A shot-stopper, a ball-player, a Mayo man.
David Clarke will line out for his county for the 100th time on Saturday 8 July. 100 not out.
The All-Ireland finalists take on Clare in Round 3 of the football championship in what will be a battle of the Atlantic coast in Ennis and it will be a very special day for a man from Ballina who endears himself more and more to the people of Mayo with every passing season.
Davie's 100th match in the #MayoGAA green and red tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/udvnUM4cdx
— Mayo Club '51 (@MayoClub51) July 7, 2017
To put his achievements into context – to put playing for Mayo 100 times into context when he only has one specific position on the field he can play – James Nallen donned the crest 132 times. Only Andy Moran has more appearances under his belt for his county.
Today, David Clarke joins the 100 club.
And still, with all his talent and accolades and profile, he’s just a nice man through it all. He doesn’t lose sight of where he’s come from and he doesn’t lose that charming humility.
Big thank you to Mayo's David Clarke for the jersey, Best GK in the GAA at present, love working with this guy #reusch #GAA pic.twitter.com/CliiJRVABW
— Liam Swift GK Coach™ (@GAAGKCOACH) July 6, 2017
The thing with David Clarke is that there are any number of counties in Ireland that have been scarred by him.
How he spreads his body like a quadruple-jointed spider in the way of lads bearing down on him one-on-one is almost an iconic sight.
How he second-guesses every thought of an attacker seemingly seconds before a decision is made is thrilling in its own right.
How he reacts, gets up, reacts again, and stands up ready for another is frankly formidable. He’s the sort of bastard that would get inside your head, make you think that there’s simply no way around him.
Sometimes, it feels like David Clarke is living in his own parallel Matrix-style universe where he’s not constrained by gravity or joint restrictions, he’s just able to move his body how he has to move his body as the situations requires.
Since he broke into his county squad in 2004, he’s been raising the bar of what should be expected from a last line of defence.
He’s come a long way since then.
He’s seen and helped his county to five different All-Ireland finals and he’s still hunting with them, still as hungry as ever.
Still as bloody annoyingly effective as ever.
Last season, he was asked about his rivalry with Rob Hennelly and his perceived weaknesses in the kickout area of his game.
He answered perfectly.
“There’s no point in me trying to copy someone else,” he said.
“I can only be what I can be.”
And what he is is one of the finest shot-stoppers this game has ever seen. What he is is a centurion for his county.
And he’s far from done.
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