Ger Loughnane
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(Gerard) Ger Loughnane (born 1954) is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with Clare in the 1970s and 1980s and was manager of the team in the 1990s.
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[edit] Early life
Ger Loughnane was born in Feakle, County Clare in 1954. He was educated at his local national school. where he was first introduced to the game of hurling, before later attending St. Flannans College in Ennis, a virtual academy for young and gifted hurlers. During his tenure at St. Flannan's Loughnane won a Munster Colleges Under-15 medal, as well as playing on the teams that lost Dean Ryan and Harty Cup finals. He also played hurling with St. Patrick's College in Dublin, where he trained as a primary school teacher. It is interesting to note that one of his classmates at St. Patrick's was Brian Cody, a future hurling star with Kilkenny and the current manager of the team. Following his graduation Loughnane returned to County Clare and he cu rrently works as a teacher at St. Aidan's school in Shannon.
[edit] Playing career
Loughnane's skills as a hurler were quickly noted and he soon became a member of the Clare minor hurling team. As a minor he played in the 1971 Munster final but only faced defeat. He later became a member of the under-21 side that lost Munster finals in 1972 and 1974. Loughnane made his senior debut in 1972 in a National Hurling League game against Tipperary. It was the first of over 100 appearances for Loughnane in the National League and he soon became a key member of the team that captured back-to-back League victories in 1977 and 1978. One of Loughnane's biggest disappointments is the failure of that Clare side to capture at least one Munster Championship title. He made his championship debut in 1973, coming on as a substitute against Limerick, and later played in five Munster finals. Unfortunately Loughnane ended up on the losing side on all five occasions in 1974, 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1986. In spite of this his talent was recognised when he became the first Clareman to win an All-Star Award in 1974, with a second award following in 1978. Loughnane exceptional talent was also evident when he was picked as a player on six Munster Railway Cup teams. In all he won three winners medals in that competition. Loughnane retired from inter-county hurling in the late 1980s but continued to play with his local Feakle club, where he won a senior county championship medal in 1988.
[edit] Managerial career
Although Loughnane was noted as a great hurler in a county that was starved of success, it is for his exploits as manager of the Clare senior hurlers in the 1990s that he is best known. His managerial career began in the early 1990s when he became a selector on the Clare senior hurling team under Len Gaynor. He was later dropped after a heavy defeat, serving as manager of the Clare under-21 team in the intervening period, but returned as a senior selector in 1993. When Gaynor stepped down in 1994 Loughnane immediately became manager and was charged with preparing the team for the 1995 championship. His training sessions became infamous among players for their intensity and he made sweeping changes throughout the team.
Clare hadn't won the Munster Championship since 1932, however, Loughnane firmly believed that they could win it in 1995. Not only did he believe this but he aimed for Clare to capture the All-Ireland title, something the team hadn't done since 1914. Clare went on to beat Limerick in the Munster final, before later defeating Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. Loughnane and his management team had guided Clare to an All-Ireland final where their opponents were the existing champions Offaly. At half-time, in spite of conceding a goal, an animated Loughnane did a brief interview in which he confidently predicted "We're going to do it," before rushing off. His prediction came through and Clare were the All-Ireland champions for the first time in 81 years. Although Clare were beaten by Limerick in the first round of the Munster Championship in 1996, they reurned in 1997 to defeat Tipperary twice, win back their Munster crown as well as take a second All-Ireland. Loughnane was central to those victories once again.
The 1998 championship was to prove controversial for Loughnane and his Clare team. The replayed Munster final against Waterford was played in bad spirit with Colin Lynch of Clare and Michael White of Waterford being sent-off after a huge melee. Lynch received a three-month ban for his part in the game and Loughnane was incensed at the decision. More controversy was to follow when Clare played Offaly in the All-Ireland semi-final. Clare were winning by two points when the referee, Jimmy Cooney, blew the whistle with two minutes of normal time left to be played. The Offaly fans were outraged and staged a sit-down protest on the pitch. The result wasn't allowed to stand and Clare were forced to meet Offaly for a third time that year. They lost the second replay, however, it has been said that if they won they would have captured a second All-Ireland title in-a-row. 1998 marked the end of the success for Loughnane's Clare side. he remained on as manager until 2000, when he resigned after a particularly heavy defeat by Tipperary.
In September 2006, after 6 years away from the game, Loughnane was named as the new manager of the Galway senior hurling team.[1]
[edit] Retirement
Following his resignation as Clare manager Loughnane vowed never to become involved with an inter-county hurling team ever again. He is still a teacher in County Clare, however, he has spent the last number of years as a hurling analyst in the media. He writes a colum in The Star newspaper and regularly appears as a pundit on RTÉ's The Sunday Game. In this capacity he has earned a reputation as an outspoken critic of many hurling teams, including Clare.
In September 2006, the Galway senior hurling team, devoid of a manager after the resignation of Conor Hayes, issued a press release indicating their desire for Loughnane to take the vacant managerial position. Although he had already stated his disinterest in the position he was the favourite to succeed Hayes, before Loughnane himself withdrew for the contest. In true Loughnane fashion, however, he entered the managerial race again and was named successor to Hayes.[2]
[edit] Quotes
- 'Ger Loughnane was fair, he treated us all the same during training - like dogs.' Anonymous Clare hurler.
- 'I'm not giving away any secrets like that to Tipperary. If I had my way, I wouldn't even tell them the time of the throw-in.' Ger Loughnane.
| Preceded by: Len Gaynor |
Clare Senior Hurling Manager 1995–2000 |
Succeeded by: Cyril Lyons |
| Preceded by: Conor Hayes |
Galway Senior Hurling Manager 2007 – present |
Incumbent |
