerick GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Limerick...
. Clare had lost the last two Munster finals, however, on this occasion Loughnane's side hurled Limerick off their feet and captured a 1-17 to 0-11 victory. It was the county's first provincial title since 1932. Clare celebrated and even took the provincial trophy on a tour of the county, however, they were given little chance against Galway
Galway GAA
The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Galway GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway. The county boards are also responsible for the Galway inter-county teams.Unlike all other counties in Ireland,...
in the All-Ireland semi-final. In the end the 3-12 to 1-13 victory was an easy one and Clare qualified to play reigning champions Offaly
Offaly GAA
The Offaly County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Offaly GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Offaly...
in the All-Ireland final. At half-time, in spite of conceding a goal, an animated Loughnane did a brief interview in which he confidently predicted "We're going to do it," before rushing off. His prediction came through and Clare were the All-Ireland champions for the first time in 81 years.
Clare surrendered their Munster and All-Ireland titles in their opening game in 1996. In an exciting game against Limerick Ciarán Carey
Ciarán Carey
Ciarán Carey is an Irish hurling selector and player. He is currently a selector with the Limerick senior hurling team....
provided one of the greatest match winners of all-time when he soloed the sliothar for 70 yards before scoring the winning point.
After an early defeat in 1996, Clare were out for victory in 1997. Once again they defeated Cork in a Munster semi-final before taking the scalp of Tipperary
Tipperary GAA
The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or C is one of over 30 regional executive boards throughout the world. These executive boards are known as County Boards even though some no longer correspond to the area under the jurisdiction of the counties from which their names...
in the Munster final. The score line of 1-18 to 0-18 made them firm favourites to capture a second All-Ireland title. The subsequent All-Ireland semi-final saw Loughnane's side take on Kilkenny
Kilkenny GAA
The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...
. Clare were on top for the entire game and ended up winning on a score line of 1-17 to 1-13. In the first year of the so-called 'back-door system' Tipperary had qualified for an historic All-Ireland final against Clare. It was the first all-Munster All-Ireland final. In what has been described as one of the games of the decade Clare came from behind at half-time to defeat Tipp for the second time that year with a score of 0-20 to 2-13. It was Loughnane's second All-Ireland title as manager. Furthermore, Clare had defeated the big three of Cork, Kilkenny and Tipperary on the way to the All-Ireland title. Only Waterford
Waterford GAA
The Waterford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Waterford GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for all levels of Gaelic games in County Waterford. The County Board is also responsible for the Waterford inter-county teams. The county...
in 1959 had achieved that feat before.
The 1998 championship
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1998
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1998 was the 112th staging of Ireland's premier hurling competition...
was to prove controversial for Loughnane and his Clare team. The replayed Munster final against Waterford
Waterford GAA
The Waterford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Waterford GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for all levels of Gaelic games in County Waterford. The County Board is also responsible for the Waterford inter-county teams. The county...
was played in an extremely poor spirit with Colin Lynch
Colin Lynch
Colin Lynch is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling and Gaelic football with his local clubs Kilmaley and Lissycasey, and was a member of the Clare senior inter-county hurling team from 1997 until 2008.-Club:...
of Clare and Michael White of Waterford being sent-off after a huge melee. Lynch received a three-month ban for his part in the game and Loughnane was disgusted at the decision. In spite of that Clare captured a third Munster title in four years. The subsequent All-Ireland semi-final saw Clare draw with Offaly. More controversy was to follow when Clare played Offaly in the semi-final replay. Clare were winning by two points when the referee
Referee
A referee is the person of authority, in a variety of sports, who is responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view and making on the fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport...
, Jimmy Cooney, blew the whistle with two minutes of normal time left to be played. The Offaly fans were outraged and staged a sit-down protest on the pitch. The result wasn't allowed to stand and Clare were forced to meet Offaly for a third time that year. They lost the second replay, however, it has been said that if they won they would have captured a second All-Ireland title in-a-row. 1998 marked the end of the success for Loughnane's Clare side.
In 1999 Clare reached a sixth Munster final in seven years, however, in spite of aiming to retain their title a young Cork team caught Loughnane's side off guard and defeated the most dominant team in the provincial championship. Clare later drew with Galway in the All-Ireland quarter-final, however, they overcame the men from the West in the replay. Kilkenny provided the opposition in the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final, however, 'the Cats', under new manager Brian Cody
Brian Cody
Brian Cody is an Irish hurling manager and former player, currently managing the Kilkenny senior inter-county team, where he has been in charge since 1998...
, defeated Clare by 0-19 to 0-16.
Loughnane decided to remain in charge for one more season to see if he could gain revenge. The plan came unstuck in the Munster semi-final when Clare suffered a particularly heavy defeat by Tipperary
Tipperary GAA
The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or C is one of over 30 regional executive boards throughout the world. These executive boards are known as County Boards even though some no longer correspond to the area under the jurisdiction of the counties from which their names...
. Loughnane resigned as manager of Clare shortly afterwards.
Managing Galway
In September 2006, the GalwayGalway GAA
The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Galway GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway. The county boards are also responsible for the Galway inter-county teams.Unlike all other counties in Ireland,...
senior hurling team, devoid of a manager after the resignation of Conor Hayes
Conor Hayes
Conor Hayes is an Irish retired sportsperson and manager. He played hurling with his local club Kiltormer and was a member of the Galway senior inter-county team from 1979 until 1989. Hayes captained Galway to back-to-back All-Ireland titles.-Club:Hayes played his club hurling with his local club...
, issued a press release indicating their desire for Loughnane to take the vacant managerial position. Although he had already stated his disinterest in the position, he remained the favourite candidate to succeed Hayes, before Loughnane himself withdrew for the contest. In true Loughnane fashion, however, he re-entered the managerial race again and was named successor to Hayes. After stating in 2000 that he would never take charge of an inter-county team again Loughnane was back.
Loughnane's first game in charge saw Galway take on Laois
Laois GAA
The Laois County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Laois GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Laois and the Laois inter-county teams.-History:...
in the first-round of the qualifiers. A comprehensive 3-20 to 1-14 victory gave Loughnane hope for his next game against his own-native county of Clare. The game, which took on a derby-type feel to it, was an exciting and close one, however, victory went to the Claremen. The final whistle saw scenes resembling that of an All-Ireland final win with hundreds of Clare supporters bursting onto the pitch. A huge victory over Antrim
Antrim GAA
The Antrim County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Antrim GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Antrim. The county board is also responsible for the Antrim inter-county teams...
allowed Loughnnane's team advance to an All-Ireland quarter-final meeting with Kilkenny
Kilkenny GAA
The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...
. This would be the first meeting of Loughnane and Brian Cody
Brian Cody
Brian Cody is an Irish hurling manager and former player, currently managing the Kilkenny senior inter-county team, where he has been in charge since 1998...
, two of the greatest managers of the modern era. For sixty minute both sides were neck and neck with no team taking too much of a lead. On several occasion it looked as if Galway might pull away and win the game, however, Kilkenny's Eddie Brennan
Eddie Brennan
Eddie Brennan is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Graigue-Ballycallan and has been a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team since 2000.-Biography:...
scored two goals in the last ten minutes to give KIlkenny a 3-22 to 1-18 victory. Following the game Loughnane entered into a war of words with Brian Cody after the former accused Kilkenny of striking late with the hurley and then referees letting them away with it.
When Loughnane took the Galway job he famously promised to quit if he failed to deliver the All-Ireland within two years. Galway had gone unbeaten in the National Hurling League
National Hurling League
The National Hurling League is an annual hurling competition between the county teams of Ireland. Contested by 35 teams , it operates on a system of promotion and relegation between four different divisions, with Division One...
and pipped Tipperary
Tipperary GAA
The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or C is one of over 30 regional executive boards throughout the world. These executive boards are known as County Boards even though some no longer correspond to the area under the jurisdiction of the counties from which their names...
to a semi-final spot. Galway defeated Cork in this game, resulting in a league final showdown with Tipperary. The team has been a lot more settled compared to this time last year especially in the area of defence which is considered Galway's greatest weakness. Loughnane himself has adopted a much lower media profile with less of his trademark outbursts and wasn't even present for the launch of the National Hurling League
National Hurling League
The National Hurling League is an annual hurling competition between the county teams of Ireland. Contested by 35 teams , it operates on a system of promotion and relegation between four different divisions, with Division One...
. His side went out of the All-Ireland in the qualifiers after failing to beat Cork in July 2008. Following a county board meeting on 19 August 2008 Loughnane agreed to stay on for one more year as Galway manager. This decision resulted in some players expressing unease about his style and tactics. Amid accusations of 'player power', Loughnane was voted out of the job in October 2008.
Media involvement
Loughnane spent a number of years as a hurling analyst in the media. He wrote a column in The StarIrish Daily Star
The Irish Daily Star is a tabloid newspaper published in Ireland by the Independent Star Limited. Independent Star Limited is a joint venture between Richard Desmond's UK based Express Newspapers Limited, which owns the British Daily Star, and Irish news magnate Denis O'Brien's Independent News &...
newspaper and regularly appeared as a pundit on RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
's The Sunday Game
The Sunday Game
The Sunday Game is Raidió Teilifís Éireann's main Gaelic games television programme. It is shown on RTÉ Two every Sunday during the Football Championship and Hurling Championship seasons. It is one of RTÉ Two’s longest-running shows, having been on air since 1979, one year after the channel first...
. In this capacity he earned a reputation as an outspoken critic of many hurling teams, including Clare.
Controversy
In February 2006, Loughnane was surprisingly overlooked for a place on the 'best Clare team of the last 25 years'. He was also passed over for a special 'services to Clare hurling' award. That award went instead to Fr. Harry Bohan, then a Clare hurling selector under manager Anthony DalyAnthony Daly (hurler)
Anthony Daly is an Irish hurling manager and former player. He is the current manager of the Dublin senior hurling team....
and the team manager in the 1970s when Clare, with Justin McCarthy
Justin McCarthy (hurler)
Justin McCarthy is an Irish former hurling manager and former player, who took over as manager of the Limerick senior inter-county team in October 2008. He played hurling with his local club Passage and with the Cork senior inter-county team in the 1960s and 1970s.As a player McCarthy was involved...
acting as coach, won two National League titles.
The omission of Loughnane from the team and the decision to give such an award, the first of its kind, to Fr. Bohan raised questions about the deepening divide between Loughnane and some of the County Board officials he worked with during his tenure as county hurling manager. Loughnane had also received a backlash from some of his past players, most notably goalkeeper Davy Fitzgerald
Davy FitzGerald
David Fitzgerald is an Irish hurling manager and former player. He is a former manager of the Waterford senior hurling team....
, and supporters in the county for his critical TV and newspaper analysis of the Clare hurling set-up and the team's performances throughout the previous two hurling seasons.
Loughnane telephoned the County Board Chairman Michael McDonagh to make known his displeasure about the awards. He confirmed that he used colourful terms to describe his annoyance. Loughnane made the call on speakerphone and forgot to hang up properly afterwards. He then called his friend Colum Flynn on his mobile phone. Flynn was the Clare hurling team’s physical therapist at the time and believed he was being undermined by the team management, then under the stewardship of Anthony Daly
Anthony Daly (hurler)
Anthony Daly is an Irish hurling manager and former player. He is the current manager of the Dublin senior hurling team....
. Loughnane detailed to Flynn how he'd imagined shooting a certain person's head (reported by The Star
Irish Daily Star
The Irish Daily Star is a tabloid newspaper published in Ireland by the Independent Star Limited. Independent Star Limited is a joint venture between Richard Desmond's UK based Express Newspapers Limited, which owns the British Daily Star, and Irish news magnate Denis O'Brien's Independent News &...
newspaper to be Fr. Harry Bohan) that was on top of an oil can while out hunting. Heavy breathing emanating from the speakerphone alerted Loughnane to the fact that he failed to terminate the call to McDonagh, who is a member of the Garda Síochána
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
. McDonagh then reported the matter to the Gardaí.
Loughnane was on holidays in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
when the media storm erupted. He agreed to be interviewed by local radio station Clare FM
Clare FM
Clare FM is an Irish radio station which broadcasts to County Clare and the surrounding areas.The station has won many Irish radio awards. Clare FM broadcasts on frequencies 95 - 96FM including 95.2, 95.5, 95.9, 96.4 & 96.6...
from his holiday destination. Loughnane was asked to confirm if the character he had imagined shooting was Fr. Harry Bohan. Refusing to confirm or deny, Loughnane accused “this character” of being “insanely jealous of Clare’s success” during his tenure, adding: “I would regard (him) as the man, hurling-wise, who was the greatest failure ever in the history of Clare hurling.” Bohan was manager of the Clare team in the late 70s when it was widely perceived that that Clare team, which included Ger Loughnane, left at least one All-Ireland after them. He also hit out at another award recipient (widely believed to be top Croke Park official Sean Ó Laoire) describing him as “a traitor to the county” for his role in the Jimmy Cooney/early-whistle affair in 1998, which denied Clare a crack at a third All-Ireland in four years. In the same interview, Loughnane also suggested that the Clare Champion newspaper, co-sponsors of the awards, were hostile to him because they did not obtain rights to print exclusive extracts from his autobiography, ‘Raising the Banner’, before it was published five years previously.
Personal Life and Health
In June 2011 Loughnane was diagnosed with Leukemia.It was falsely reported on the 28th of July 2011 that Loughnane had died. The news had spread over a number of social networking sites although it was quickly exposed as a hoax.
Quotes
- 'Ger Loughnane was fair, he treated us all the same during training - like dogs.' Anonymous Clare hurler.
- 'I'm not giving away any secrets like that to TipperaryTipperary GAAThe Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or C is one of over 30 regional executive boards throughout the world. These executive boards are known as County Boards even though some no longer correspond to the area under the jurisdiction of the counties from which their names...
. If I had my way, I wouldn't even tell them the time of the throw-in.' Ger Loughnane.