There are those who view Anthony Daly, who retired this week, as the most influential figure in Clare's rise to hurling supremacy. He was certainly the most influential county captain of modern times.

If Ger Loughnane served as the spiritual fanatic behind Clare's insurrection, Daly's role was more complex. He occupied the middle ground between Lough-nane and the players while retaining the confidence of both.

It was easy to see why. On the field he had what all great captains have, the ability to raise his game when the need was greatest.

Flick the rolodex of those years and remember his unbending will and defensive excellence in hopelessly outgunned teams in 1993 and 1994; through the unforgettable climax to the 1995 All-Ireland final, when he decided to take on the long-range frees simply because he felt good about it; to his last championship match against Tipperary in 2000, when he defied the pre-match speculation that he might be dropped by being Clare's best player.

Yet there was much more to him than straightforward heroics. Off the field he was an accomplished media performer and set a benchmark for most of his colleagues in what was the most articulate team of its generation.

He was the players' tribune and had the ear of management. In Loughnane's book, Raising the Banner, Daly's entry is the longest in the index. The book also credits the captain with an intuitive knowledge of what tactics and stratagems were on the minds of management.

Daly also flew kites. The controversial championship of 1997 had been presaged when the captain stated in a newspaper interview in May that the team was determined to be unpopular if necessary; that they had been shocked at how popular they were in defeat the year before.

The interviews of this period read like blueprints for the persecution complex developed by Clare. It was Daly who expressed the - largely unfounded - perception that the hurling world wanted them to "f*** off back to Doolin and drink pints" after winning one All-Ireland.

Unlike Loughnane, he knew when enough was enough and was credited with influencing his manager to accept the inevitability of a re-fixture with Offaly after the prematurely-concluded All-Ireland semi-final in 1998.

One memory sums him up. Playing for Clarecastle in the All-Ireland club semi-final replay, he raged constructively against Birr's tightening grip and hit a magnificent point. The match wasn't saved, but no one could have asked more of him. Few retiring players have ever been such short odds to end up in management.