A truly inspirational figure to the whole of Clare

AthAnRi

From The Irish Independent wrote:

Sunday September 17th 2006
DAMIAN LAWLOR
SURELY that famous red helmet will rest easy in the GAA museum now, it's as much a reminder of our sporting culture as anything else there.
And yet it would be strange to see it lie in such serene surroundings. During 14 years of frenzy on the edge of the square, it was a symbol of raging terror for all incoming traffic. That helmet could have replaced the red rag in the Spanish bullrings but it would only have scared the bulls.

Over the years, we marvelled at how Brian Lohan changed the parameters of full-back play. Before he came, the trick was to negate the full-forward and protect the goalkeeper from getting his head removed.
But when Lohan came to town in the early '90s, he developed into an all-action hero, sweeping right across his defence and knocking forwards for fun before booming 80-yard balls down the field. He could strike clearly off either side, which only nurtured his legend and was clever too; boasting a silky first touch and sweet sidestep which always got him out of trouble.

As time passed, though, Lohan was no longer the infallible shield of old and occasionally, when things weren't going well, the helmet was cast off, as if to summon inspiration from the Gods. But over a very lengthy career, there were only rare lapses, like against Tipperary in the 1997 All-Ireland final and in the 2005 Munster semi-final. He struggled against Waterford's Anthony Kirwan in 1998 and also puffed in this year's semi-final against Kilkenny. But even when besieged, no manager ever replaced Lohan without him being injured. Anthony Daly could have done so against Micheal Webster last season but taking Lohan off would only have raised Tipp's dander and sent shockwaves throughout the hurling world.

He was no angel either. Like any full-back, he lived on the edge and was no stranger to shirt-pulling and the usual niggling. But we're just nit-picking. Remember how he burst to prominence when he starred in the second half of the '95 All-Ireland final while playing on one leg and Ger Loughnane still wouldn't haul him off. Sure there was no way Lohan would go anyway and he went on to play an unbelievable game.

Another hit from his vast collection was the 1997 Munster final against Tipp where he held firm as their neighbours launched one final, desperate push. Eight years later, after the critics had rounded on him like vultures, he pulled another storming display out of the bag against Cork by totally nullifying Brian Corcoran in the All-Ireland semi-final.

There are simply too many moments of genius to consider, suffice to say that he takes his position among the greatest full backs of all time with Wexford's Nick O'Donnell and Tipp's Mick Maher. It's unfair to compare players from different eras because the game has developed so much but Lohan was definitely best in the modern epoch.

He bows out covered in glitter, with two All-Ireland medals, four All-Stars, three Munster titles and the 1995 Hurler of the Year under his belt but he leaves us with some regret. "We've done an awful lot of hurling since September '97," he says. "But we don't have anything to show for it. We put in a huge amount to get that third medal - that was the driving force; it always was the driving force." Despite coming close in 2002, '05 and '06, another title was one bridge too far but the great defender has a pragmatic outlook on retirement. "I presume I'll miss it, but I've had enough of it now," he states.

And so, not long after Clare hurling lost its heartbeat, Anthony Daly, it has now lost its backbone. "He was the greatest full-back I've ever seen," Daly acknowledges. "And I go back to the Clare team of the '70s, the Cork three-in-a-row team, Conor Hayes and Kevin Kinahan. Lohan's game was to attack the ball, come out in front of his man. He was an inspirational figure to the whole of Clare."

Irreplaceable.

Good Article about Lohan. Didn't like him very much but I have to admit he was a great player. I remember him playing in the All Ireland Club Final in 1997 and he caught a ball in the full back line and drove into the full forward line. It was some clearence.

Sir Graball

Was never a fan of old red helmet considered him on occasion an awkward hurler and he was guilty of giving away too many frees. However, one could never question his determination, strength and committment. He was a real crowd pleaser. He's been a great servant for Clare. He'll be missed by Banner fans.