Lohan brothers spearhead the Shannon invasion

THERE was a time when some people scoffed at the idea of a hurling team in Shannon. Traditionalists may have expressed considerable scorn on the idea some three decades ago when it was first mooted, but Brian Lohan - who wasn't even born then - is living proof that it is possible to introduce Ireland's ancient sport into an area, no matter how alien such a notion may once have appeared.

Next Monday, St Patrick's Day, Wolfe Tones, of Shannon, and Athenry, of Galway, will confront each other at Croke Park in the AIB All-Ireland club senior championship final in a match which offers only one certainty: a new name will be inscribed on the trophy.

The hurling game has a 2.0 p.m. throw-in, refereed by Dickie Murphy; another Wexford official, Brian White, will have charge of the football final between Crossmaglen Rangers and Knockmore which follows at 3.30 p.m.

If the hurling match finishes up as a draw, then the replay will take place on April 6th, while the football replay date has been pencilled in for March 30th. No venues have yet been chosen.

And Lohan (along with brother Frank, who was also on Clare's All-Ireland winning side in 1995) \will spearhead he quest to lift the hurling trophy and make it back-to-back wins in the championship for Clare teams. The Lohans are part of a Wolfe Tones team built virtually from scratch and nourished on underage success before making the long-awaited breakthrough in the adult ranks last, season.

Twelve months ago, Sixmilebridge became the first club from the Banner county to take the title; so, when Wolfe Tones deprived them of their county title last year, at the quarter-final stage, and then overcame a fancied Clarecastle team in the Clare final, it shouldn't have been any great surprise that they'd go on to reach the national final. But it was, with Tones producing one win after another seemingly against all the odds.

"I think we've been underdogs in almost every game we have played in, right through our own county championship and again in the Munster campaign," admitted Brian Lohan. Except, that is, for the All-Ireland club semi-final against Cushendall (Antrim), when the Shannon men, experiencing the tag of favouritism for the first time, emerged with a one-point win.

"We went into that match expecting a tough game and we got a tough game - we were just glad to come out of it as the winners," he recalled. "But I believe it will stand to us."

Indeed as far as club fare is concerned, Lohan and the rest of the Wolfe Tones gang have become accustomed to winning. Last year, apart from winning the county hurling crown for the first time, many of the same players doubled up to win the Clare intermediate football championship as well in what proved to be an historic year for the club which started life, like many things in the area, as an offshoot of Shannon Airport.

An indication of the impact which Wolfe Tones' rise to national prominence has had on the area is that the business community of Shannon has rallied around them in their attempt to claim the All-Ireland hurling title. Some 60 local companies have proudly sponsored the club's march to the final, eager to show sporting solidarity with the pioneering efforts of the hurlers.

There are no injury worries in either camp, with both Wolfe Tones and Athenry avoiding the possibilities of any of their inter-county players picking up knocks in last Sunday's opening series of matches in the National League by keeping them free until after the club championship is completed.

While Clare (Sixmilebridge last year) and Galway (Kiltormer in 1992 and Sarsfields in 1993 and 1994) clubs have previously tasted success in the All-Ireland hurling championship, no team from either Mayo or Armagh has savoured such success. As such, the football final will be unique in many ways next Monday. However, requests from Knockmore and Crossmaglen to train at Croke Park, or even walk the famous sod in an effort to acclimatise their players, have been turned down.

In past finals, two Mayo sides - Garrymore (1982) and Castlebar Mitchells (1984) - have been beaten, by Nemo Rangers on both occasions, while the last Armagh side to reach the football final was Clann Na nGael, back in 1974, when they lost to UCD in a replay.

Meanwhile, the GAA authorities wish to emphasise that the Canal End of the ground will be closed for Monday's double header and that there will be no refreshments or catering available in either the Hill 16 or the Hogan Stand areas. Admission for the two matches is: Stand - £5. Hill 16 - £3. Students - £2. Children -£1.