Now that Clare have got a taste for silverware, the Munster Championship is next on their agenda.
Their opening opponents Limerick have already wrapped up a five-in-a-row of provincial titles and are bidding to achieve the same with their Liam MacCarthy drive for five this year.
Clare’s round-robin victory over their neighbours last year was followed by another nail-biting Munster final defeat. Boosted by those classic contests and their league final success against Kilkenny, Shane Meehan believes the Banner have the confidence to tackle the All-Ireland champions on home turf.
“You have to believe it first of all,” says Meehan. “As a group and as a management team, we have to believe that we have what it takes to beat them.
“We beat them in the round-robin last year so it’s just about getting it right on the bigger days.
“When we analysed the finals, there were definitely areas we could improve on so you’d be looking at it from that sense.”
Whoever loses on Sunday will face an anxious seven-day turnaround with Cork awaiting Clare and a fresh Tipperary side preparing to ambush Limerick.
While Brian Lohan has named an unchanged team from their league victory, he also has Tony Kelly added into the mix. He’s named among the subs for the first time since undergoing surgery on an ankle injury last December, joining recent returnees Shane O’Donnell and David McInerney.
“The likes of Peter Duggan, Tony, Sods… there’s no shortage of lads to look up to,” says Meehan. “They’d all give you great advice and they’re really supportive.
“If you ask, they’d be only too happy to give you any tips they could or even bits of advice when you’re coming up to matches and how to prepare for them.
“Even watching them in training and how committed they are and how they make their movements, it’s really good to watch. The way the game is gone, you need to be constantly moving to make space and to make the right moves.
“It might be a move you make that would give the other lad inside 10 yards of space so it works best when you work together.”
In such company, Meehan’s role has primarily been to add legs and scoring prowess off the bench. He featured in six league games while also juggling Fitzgibbon Cup commitments, winning the third-level title with Mary I.
“You set your own personal goals like trying to get as much minutes as possible, then hopefully you can win some silverware.
“There’s serious competition for places now in the Clare team and you just have to hope you get an opportunity. If you’re on the bench and you get an opportunity to come on, you have to be really tuned in to how the game is going.
“The way the game is gone now, you’re getting pulled and dragged everywhere to fill gaps so you have to be able to do it all. You have to be strong and you have to be able to take a score as well.”
Limerick have Mike Casey, Dan Morrissey, and Kyle Hayes fit again after injuries, while Seán Finn is named on the bench. Darragh O’Donovan misses out meaning Cathal O’Neill switches to midfield. David Reidy starts at centre-forward as Cian Lynch moves to the corner due to Peter Casey’s suspension.
John Kiely’s side have shipped three goals in recent games against Tipp and Kilkenny but their boss thinks it could be a timely alarm bell.
“Sometimes it’s no harm to have reminders of things that you need to do.
“That served as a really strong reminder to us that there are certain aspects of our defensive play that have to be in place. Otherwise, you’re going to be badly punished.
“We paid a price for it but hopefully the learnings that we’ve had in the meantime, when we’ve gone back and studied them with the group, will be to the fore in our games in the coming weeks.
“It’s a warning shot across our bows that we need to be very solid defensively right across the field, not just in the back six. Right across the field, our defensive work needs to be there.”
