"Cork were no great shakes then," says Ger Loughnane. "The pressure lent itself to an inhibited display from Clare, but we got through."
The match in question was the 1995 Munster semi-final against Cork. On a baking hot day at the Gaelic Grounds, the Banner upset the Rebels by a single point and subsequently claimed just a fourth ever Munster title at Limerick’s expense.
Loughnane would lead the team to All-Ireland glory three months later in a golden period for Clare hurling – two more Munster titles and a second Liam MacCarthy would be added – but the starting point was that glorious day in May against a Cork side looking for a 47th provincial crown.
However despite that famous win, and a number of other notable clashes, most memorably the 2013 All-Ireland final and replay, Loughnane doesn’t see the sides as bitter rivals. Far from it.
"It’s a competitive clash, but it doesn’t have the cutting edge of Limerick or Tipperary," he says. According to Loughnane, it boils down to fact that more often than not, the teams have not crossed paths in their prime.
Historically Cork held the upper hand. While Clare were on the up in the 90s, it coincided with a downturn for the Rebels. At the end of the decade, the trend reversed again, with the 2013 season the only obvious exception. Cork have won 11 of the last 13 encounters.
The closest thing to a real rivalry, as far as he was concerned, was back in the 1970s, when the Banner reached, and lost, all four finals. Three of those were to Sunday's opponents and the 1978 defeat in particular rankles.
Level at the break and aided by a breeze in the second half, Loughnane wistfully recalls the near-miss.
"Is there an intense rivalry between Cork and Clare? Probably not" - John Allen
"That was a missed opportunity, even against Cork side who won five Munster titles in a row, three All-Irelands in a row. We held their forward line to 13 points, but could only muster 11 ourselves."
Former Cork manager John Allen agrees that the 70s were a good time to be a Clare fan, but they just fell short against the Rebels.
"Is there an intense rivalry between Cork and Clare? Probably not," he says. "The games we have seen over the past number of years have been open games, especially the 2013 All-Ireland final and replay, though there is always going to be something simmering away when teams meet so often."
He also agrees with Loughnane that the Clare side of the 70s put it up to Cork, but never seemed to win when it really mattered.
"Clare dominated the League in those years. My first inter-county game was against Clare in Tulla, a graveyard for a lot of teams.
"They seemed to be on the cusp of winning an All-Ireland, but when it came down to winning a Munster championship, they just lacked something."
According to the 65-year-old, a key factor in their downfall was something which was blown away with silverware in the 90s: self-doubt.
"It was best summed up by the late Con Houlihan after Clare lost in 1978. Clare would be great he said, if they could cast off the albatross of self-doubt. Self-doubt was always there beneath the surface, and came to the surface on the big day until 1995."
Owing to their bulging medal collection, it simply wasn’t a factor for the men on Leeside.
"It’s often mentioned about Cork’s arrogance, and there was arrogance with Cork. It has gone to a fair degree in the last 10 years" - John Allen
"Clare won so infrequently that Cork always felt they would beat Clare," says Allen, who guided his county to their last All-Ireland success in 2005.
"There was never any self doubt in Cork. It’s often mentioned about Cork’s arrogance, and there was arrogance with Cork. It has gone to a fair degree in the last 10 years, but in Munster finals, Cork would never doubt themselves. And they won’t on Sunday either."
Similar to 1995, Clare would win an All-Ireland two years later having accounted for the Rebels along the way.
"You needed more teams in hurling," says Allen. "To see Clare coming through was fantastic. I think everyone in Munster was delighted Clare won, and won with such grace and pomp. For the game to survive it needs more counties."
By the time 1998 rolled around, it was very much Clare in the ascendancy, the men in blue and gold with the swagger and confidence. So much so that Cork’s self-confidence was as fragile as it had ever been, as goalkeeper Donal Óg Cusack has admitted to in the intervening years.
"I hate to say it, but Cork were nearly half afraid of Clare at the time," he wrote in his autobiography. "Clare had this aura about them that they built up deliberately. And that Cork team gave them too much respect."
It is worth bearing in mind that in 1998 Cork were crowned League champions.
Having accounted for Clare in the semi-final by 11 points and with a Munster date to follow seven weeks later, there was a groundswell of opinion that Jimmy Barry-Murphy’s youthful side could dethrone the champions.
"The game just went arseways," says Loughnane of the League defeat, dispelling rumours that the team over-trained and weren’t fully tuned in
"Cork read too much into that game. We beat them because we were so hyped up."
"When Clare came out they went over the rope, literally hurdling it and bouncing out across the grass" - Seán Óg Ó hAilpín
An extract from Seán Óg Ó hAilpín’s autobiography gives an insight into the Clare mindset that day, admitting the game was over as a contest at half-time.
"There was a rope across the entrance to the pitch in Semple Stadium that day, waist high, which was meant to divert you to one side of the field or the other," he wrote.
"When Clare came out they went over the rope, literally hurdling it and bouncing out across the grass. When Jimmy Barry-Murphy saw that, he supposedly said to Dr Con, ‘We’re in trouble Con'. He was right."
In front of a crowd just shy of 50,000 at Semple Stadium, Clare eased into another Munster final 0-21 to 0-13.
In his own book, Anthony Daly outlines the method used to regroup and refocus after the League setback.
"They shit down on top of us yesterday, but we’ll show them who the bosses are in June" - Anthony Daly
The day after the semi-final was a May Bank holiday. Daly and Loughnane spoke on the phone about what went wrong against Cork and what needed to be done to boost morale. The captain suggested that the best course of action would be a team bonding session. Quickly the minibus was hired and the group – the non-drinkers of Davy Fitzgerald, Jamesie O’Connor and Colin Lynch drove by car - set out for Ennis in search of a few pints.
At one point, Daly gathered everyone in and laid down a few home truths.
"Lads, I like a drink as much as anyone," he said, "but we make a vow here and now that not a drop of alcohol passes our lips until we beat those boys again in seven weeks. They shit down on top of us yesterday, but we’ll show them who the bosses are in June.
"We felt aggrieved. We had a point to prove. And that mentality set the tone for our summer.
"On Wednesday night [before the Championship clash] we played a 45-minute match in training that was absolutely filthy. There were fights breaking out all over the field. ‘Now we’re ready for these bastards,' Loughnane roared."
You would have got short odds at the time that 20 years later Clare would still be looking for a seventh Munster title.
"My best memories are of the Munster championship because I know how hard they are to win. All-Irelands are great, don’t get me wrong, but there is something engrained about trying to win a Munster title," says Loughnane.
The following year Cork exacted revenge on their way to an unexpected All-Ireland title.
The one-point win over Kilkenny on a sodden day in the capital won't feature in the highlights reels of great All-Ireland deciders, but the Cork 'drought' was ended, bookending the decade with silverware.
Now it was the Rebels’ turn to bring through a new crop of players while the likes of Daly and more of the established Banner players were on trajectory that was beginning to head south.
After the turn of the century, the games were less high profile, aside from the 2005 All-Ireland semi-final, where again the Rebels prevailed.
Trailing by six points in the second half at Croke Park after a Clare purple patch, Donal O'Grady's side fought back and snatched victory courtesy of Jerry O’Connor's late point.
Three weeks later and the Liam MacCarthy was returning to the Banks of the Lee. It has yet to make a return, notwithstanding the close call five years ago.
As Kilkenny dominated the hurling landscape, with Tipperary their nearest challengers, the Cork and Clare clashes came and went without much fanfare. That was until the free-scoring All-Ireland finals of 2013.
Since then it has been advantage Rebels, winning four in a row, including last year’s decider and their opening round-robin Munster clash.
Loughnane has seen a different attitude from Cork this year and what worries him from a Clare perspective is the character that the Rebels have demonstrated in their four matches to date and their ability to pull games out of the fire.
"They have shown the type of character people think they didn’t have, especially against Waterford, total disaster seemed to be in front of them," he says.
"That block down on Tommy Ryan by Bill Cooper was incredible. That was the turning point of the game, but maybe for their season and game."
He argues the men red are "spectacular" in attack and their "skinning pace" in attack will overrun Clare if they are given the freedom to hurl such is their skill level. However, it is the tactical adjustment by Gerry O'Connor and Donal Moloney in the Banner attack which may set them on course to progress as champions.
"The big change in Clare the last two games is the deployment of John Conlon closer to goals," he says. "Clare fans have been crying out for a target man. Damien Cahalane, a strong, aggressive full-back, will be his biggest challenge to date, but himself and Shane O’Donnell are a great combination.
Allen expects another open game devoid of sweepers, with one aspect of the game likely to hold the balance.
"The team who will concede the least amount of frees has the best chance of winning.
"Peter Duggan came on for five minutes in last year’s final and will be a central part this year. Patrick Horgan is always key for Cork. The teams are evenly balanced, so frees could swing the outcome."
Pat Donnellan, the 2013 All-Ireland-winning captain will be among the hordes of Clare supporters in Thurles having retired from inter-county hurling last year.
"Cork are playing very well, but Clare seem to have an extra gear coming into the final" - Pat Donnellan
The O’Callaghan Mills man says the game is perfectly set up for his former team-mates.
"They were trying to finish the puzzle last year and never really got there," he says. "The team is settled this year and everyone knows what is expected of them.
We need your consent to load this Facebook contentWe use Facebook to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
"You can see over the last few games, Waterford and Limerick at home, the Clare players are really relishing the chance to give it a real go this time.
"Cork are playing very well, but Clare seem to have an extra gear coming into the final."
The final word goes to Loughnane. The Feakle native believes his county must find a way to carry on their momentum with this group of players.
"If Clare cannot beat Cork now at this stage of their development, it will be a real backwards step" - Ger Loughnane
The performance is irrelevant in many ways – such as the 1995 display against Sunday’s opposition – but the pressure is really on O’Connor and Moloney’s team to deliver.
"Certain days are defining. It doesn’t matter how you do it, you just have to do it. If they cannot beat Cork now at this stage of their development, it will be a real backwards step."
Follow Cork v Clare on Sunday (throw-in 2pm) via the live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the News Now App, live on RTÉ2’s The Sunday Game or listen to live updates on RTÉ Radio 1’s Sunday Sport.
