Head-To-Head: McMahon v Ryan

Sean McMahon (Clare centre back)

AGE: 24. HEIGHT: 6' 2["]. WEIGHT: 14st. CLUB: St Joseph's Doora-Barefield.

HONOURS: All-Ireland SHC 1995, Munster SHC 1995 and '97, Fitzgibbon Cup winner (University of Limerick) 1994.

CHAMPIONSHIP DEBUT: v Tipperary 1994.

APPEARANCES 1997: Four. SUBSTITUTED 1997: Not to date.

CONCEDED 1997: 0-1 v Cork, 0-4 v Tipperary. REACTION TO THE SEASON? "In general, it's very satisfying that we're back here again in the final. Our aim all year was to win the All-Ireland. Championship is all about winning, it's not about playing well." MOST MEMORABLE MATCH THIS SEASON? "I suppose the Cork game. There was an awful lot of pressure on, people don't realise the pressure. It was very pleasing to just do it and have the game won." MOST DIFFICULT? "I wouldn't say there's any game you'd be disappointed about, I mean we won every game." BEST OF THE REST? "Definitely Cork. They would have taken a lot of beating if they had beaten us. They'll be very dangerous the next couple of years." LEAGUE AND CHAMPIONSHIP REFORMS? "The League should be run before the championship but it's not really on to run seven matches, and knockout rounds before the summer so maybe if you broke into two groups of five and played off the winners of the groups in a final.

"I don't really have an opinion on the championship because it didn't affect us and we won all our games. At the end of the day, the two best teams in the country are probably in the final but then again, championship is championship and it's always been that way. Hurling has been going well enough in the last few years and I don't think there was an awful need to experiment with it."

INSIDE VIEW: Ger Loughnane (Clare manager) - "Some people would say that he isn't going as well this year as before, but having said that, he has been rock steady in every game and is in outstanding form at the moment. In the Munster final he had some trouble, but they don't come much better than Declan Ryan and you're doing very well to break even on him. If he breaks even with him in the All-Ireland, we'll be well happy with that because Declan Ryan is playing the best hurling of his career right now."

OUTSIDE VIEW: Nicky Brennan (Kilkenny manager) - "I don't think he's been as spectacular this year, even against us. I'm not just saying that because Canice (Brennan, his brother) was playing. He never dominated us in the way Liam Dunne did and against Declan Ryan he struggled, even though Tipperary were being beaten everywhere. But then it's not fair to look at Clare as individuals because their strength is as a unit."