Just when they thought it was all over
Last Saturday Clare hurling fans woke up to internal strife in their camp and accusations of humilation from a former panel member Davy O Halloran. This morning it’s not much better as it’s been confirmed that midfielder Colm Galvin is America bound for the summer and will miss the entire championship.
The 22-year old has been a mainstay of the Clare side since he broke through as a first team senior regular in the All-Ireland winning campaign of 2013. The Clonlara man,who’s a clubmate of the recently departed Nicky O’ Connell, is understood to be linking up with a Tipperary club in Boston where he will be based for the summer.
In today’s Irish Daily Mail his club manager Sean Stack admits the decision by the school teacher is a blow to his club:
It’s very disappointing. It’s a huge decision on his part. If he goes before a certain date in May he can be deemed a local player before other players are brought over for the summer. The GAA are paying lip service to the plight of the clubs. The fact that that the GAA can pass a sanction allowing a player to leave and play in America instead proves that.
Galvin has featured in several of Clare’s games in this year’s National League campaign so far but it is unclear if he will be starting tomorrow’s crucial game with Kilkenny in Nowlan Park. The news is the latest in a series of blows to the Clare squad which sought to play down the exits of O’Connell and O’Halloran by issuing a statement midweek proclaiming their unity. However Ger Loughnane felt the missive by the players was a mistake and compared it to ‘pouring petrol on a dying fire’.’
The Clonlara man’s departure, and rumours of another high profile first teamer also looking at his options for the summer, cast further doubt on how settled the Clare camp truly is.
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