NAME: Pat Clancy DATE OF BIRTH: 17/3/65 HEIGHT: 5ft 8" WEIGHT: 11st 3lbs CLUB: Brownstown (hurling, St. Pauls (football) COUNTY: Westmeath HONOURS: 1 All-Ireland B Championship 1991; 1 All-Ireland Under 16 Championship; 5 Westmeath Senior Hurling Championships; 6 Westmeath Feis Cups; 1 Westmeath Intermediate football Championships; 4 Dublin Inter Firms Championships (Aer Lingus); 1 Leinster Inter Firms Championship INTER-COUNTY DEBUT: 1981 versus Meath, Carney Cup in Kilskyre PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: Cara Data Processing Ltd., Clonshaugh, Dublin TOUGHEST OPPONENT: Aidan Fogarty (Offaly) FAVOURITE GROUNDS: St. Vincents GAA Grounds, Marino Dublin, Cusack Park, Mullingar FAVOURITE POSITION: Midfield SPORTING AMBITION: Help Westmeath win an All-Ireland honour DO YOU PLAY ANY OTHER SPORTS: Yes, all sports BOYHOOD HEROES: Pat Carroll (Offaly) FAVOURITE PLAYER: John Fenton (Cork) BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON CAREER: Parents (Larry and Nora), Enda Carolan, the late Paddy Monaghan WAYS OF IMPROVING THE GAME: Standardise refereeing and a standard interpretation of GAA rules by these referees DISLIKES ABOUT THE GAA: Hurling and football in winter months is depressing BEST GAME SEEN: 1991 Munster final and replay - Tipp versus Cork PLAYERS WITH A PROMISING FUTURE: Peter Dalton (Castletown-Geo), Brendan Murphy (Castlepollard), Brian Murray (Clonkill), Leonard Higgins (Brownstown) HOPES FOR 1992: Get married to Joan in September. Help Westmeath retain All-Ireland B Championship and possible reach All-Ireland semi final. Help Brownstown retain Westmeath Senior Hurling Championship YOU ARE CAPTAIN OF THE WESTMEATH HURLERS THIS YEAR. DO YOU REGARD THIS AS AN HONOUR? Of course!! It is an honour to know that you are the person selected by players and management to lead them for a full season. It would be a bonus of course, to lead this team to success and that is my intention for the coming year YOUR FAMILY HAVE TIPPERARY CONNECTIONS: My father Larry is from Drangan, South Tipp at the foot of Slievenamon. His first cousin Larry Kiely played with the great Tipp team of the 1960s with whom he won All-Irelands. My mother Nora is an aunt of Oliver Shanley who won All-Ireland honours with Meath in 1967 WESTMEATH HAVE PULLED OUT OF THE 1992 LEINSTER HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP PROPER AND INSTEAD HAVE ENTERED THE ALL-IRELAND B COMPETITION. DO YOU REGARD THIS AS A WISE MOVE? Yes, Westmeath at the moment are trying to build a new team and at a time like this, a first round match against Kilkenny would not have been very beneficial. On the other hand, the B Championship offers an incentive to train and a road to possible success which would regenerate an interest in hurling within the county THERE ARE QUITE A FEW STRONG HURLING CLUBS BASED IN WESTMEATH AND YET THE EFFORT DOES NOT SEEM TO BE FORTHCOMING AT COUNTY LEVEL. DO THE PLAYERS GIVE THEIR ALL FOR THE COUNTY? All hurling clubs in this county give full support to the Westmeath Hurling Board under Chairman Michael Power and any player selected on the county panel gives full commitment (which at times can be difficult) with the aim of achieving success for Westmeath hurlers at all grades YOUR BROTHER ALAN HAS PLAYED IN GOALS FOR THE WESTMEATH SENIOR FOOTBALLERS: Yes, three years ago Alan (21) played in goals during the National League campaign and the same year was not on the Westmeath Under 21 football panel. He is still playing goals for St. Pauls football club, Clonmellon FIVE YEARS AGO WESTMEATH HAD WHAT APPEARED TO BE A VERY PROMISING HURLING TEAM. YET NOWADAYS MOST OF THEE PLAYERS DO NOT HURL FOR THE COUNTY. WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM? The majority of these players found it very difficult to find full time employment in the area, while at the same time Westmeath emigrants had started what turned out to be a very successful Westmeath hurling club in New York. These players were approached with offers of employment if they would play and naturally accepted. They have since helped Westmeath win the New York senior hurling championship. A few others have since retired, some now live in London and the rest continue to play with Westmeath THE WESTMEATH COUNTY BOARD HAVE GONE OUT OF THEIR WAY TO IMPROVE THE STANDARD OF HURLING IN THE COUNTY. MEN LIKE SEAMUS WHELEHAN, COUNTY CHAIRMAN, MICK POWER, THE HURLING BOARD CHAIRMAN AND HURLING BOARD SECRETARY MATTY CONATY HAVE SPARED NOTHING IN THE WAY OF EFFORT OR EXPENSE TO IMPROVE MATTERS. WILL MEN LIKE THEE AND COUNTLESS OTHERS EVER BE REWARDED? This is a very true statement, but what is reward? Whether these men will ever be rewarded with the ultimate All-Ireland title I cannot foretell. But I feel that every time a Westmeath team take the field and compete to the best of their ability, these men know that their work has been rewarded JOHNNY CLIFFORD HAS BEN BROUGHT UP FROM CORK TO COACH. HAS HE IMPROVED THINGS? Yes, Johnny has brought with him a different approach to the game of hurling in Westmeath, a simple approach. He has the respect of all the players and has continued to build up players' confidence, which no doubt will reflect in their hurling during the summer months WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS OF THE MAN? A very unassuming man who has untold knowledge of the game of hurling. He has an interest in everything and everybody and most of all he has total belief in Westmeath hurling, supported by the fact that he travels from Cork each week for training TELL US ABOUT YOUR CLUB BROWNSTOWN: Brownstown is a north Westmeath club based on the Meath border. Their fine clubrooms and pitch is in Archerstown. Brownstown have won 14 Westmeath senior hurling championship titles in total of which 8 have been won since 1977. Brownstown cater for all ages from under 12 up to senior hurling. Their sister club St. Pauls football club are at intermediate level and also cater for all ages AT THE MOMENT WESTMEATH APPEARS GAELIC WISE TO BE SPLIT IN HALF BETWEEN HURLING AND FOOTBALL. TO OBTAIN SUCCESS WOULD IT NOT BE BETTER TO CONCENTRE ON ONE GAME? No, I do not agree with this. In Westmeath we have a football board and a hurling board. Both look after their own interests with regard to club fixtures etc., but when county teams are involved co-operation is employed. I do not think it would be fair to make one the poor relation of the other for the possibility of a little success CAN YOU REPEAT YOUR FORM OF 1991 AND RETAIN YOUR ALL-IRELAND B CROWN? I would be more hopeful than confident of doing this. As everyone knows when you are champions everyone is gunning for you and that will be the case this year! But you can be sure that Westmeath will not give up their title without a fight Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 29th May 1992 Vol 2 No 57 Tweet

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