At club level he played with Cloyne and Glen Rovers and was also a member of the Cork senior hurling team.
[1][2] Born and raised in Cloyne, County Cork, Clifford first played as a schoolboy at Midleton CBS Secondary School.
After beginning his studies at University College Cork in 1965, Clifford immediately began a four-year association with the senior hurling team.
[4] He joined the club's intermediate team as a 17-year-old in 1965 before taking over the captaincy the following year when Cloyne secured the Cork IHC title.
He transferred to the Glen Rovers club in Blackpool in 1976 and was part of their Cork SHC title-winning team that year.
Clifford's performance earned an immediate call-up to the Cork under-21 team which were also due to play Wexford in the 1966 All-Ireland under-21 final.
[13][14][15] Clifford missed the league final through injury but was a first-team regular for Cork's subsequent Munster Championship-winning campaign.
[18] Clifford's performances at inter-county level resulted in his selection for Munster in their 1970 Railway Cup final defeat of Leinster.