Joke artists sharpen their final punchline

RARELY breached conventions of the club championships go on trial tomorrow in Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney. The first is that it is next to impossible to win two consecutive All Ireland titles. Only UCD and St Finbarr's of Cork have managed it. As a university team, UCD had advantages of dedication not readily available to ordinary club teams whereas the Barrs didn't actually win their county title in both years.

Secondly, and not unconnected, the championship is unforgiving on reputations and teams inferior on paper but in good form are generally better bets than distinguished sides struggling to hit their optimum.

In this year's AIB Munster football final, All Ireland champions Laune Rangers - unbeaten in over two years of competition - take on Clonakilty, the west Cork side who astonished their county by even getting to the Cork final, let alone defeating a richly talented UCC team in the final last month. According to one college follower before the final, "they're the sort of team we'd expect to beat by about 15 points in a challenge".

What makes this such a fascinating match is the rapid convergence of the clubs over the last few weeks. Clonakilty have improved steadily in the Munster championship whereas Laune are so fatigued that Waterford champions Rathgormack took them to a replay.

Unusually for All Ireland champions deep into the defence of their crown, Laune have introduced quite a bit of new blood, taken from their immensely successful under age set up. Still they are tired. Two years of beating everyone and meeting the challenge of teams anxious to make a bit of history takes its toll. Throw in the 137 training session since January 8th when they commenced their assault on the All Ireland. Even then, that's not the full picture.

"It is," says coach John Evans, "basically the same team that won the Kerry championship in 93, reached the semi final in 94 and won the last two years. There is some new blood which keeps older guys on their toes, bolsters the panel and makes for great training. Every team has come at us from behind, but we're still getting over the line first, bloodied, bandaged and bruised.

"It's true we didn't need the second match against Rathgormack, but we're not prima donnas. We realise that teams are going to come at us. Right through the year when you're champions particularly All Ireland champions, every team playing you gives it absolutely everything. That makes me proud because any team we've beaten, we've beaten them giving their almighty best."

Laune need to fall over the line Just once more to ensure some respite, but they are against a team that, more than any other, has spun a web of romance over proceedings this year.

Clonakilty is a typical rural club. Like Laune from a small town and slightly extended parish, they had their heyday back 50 years ago when they won seven county titles between 1938 and 52. It is said that they had a propensity to dwell a little in the past.

Given the serial mediocrities of the years since, that was unsurprising. Famously, the club considered re grading to intermediate after another first round exit in Cork last year. Local radio commentator Paidi Palmer suggested in an acerbic newspaper column that they should skip intermediate and go straight to junior.

"After last year's defeat, things were at an all time low," according to Clonakilty PRO Denis O'Sullivan. "Some people felt that the club should re grade. The players thought about it and said let's prepare properly and give it one more chance. The a.g.m. agreed to let them."

The team got itself a new three man management team, Haulie O'Neill, Michael O'Donovan and Aidan Scally. They were interested because the players wanted to make a serious effort. That effort made, there was great tension going into the first round against Seandun, but having won it, Clonakilty found themselves in a fairly relaxed position.

Certainly, Laune Rangers didn't come out of their first round match in Kerry satisfied that they had reached their target for the year. As the championship wore on, Clonakilty scraped through, arousing bafflement at their progress and the occasional outburst of scepticism.

Paidi Palmer announced on 103 FM that were Clonakilty to reach a county final, he would walk there from Bandon where he works. Off he went the day before the match against UCC.

"I ended up undertaking the famous walk," he says. "Bandon's about 12 miles away, but I got about 60 people to do it with me and we raised money for charity (COPE). It was a fabulous day. Myself and another presenter arrived outside Haulie O'Neill's butcher's shop and went down on our knees and kissed his shoes.

"There'll bring seven or eight thousand in Killarney tomorrow and a fabulous atmosphere. Someone did a video of the county final and it sold 600 copies." In other words, about 20 per cent of the population have one.

Clonakilty became the fourth west Cork club in five years to win the county title. "The lads were saying," says Denis O'Sullivan, "that if Castlehaven, Bantry and Skibbereen could do it, why not us? We play them in the Kelliher Shield and there's never much between us."

"It's had a huge effect in the town," says Paidi Palmer. "The night that Clon won the county, it went wild. The town has been thriving in events like the Tidy Towns, the international flower arranging competition, the Entente Florale. If they organised a bull fighting competition, it'd be a wild success.