By Declan Whooley
After a difficult two years following ultimate glory in 2013, the Clare hurlers are again resembling a side capable of challenging for top honours.
Sunday’s Allianz League final against Waterford offers the first silverware opportunity since that unforgettable day in Croke Park.
There are many possible reasons for the upturn in fortunes this season such as playing at a lower grade, the introduction of Donal Óg Cusack, plus the return of Paul Kinnerk and Aonghus O'Brien into the backroom team and perhaps lower expectations among supporters in the Banner.
Another positive is the return to full fitness of Clonlara dynamo Colm Galvin.
Three years ago the barnstorming midfielder collected an All Star for his all-action performances in the Banner engine room, but since then, along with his team-mates, things have taken a dip.
They have fallen at the first hurdle in Munster in the last two years and last season suffered relegation, albeit narrowly in Nowlan Park, to 1B.
"Donal Óg has a brilliant brain... It was a great idea by Davy to explore"
Twelve months ago Galvin had just returned after spending two months away in Boston and while he returned for the final game of the league campaign, he was playing catch-up ahead of the Munster opener against Cork.
They would come a cropper against the Rebels in the qualifiers where Galvin was introduced as a substitute, but now he is fully fit and raring to go.
The Banner eased through 1B, the four-point defeat of Limerick in the crucial final outing perhaps flattering the Shannonsiders. Fortune may have played a role in edging past Tipperary by the bare minimum in the last eight, but there was nothing lucky about the nine-point demolition of Kilkenny to book their place in Sunday's intriguing final (3.30pm, live blog on RTÉ.ie).
What does Galvin believe has made the difference so far this season?
“In 2013 everyone seemed to be playing well. In the last couple of years it wasn’t that any wasn’t playing well, but nobody was standing out,” he told RTÉ Sport.
“This year everyone seems to be playing better as a unit.”
He won’t admit it, but the 23-year-old has been one of the stand-out performers in this spring campaign.
Arguably their man-of-the-match in the win over the Cats, Galvin prefers to point towards the management team for the upturn in results.
“Donal Óg is very good at what he does, he’s a brilliant brain. He thinks about every scenario possible. It’s an air of freshness that himself, Kinnerk and Aonghus have come in. It was a great idea by Davy to explore.
“For him to stand back and say, ‘What is going to help us?’, it’s a great sign of a manager.”
Cusack has focused his attentions on the backs, with Fitzgerald keeping a close eye on the attacking strategy. With the groups split in training, Galvin finds himself in a unique position as a midfielder able to benefit from both coaches.
“You try and split your time between the two. You try and get a feel of what they are doing with the backs and forwards and combine it yourself with how you see fit.
Fitzgerald may concentrate on the forwards, but that role has a huge bearing for the defensive set-up of the team.
"If they [forwards] can make it harder, get a dirty ball out of the back, it makes our life a lot easier," Galvin explains.
"That’s something the forwards have been working on, whereas the backs have been working on high balls and working better as a unit. They sort of feed off each other and it’s great to see it combining on a big day.”
Galvin’s decision to go to America for two months last season was a difficult one, but contrary to some suggestions, the Clare manager was fully supportive of the decision once he made up his mind to depart.
“Yeah, it was tough for about two hours but after that Davy. To be fair to him, he took it fairly well. He was very good about it, he didn’t have any negativity towards me, he was very positive.
“He said, ‘look, if you want to come back in, there will be no problem’ and that was a brilliant thing for him to have said. It made me go away with ease and it didn’t make me feel that I didn’t want to come back afterwards.
"So that’s probably more of a reason why I came back as well after I went away.”
Sunday’s decider against Waterford is a novel one. It is the first time the two Munster rivals have met for league silverware with both counties hoping to claim a fourth win in the competition.
With the Munster rivals aiming to challenge Kilkenny and Tipperary for September honours, it is a fascinating sub-plot to the All-Ireland race even at this early stage of the season.
Galvin admits that with drier pitches, bigger crowds and championship looming, he cannot wait for serious business to get under way.
“There’s certain times of the year when you’re half fed up with it," he admits.
"Obviously when you’re slugging it in January in February and the ground is bad, then you might be thing, ‘Why am I here?’, but coming up to championship, all you want to do is train.
"It’s never a chore, you’re excited.
"I’m lucky enough this year I have been playing well in the League and we’re on a bit of a winning role.”
All hurling eyes will be fixed on Thurles to see if that run continues against an in-form Waterford.
