Brian Lohan

Infobox GAA player
code= Hurling
sport = Hurling


name = Brian Lohan
irish = Brian Ó Leocháin
fullname = Brian Lohan
placeofbirth = Shannon
countryofbirth = County Clare
height =
nickname =
county = Clare
province = Munster
club = Wolfe Tones na Sionna
clposition = Full-back
clubs =
clyears =
clapps(points) =
clcounty =
clprovince=
clallireland =
counties = Clare
icposition = Full-back
icyears = 1993-2006
icapps(points) =
icprovince = 3
icallireland = 2
allstars =
clupdate =
icupdate =

Brian Lohan (born November 1971 in Shannon, County Clare) is an Irish sportsman. He plays hurling with his local club Wolfe Tones na Sionna and was a member of the Clare senior inter-county team from 1993 until 2006. Lohan is regarded as one of Clare's greatest-ever players.

Lohan's status as one of Clare's all-time hurling greats is self-evident. In a senior inter-county career that lasted for fourteen years he won two All-Ireland titles, three Munster titles and four Railway Cup titles. He has also been the recipient of three All-Star awards from nine nominations. Lohan's inclusion on the Munster Hurling Team of the Millennium amrks him out as one of the all-time greats.

Early & private life

Brian Lohan was born in Shannon, County Clare in 1971. He was born into a family that had a strong hurling tradition as his father, Gus Lohan, played for both the Galway and Clare senior hurling teams in his day. Lohan was educated locally and later studied at the University of Limerick. While studying there he played on the university hurling team that won the Fitzgibbon Cup title. Lohan graduated with a business degree and currently works as an auctioneer in Ennis and Shannon.

Playing career

Club

Lohan played his club hurling with his local Wolfe Tones na Sionna club and enjoyed much success. He won a senior county title in 1996 before later winning a Munster club title and got to the All Ireland club final but lost. Lohan won a second county medal in 2006.Lohan is also a great footballer for Wolfe Tones Na Sionna.

Inter-county

Lohan first came to prominence on the inter-county scene in the late 1980s as a member of the Clare minor hurling team. He later joined the county under-21 team but had little success in either grades. Lohan made his senior debut for Clare in 1992 and became a regular in the championship in 1993. That year he played in his first Munster final, however, Clare were absolutely trounced by Tipperary. In 1994 Clare qualified for the provincial final once again, however, on this occasion they were defeated by Limerick. Everything changed in 1995 when Ger Loughnane was appointed manager of the team. For the third successive year Clare qualified for the Munster final where Limerick provided the opposition. The game proved to be a watershed for Clare who won by nine points. It was Lohan's first Munster title and it was Clare's first provincial title since 1932. Clare later defeated Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final and faced up to Offaly in the championship decider at Croke Park. Offaly were the reigning All-Ireland champions and were regarded as the favourites going into the final. Lohan had another excellent game in the saffron and blue jersey as Clare defeated Offaly to win their first All-Ireland title since 1914. Not only did Lohan collect his first All-Ireland medal that day but he was later named Hurler of the Year.

In 1996 Clare dramatically lost their All-Ireland crown to Limerick in the first-round of the Munster Championship. Although playing just seventy minutes of championship hurling Lohan made such an impression that he was later presented with a second All-Star award. In 1997 Clare were back with a bang. Lohan collected a second Munster title as Clare defeated Tipperary in a close provincial final. Due to the introduction of the so-called 'back-door system' these two sides later met again in the All-Ireland final. Clare were on top for much of the game, however, Tipp scored two goals in the last ten minutes setting up a dramatic climax. Jamesie O'Connor scored the winning point for Clare just before full-time giving the county a second victory in three years and giving Lohan a second All-Ireland medal. On their way to that victory Clare became the second team ever to be beat hurling's big three - Cork, Tipperary and Kilkenny - in a single championship season. 1998 proved to be a controversial year for Clare and for hurling in general. Lohan captured a third Munster title that year in a sulphorous replay against Waterford. Controversy followed when Clare played Offaly in the All-Ireland semi-final. The first game ended in a draw, however, in the replay Clare were winning by two points when the referee, Jimmy Cooney, blew the whistle with two minutes of normal time left to be played. The Offaly fans were outraged and staged a sit-down protest on the Croke Park pitch. The result wasn't allowed to stand and Clare were forced to meet Offaly for a third time that year. They lost the second replay, however, it has been said that if they won they would have captured a second All-Ireland title in-a-row.

The next decade proved difficult for Clare hurling. They returned to the bottom of the pile in Munster as the traditional powers, Cork and Tipp, as well as Waterford triumphed. In 2002 Clare became the first team to lose a first-round game but qualify for the All-Ireland final via the qualifiers system. Kilkenny provided the opposition in the game and had an easy victory courtesy of goals from D.J. Carey and Henry Shefflin. In 2005 Clare nearly caused a huge hurling upset by nearly defeating Cork in a thrilling All-Ireland semi-final. Cork won the game by a point and went on to win the All-Ireland final against Galway. In 2006 Clare reached the All-Ireland semi-final once again, however, this time they were well beaten by eventual champions Kilkenny. This defeat brought the curtain down on Lohan's inter-county career.

Provincial

Lohan also lined out with Munster in the Railway Cup inter-provincial competition. He ended up on the winning side in the final in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 2000.

Teams and awards