Mark Rodgers praises Clare hurling's resilience to win All-Ireland

Clare hurler Mark Rodgers has praised his team for their resilience in bouncing back from setbacks to win the All-Ireland last year.

After years of semi-final heartbreak and Munster final losses to rivals Limerick, the Banner County ended an 11-year wait for the Liam MacCarthy Cup with a thrilling final win over Cork.

In 2022 and 2023, Clare suffered narrow defeats to Kilkenny in the semi-finals, while last year’s Munster final loss to Limerick might have suggested that history was repeating itself.

However, after overcoming the Cats in the semi-final, Clare came out on the right side of a classic final — with Rodgers crediting the squad’s attitude.

“I can't put my finger on one thing in particular. I mean, if there’s anything, any couple of words that kind of summed up the year for us — resilience was probably the biggest thing.

“Last year we went really well through the league, got beat then in the first round against Limerick — in a game that we were playing really well in for 50 minutes. We lost the Munster final, where we didn’t play well at all.

“I know it’s well spoken about that Brian gave us a week off, but it was almost hard to gauge the deflation in the dressing room that day. But yeah, like, that resiliency is there — and we know it’s there — and thankfully that’s something we can fall back on.”

Leading Clare to victory was manager Brian Lohan, a legend in the county whose belief in the team, according to Rodgers, was transformative.

“He has such a command of the dressing room. I mean, he’s a complete legend in Clare hurling folklore. He has the backing of every fan; everyone in Clare is right behind him.

“It kind of feeds through into the dressing room. You can feel it when he’s speaking — everyone is