After a loss to Limerick in their second match of the Electric Ireland Munster Minor Hurling Championship round robin, Clare embarked on a five-game winning streak.
That included getting revenge on Limerick in the Munster semi-final, a provincial final win against Cork, and an All-Ireland semi-final victory against Kilkenny. On Sunday, Clare will face Galway in the All-Ireland final at Semple Stadium.
They will do so with coach Damien O'Halloran drawing on experience from being part of Jeff Lynskey's Galway minor backroom team when the county won All-Ireland titles in 2017 and 2018.
"It was a great experience for me," O'Halloran, who was teaching in Ballinasloe at the time, told Clare FM.
"Getting fresh into coaching, to see two All-Ireland minor winning teams was a good experience. To see what it takes in the background and goes into getting a team that far was a big eye-opener to me as a young coach. Hopefully, I brought some of that down to these lads here.
20 May 2023; Ógie Fanning of Clare in action against Rory Garrett of Kilkenny during the Electric Ireland GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship Semi-Final match between Clare and Kilkenny at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles, Tipperary. Photo by Stephen Marken/Sportsfile
"I saw that when I was up there with [Galway], the belief they have... When they get to an All-Ireland minor final, they just believe that they should be winning it.
"We have to bring a similar belief now because we are just as good as what's in the competition. We just need to believe that now, and get a big performance out of these lads."
The game will be Clare's first appearance in a minor hurling final since 2010.
"You're not there that often," said O'Halloran.
"When you get there, you want to give it your best shot. We're very much focused on our performance now. We're not just happy to be there. We want to go one step further now that we are there.
"We got an eye-opener below against Limerick. They caught us, had their preparation done. They got the better of us that day. We learned a lot since that day. We've a good few wins under the belt, and that's really breeding confidence in what we're doing.
17 June 2022; Clare manager Brian O'Connell before the Electric Ireland GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship Semi-Final match between Offaly and Clare at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles, Tipperary. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
"The adjustments we made after the Limerick game, the lads have really bought into it. You couldn't ask for more from these players. Whatever you ask them to do, they'll do it. Thankfully, it's been working so far for us.
"They are young, and it's about development, but when you get there you want to win it. As a management team, a lot of hard work has gone into it.
"It's all about the players, they have put in so much work. You see lads coming back from injury and the work they put in just to get there... To get the reward would be amazing."
See Also: Anthony Daly Explains Why Gaelic Grounds Is Right Choice For Clare
