Clare’s Path Back to Hurling Division 1A
Zero defeats. Four wins. A scoring difference that makes Division 1B look like a training exercise. Clare’s hurling team has spent the first two months of 2026 demolishing the argument that relegation from Division 1A was a sign of decline. The Banner are coming back – and they’re not being polite about it.
The numbers alone are brutal. Through four rounds: 120 points scored, 76 conceded. That’s a surplus of 44 points, or 11 per game.
No other team in any hurling division has that kind of margin.
How Relegation Happened – And Why It Stung
Rewind to 2025. Clare entered the league as reigning All-Ireland champions. They should have been untouchable. Instead, they finished sixth in Division 1A – second from bottom – and dropped to 1B alongside Wexford. It was the first time Clare had been outside the top tier since 2018.
The Munster Championship was worse. Clare finished fourth in the round-robin, failing to qualify for the All-Ireland series for the first time since 2022. The champions became the also-rans in twelve months.
What went wrong? Shane O’Donnell had shoulder surgery in January 2025 and only returned mid-championship. Key players looked fatigued after the All-Ireland run. The squad lacked depth when injuries hit. And there was the Aidan McCarthy question – the All-Ireland final matchwinner who seemed set to return but ultimately didn’t.
The Rebuild: Six New Faces, One Familiar Philosophy
Brian Lohan didn’t panic. He brought in six new players – Mark Sheedy, Jamie Moylan, Diarmuid Stritch, Niall O’Farrell, Senan Dunford, and Aidan Fawl – and stuck with his system. High puck-outs, patient build-up, and a forward line that turns pressure into scores.
We went through the match reports for all four games, and one pattern stands out. Clare’s puck-out strategy hasn’t changed from the All-Ireland-winning season. Short restarts to the half-back line, quick hands through the middle, and forwards who make darting runs off the shoulder. Against Kildare in the rain, when most teams would have gone long and hoped, Clare kept it short. That’s coaching conviction.
The result against Kildare – 0-27 to 3-14 – looks comfortable on paper. It wasn’t. Kildare led by four in the second half. Clare scored seven of the last eight points without flinching.
📊 Key Stat: Clare have outscored opponents by an average of 0-6 in the final quarter across all four league games – the best closing record in Division 1B. (Source: Clare GAA results, RTÉ Sport)
The Irish Times reported that Clare sit on eight points – one ahead of Wexford’s seven. Dublin are third with three points. The rest have two or fewer. Promotion looks like a matter of when, not if.
What Promotion Means for the Summer
Getting back to 1A isn’t just about pride. It’s about match sharpness. Playing Carlow and Down in February is fine, but it doesn’t prepare you for Limerick at Semple Stadium in May. The gap between the divisions is real, and every week spent in 1B is a week not spent competing at the highest level.
Lohan knows this. His team selections suggest he’s already thinking about the championship – using league games to blood new players while keeping the core group ticking over. If Clare can wrap up promotion on March 8 against Wexford, that gives them a full month before the Munster SHC to fine-tune.
Not everyone agrees that promotion is a formality, though. Wexford are only one point behind. Dublin drew with Wexford in Round 4 and still have games in hand. A Clare stumble – even one – could make the final rounds very interesting.
Two games left. Carlow away Saturday. Wexford at home March 8. Win both and it’s a 1B final on April 4. Anything less, and the calculator comes out.