Brian Lohan

Brian Lohan (born November 1971) is an Irish former hurler who played as a full-back for the Clare senior hurling team.

Lohan made his first appearance for the team during the 1992–93 National League and was a regular member of the starting fifteen until his retirement after the 2006 championship. During that time he won two All-Ireland medals and three Munster medals. He ended up as an All-Ireland runner-up on one occasion.

At club level Lohan is a Munster medalist with Wolfe Tones na Sionna. In addition to this he has also won two county club championship medals.

Lohan also has a number of personal achievements. Regarded as one of the greatest full-backs of all-time, he was included in that position on the Munster Hurling Team of the Millennium in 2000. Almost a decade later in 2009 he was included at full-back on the Munster hurling team of the last twenty-five years. Lohan has also won four All-Star awards, a record for a Clare hurler, while he was also named All-Star Hurler of the Year in 1995.

His father, Gus Lohan and his brother Frank Lohan, also enjoyed successful hurling careers with Clare.

Playing career

Club

Lohan played his club hurling and Gaelic football with Wolfe Tones and enjoyed much success in a lengthy career.

In 1996 Wolfe Tones qualified for their very first championship decider. Clarecastle provided the opposition on that occasion, however, a 1–11 to 1–8 victory gave Lohan his first championship medal. Wolfe Tones later qualified for a provincial decider against Ballygunner. In one of the greatest club finals ever, Wolfe Tones triumphed by 4–9 to 4–8.^[1] It was Lohan's first Munster medal. Wolfe Tones later reached the All-Ireland decider with Athenry providing the opposition. A 0–14 to 1–8 defeat was Lohan's lot on that occasion.^[2]

It took Wolfe Tones a decade to reach the summit of club hurling in Clare. A 2–11 to 0–13 defeat of Newmarket-on-Fergus gave Lohan his second championship medal.^[3]

University

During his studies at the University of Limerick (UL), Lohan lined out with the senior hurling team. In 1994 he captained the UL team to the Fitzgibbon Cup as UL defeated Waterford Regional Technical College by 2–12 to 1–11 in the final. In doing so he was also named player of the tournament.^[4] In 2012 Lohan was shortlisted for the Fitzgibbon Cup Team of the Century.^[5]

Inter-county

Lohan first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Clare minor and under-21 hurling teams, however, he enjoyed little success in these grades.

He made his senior debut in 1993 in a National Hurling League game against Galway. Later that year he made his championship debut.

In 1995 Ger Loughnane took over as manager of the Clare senior hurling team and made sweeping changes. New fitness regimes and new personalised diets and, above all, a new psychological approach, resulted in the fittest and most prepared Clare team ever taking to the field for a third consecutive Munster final in 1995. Limerick were the opponents for a second consecutive year and took an early lead. Clare never surrendered and, thanks to an inspirational penalty by goalkeeper Davy FitzGerald, fought back to win by 1–17 to 0–11. It was Lohan's first Munster medal and Clare's first provincial title since 1932. Lohan's side later qualified for the All-Ireland final and were the underdogs against reigning champions Offaly. Although trailing at half-time, substitute Éamonn Taaffe scored a crucial goal to propel Clare to a 1–13 to 2–8 victory. It was their first championship title in eighty-one years. As well as collecting a coveted All-Ireland medal, Lohan was later honoured with his first All-Star award. He was also named Powerscreen Hurler of the Year.

After surrendering their provincial and All-Ireland crowns in 1996, Clare bounced back the following year. A 1–18 to 0–18 defeat of Tipperary gave Baker a second Munster medal in three years.^[6] Clare subsequently qualified for the All-Ireland decider. Due to the introduction of the "back-door" system Tipperary provided the opposition in the first all-Munster All-Ireland final. The game itself was one of the best of the decade. Clare were well on top for much of the game, however, Liam Cahill and Eugene O'Neill scored twice for Tipp in the last ten minutes. John Leahy missed a goal chance in the last minute while another Tipp point was controversially ruled wide. At the full-time whistle Clare won by a single point – 0–20 to 2–13. It was a second All-Ireland medal for Lohan. He later collected a third consecutive All-Star award.

Lohan won his third and final Munster medal in 1998 following a tense draw and a replay with Waterford. The game was not without incident as Lohan was sent off in that game and earned a one-month suspension.^[7]

A defeat by Cork in the Munster decider in 1999 brought an end to the golden age of Clare hurling.

After a number of disappointing championship seasons, Clare surprised the hurling world by qualifying for the All-Ireland final again in 2002. Lohan's side put up a good fight against Kilkenny, however, a combined tally of 2–13 for both Henry Shefflin and D. J. Carey gave 'the Cats' a seven-point victory.^[8] In spite of this defeat Lohan later won a record fourth All-Star award.

Lohan continued to line out with Clare for the next few seasons but called time on his inter-county career following the team's exit from the 2006 championship.^[9]

Inter-provincial

Lohan also lined out with Munster in the inter-provincial series of games and enjoyed much success.

After being an unused substitute in Munster's successful 1995 campaign, Lohan made it on to the starting fifteen in 1996. A 2–20 to 0–10 trouncing of Leinster gave him his first Railway Cup medal on the field of play.

Munster made it three-in-a-row in 1997, with Lohan winning a second Railway Cup medal following another defeat of Leinster.

After leaving the team foe two seasons, Lohan returned to the fill-back position in 2000. A narrow 3–15 to 2–15 defeat of Leinster gave him his third Railway Cup medal.

Managerial career

In retirement from playing Lohan has become involved in team management and coaching. After working with various juvenile teams in his own Wolfe Tones club, he joined Gary Kirby's Patrickswell management team in 2010.^[10] Just over a year later he took over as manager of the club's senior team.^[11]

In 2012 Lohan took charge of the University of Limerick hurling team for the Fitzgibbon Cup competition.

References