Don't mention the war

It is inevitable, of course, that they should meet right now, Tipperary and Clare. Nothing for it but to stare at one another through glazed eyes, muddle through the motions and compete earnestly without stoking any real flame. Nothing for it but to suspend impending reality and to behave as though June 6th, their fated championship meeting date, is still a far-off notion.

But because of that, tomorrow's league semi-final in Limerick will surely be about giving away nothing, whatever the result. Won't every man on the field be content to simply hurl within himself?

"Well, it is undeniable that the close proximity of the championship game will have some sort of effect on the mindset of the players. From our point of view, though, we are playing Tipperary for the first time in almost two years, the first since the All-Ireland final in 1997, and that alone makes the occasion noteworthy," offers Brian Lohan, the Clare full back.

"The look of their team has changed significantly since then, in terms of personnel and positionally, and it will be interesting to come up against that. But yeah, both teams will naturally be aware of the championship game." With the ongoing debate about the value of the league there is even a degree of uncertainty over whether winning tomorrow would represent a good thing.

Lohan, a regular presence with Clare throughout the winter months, regards the competition with the same puzzlement as many other players.

"It's just hard to know about the league. I mean, I do enjoy playing it, but probably don't feel as strongly about it as I should, given that it is the second most important competition. Here we are in the semi-finals, but it really has been an up and down season for us. We were lucky to beat Offaly, Limerick and Antrim. Some matches are good to play, but then you notice things that aren't quite right about the team.

"And there is still this uncertainty over the benefits of the league. You can point out numerous examples of teams who have won the thing and then gone crashing out of the championship. Others may hold the opposite viewpoint, but I don't know if it's a good thing or not to win it." Somehow Clare seemed to be the only party to emerge with any dignity from the mid-summer brouhaha after the white-hot intensity of the opening minutes of the Munster hurling final replay. And again they are fancied for the All-Ireland, so nothing has changed, except for the running.

"Yeah, we have definitely modified our training methods, we simply couldn't maintain the level of intensity. It's funny, I had never experienced anything like the intensity of effort we put in 1995, but then in 1997 we somehow exceeded that. The basic fitness is there now, it's a matter of keeping it sharpened. Maybe the attitudes towards training are beginning to change. Offaly won through last year, but they got all the hard work behind them earlier and hit form at precisely the right time."

And so Clare stand on the cusp of another beguiling trawl through Munster, charming us with the sheer force of their will. Maybe they'll fall early against Tipperary, but already this team above all others have illuminated a particularly memorable era in the sport. Aren't they a little more sated now?

"Ah, I dunno. Before 1995, I promised myself that if ever I got to play in an All-Ireland final, I'd enjoy it. But to be honest, you don't enjoy games of that scale at all, you can't, there is too much pressure. I really remember very little about that year now. So the challenge stays fresh, each season is different."