Hogan’s a real leader, he can be bould and beautiful
TOMMY GUILFOYLE remembers a bold prediction his son Gary made seven years ago about Adam Hogan.
Feakle-Killanena had unexpectedly won an under-14 A county title, upsetting establishment club Sixmilebridge in the final, with Gary managing the side and Hogan starring in the full-back line.
“I remember my son saying after that he’d be an All Star by the time he’d be 21,” says Tommy.
“At 14 years of age he just saw something in him.”
Nominated for an All Star and young hurler of the year in his first full season at 20, he’s 21 this year and well on track to make good on Gary’s projection.
He was the obvious choice for man of the match in Clare’s League final win against Kilkenny this month, despite Aidan McCarthy’s haul of 2-1.
He charged out of defence time and again, drawing four frees, the last one effectively putting the seal on the win at a time when Clare were on the back foot.
Stock
Hogan comes from solid stock, with his mother, Ruth Murphy from Turloughmore, a daughter of legendary Galway hurling figurehead, the late Phelim Murphy.
His father, Micheál, won a Clare SHC alongside Tommy Guilfoyle, a former Clare captain, with Feakle in 1988, their only title in the last 80 years.
“He would have been our man marker, as the man says. He’d be a small bit different to Adam.
“He would have been known as a guy that wouldn’t stand on ceremony, I’d say.
“He’d take you out rather than tell you what he was going to do, if you understand me.”
Adam couldn’t be accused of waiting for things to happen either, but his game is built around speed, skill and anticipation as a natural corner-back that plays very much from the front.
With his distinctive style and red undergarment, he stands out. He’s passionate, and the Clare crowd feed off it.
He’s not lacking in cuteness either, using his low centre of gravity to engineer at least some of those frees won in the League final.
“Sometimes he’s bould,” laughs Guilfoyle.
“He could be niggling but I think if he plays from behind, particularly against the marquee corner-forwards out there, he’s not physically the strongest so I think he needs to play in front.”
It’s not just the club under-14s that he has elevated coming through the ranks, as he starred for St Joseph’s Secondary School, Tulla, who came from nowhere to win a Harty Cup two years ago.
Earlier this year, he was part of Mary Immaculate College’s Fitzgibbon Cup win, just their third ever.
Former Clare star Podge Collins coached the side.
“They [St Joseph’s] played in C and B in Munster so to come up and to compete in a Harty, it was a bit of a shock really, to be very honest about it,” he explains.
“Even from watching those games, Adam was excellent. Very consistent. He’s constantly improving, which is always a great sign in a player.”
Guidance
Collins said he “needed very little guidance from the line” during this year’s Fitzgibbon campaign, despite not having been able to train regularly with the group given his other commitments.
“For such a young guy he almost plays like a veteran but if you’re going to the Clare games over the last two years, you can see that, the way he communicates with other players and everyone listens to him as well, the way he talks.
“He’s a second year but a lead
YOUNG ADAM WAS DESTINED FOR BANNER HEADLINES
er from a very young age.”
He captained Clare under-20s last year but the seven-day rule meant he missed the Munster final against Cork, which they lost by two points, having already graduated to the senior side.
Elevation
Guilfoyle was a little worried about his speedy elevation.
“He was pushed into the team fairly quick and you’d say, ‘Will he get thrown around?’”
In his senior Championship debut against Tipperary, he started well on Jason Forde but Clare were caught for goals and, once booked, Hogan was taken off 10 minutes into the second half.
Brian Lohan’s faith in him wasn’t shaken, however; he started each of their remaining six games.
“Didn’t dent his confidence,” says Guilfoyle. “Came back more confident. Probably learned. As I say, he’s always open to learning.”
“You could have taken off anyone that day,” adds Collins. “Even though Adam got taken off, I don’t think anyone would have been walking out of the stadium like, ‘That corner-back isn’t up to it’.
“It wasn’t a case of him running over balls. It was just that Tipp were firing on all cylinders and we’d a few errors at the back and they weren’t Adam’s fault.”
Given the journey that Clare have been on under Lohan, it’s easy to inflate the importance of this year’s campaign and, indeed, tomorrow’s game with Limerick. But Hogan is around for the long haul, with good underage teams coming behind him.
Attacks
“Last year we had Eoghan Gunning playing corner-back for the minors and he was being compared to Adam Hogan,” says Guilfoyle, “and Adam Hogan, with the way he attacks the ball, maybe Lohan sees something in him he saw in himself.”