By the time the sliotar is thrown in for Saturday’s Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship Final, James O’Connor will want calm. No hype. No nerves. Just a team fully tuned into their performance and the opportunity in front of them.

This is O’Connor’s first All-Ireland final at minor level, but not his first dance with destiny. The Lismore clubman has been on the sideline for two senior club All-Ireland finals, tasting defeats in agonising fashion.

“I’ve lost two All-Ireland finals now by a puck of a ball,” he admitted. “So I’m hoping if we win here on Saturday, that’ll square me up with the hurling gods.”

But O’Connor isn’t dwelling on history — he’s focused on the task ahead: Clare, a Munster rival Waterford edged out earlier this season.

Waterford produced a commanding 2-21 to 2-18 semi-final win over Kilkenny in Wexford Park — the type of performance that looked like the culmination of something long-building.“The work rate was definitely well up on our previous outings,” O’Connor said. “We’ve come up trumps when our backs have been to the wall. It hasn’t always been perfect, but we’ve found a way to win.”

He believes their best might still be coming. “I just hope we’re getting the timing right now — that everything is coming together at the end,” he said. “That’s what I’m hoping.”

Waterford’s final opponents, Clare, will be very familiar. The two counties met in the Munster Championship at Fraher Field on May 2nd, with the Déise pulling away to win 1-21 to 1-15 — a result that flattered them somewhat after Clare controlled long spells.

Cormac Spain hit 1-12 that night and now stands on an extraordinary 8-64 for the season. Jack Power’s dominance in the air also turned heads. Both will be key again on Saturday.

That said, O’Connor is clear: the previous meeting means little now. “That championship game counts for nothing,” he said. “Clare have improved hugely since then — and I’d like to think we have too. This is a completely different game altogether.”

He was particularly impressed by Clare’s semi-final display against Cork.

“The pressure, the work rate out of them — it was exceptional,” he said. “They were the better team on the day. Clare are going to be a huge, huge challenge.”

Both counties have grown through the season, despite not being provincial champions. Waterford finished second in Munster, Clare third, yet both now stand 60 minutes from silverware.

15 June 2025; Clare players celebrate at the final whistle of the Electric Ireland GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship semi-final match between Cork and Clare at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles, Tipperary. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

“I think both teams are very similar,” O’Connor said. “Very similar style of play. It should make for a very good game again.” He credits the Waterford group’s mentality for their resilience throughout the campaign.

“It’s not that every game has gone perfectly,” he said. “But we’ve always managed to turn the screw and get a result. You couldn’t ask more from them.”

With excitement building, O’Connor and his backroom team are doing everything they can to keep the players level-headed.

“We’re trying to get everything sorted this week — media, logistics — so the week of the game is calm,” he said. “I want it to feel like a normal week. Just concentrate on ourselves.”

Training was dialled back after a physically draining semi-final, before ramping up slightly ahead of final touches next week.

“You can’t be at 100% every night — that’s not realistic,” he said. “It’s about timing. Peaking at the right moment.”

One thing O’Connor wants to see repeated is the electric support from Waterford fans in Wexford Park.

“It was unbelievable — someone said it was 4-to-1 in our favour,” he said. “The lads absolutely fed off it. It gave us energy from the sideline. “If we outnumber Clare again, it’ll be massive. The lads soak that up — it’s your 16th man.”

O’Connor and many of his selectors have worked with this group since they were 14. That journey — from underage development squads to the gates of glory — has been long and demanding.

“We know them inside out,” he said. “This is a massive opportunity. We’ve just got to play the game — not the occasion.” What would it mean? “It’d be absolutely huge,” he said. “You don’t get many of these days in Waterford. We’ve got to take the bull by the horns now — and go for it.”

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