Cork hurlers the perfect measure for Clare's contender credentials

Sat, 23 May, 2026 - 09:25

Jack McKay

This season marks the first Munster Senior Hurling Championship since the introductory year of the round-robin format in 2018 where the three teams set to qualify for the All-Ireland series are confirmed heading into the final round.

The last time that occurred, Cork, Clare and Limerick were all qualified heading into the final round, where the Banner beat Limerick by 11 and Cork saw off Waterford to set up the Munster final between this Sunday’s opponents.

The two are unlikely to meet in this year’s Munster final but it is possible, Clarre would need to win on Sunday and hope Tipperary get the better of Limerick. Should it come down to scoring difference, Clare are highly unlikely to prevail.

Either way, it suits all three counties to be in this position once again. They’re through to the All-Ireland series irrespective of this weekend’s games, and with Leinster clearly lagging behind, Cork, Limerick and Clare will be very confident in their chances of reaching the All-Ireland final in July.

POTENTIAL

For the Banner, their championship campaign has been comprised of two decent wins against Waterford and Tipperary, but one harrowing defeat to Limerick. How they fare against Cork this weekend has the potential to offer a better judge of where the 2024 All-Ireland champions are at, but that hinges on whether Cork go full tilt or not.

Sean Rynne of Clare is tackled by Darragh Stakelum of Tipperary. Picture: Ray McManus/Sportsfile

Clare have shown strength in this year’s Munster championship and they did what was necessary in the league to rebound after last year’s relegation, but have they shown enough to be considered All-Ireland contenders?

The stars of that 2024 campaign have done well, but none have excelled.

Shane O’Donnell, Peter Duggan, Mark Rodgers and Tony Kelly have started all of their championship games, and while O’Donnell and Kelly did well against Waterford, that’s where the impact of the old guard up front ends.

Diarmuid Stritch and Seán Rynne have been their best performers by a long shot. The pair are not long out of U20, and Stritch totalled 0-6 v Tipp, Rynne 0-4. They’ve averaged 4.8 and 3.9 PPG from play respectively so far in the championship, while Kelly posts the highest of any forward that started the 2024 All-Ireland final with 2.1 PPG from play.

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O’Donnell has only managed 1.7 PPG from play so far.

Ian Galvin has scored 1-3 having seen 68 minutes of Munster championship action, but he is yet to make a start. Clare have used 24 players in the championship so far, giving starts to 18 different players, the exact same as Cork.

Diarmuid Stritch of Clare jumps over Diarmaid Byrnes of Limerick. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Their back six against Waterford of Adam Hogan, Conor Cleary, Rory Hayes, Cathal Malone, Niall O’Farrell and Diarmuid Ryan remained unchanged for the drubbing against Limerick, but they made a host of changes for the Tipp clash.

David McInerney and John Conlon took up full-back and centre-back respectively, while Darragh Lohan was brought into defence and Niall O’Farrell moved from the centre to wing-back, leaving Conor Cleary and Rory Hayes as the two to be dropped.

Six players – Malone, Lohan, Ryan, Eibhear Quilligan, O’Farrell and Peter Duggan – have played all available championship minutes – clocking 222 so far – while Rodgers is their top scorer in the Munster SHC with 0-21 (0-19 placed).

Clare’s minutes per player across all 10 games in league and championship (7 NHL Division 1B, 3 Munster SHC):

Cathal Malone (701),

Ryan Taylor (637),

Conor Cleary (586),

Mark Rodgers (576),

Niall O’Farell (532),

Diarmuid Ryan (518),

Eibhear Quilligan (515),

Peter Duggan (512),

Shane Meehan (498),

Darragh Lohan (456),

David Reidy (450),