Gerard "Ger" Loughnane (born 27 January 1953) is an Irish retired hurler who played as a right wing-back for the Clare senior team.
[1][2] Born in Feakle, County Clare, Loughnane first played competitive hurling whilst at school in St. Flannan's College.
He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he first linked up with the Clare minor team, before later joining the under-21 side.
Loughnane immediately became a regular member of the starting fifteen, and won two National Hurling League medals.
During a six-year term as manager of the Clare senior hurlers, he guided the team to two All-Ireland and three Munster titles.
He was educated at his local national school where he was first introduced to the game of hurling, before later attending St. Flannan's College in Ennis, a virtual academy for young and gifted hurlers.
Following his graduation Loughnane returned to County Clare and he was the principal at St. Aidan's primary school in Shannon from its foundation in 1986 until 2011.
As a boarder at St. Flannan's College in Ennis for five years, an experience he detested and described as being "like a jail", Loughnane excelled as a hurler.
[4] Clare later faced Cork in the provincial decider, on a day when armed robbers made away with the takings from the gate of £24,579 during the second half of the game.
[5] Clare retained their league title in 1978, with Loughnane collecting a second winners' medal following a 3–10 to 1–10 defeat of Kilkenny once again.
As the final whistle sounded Loughnane, who had scored the last point of the game, slumped to the ground in frustration and thumped his hurley off the pitch.
In spite of a narrow one-point defeat by Leinster in the decider, it was the first of seven successive seasons of Loughnane being picked for inter-provincial duty.
He was later dropped after a heavy defeat, serving as manager of the Clare under-21 team in the intervening period, but returned as a senior selector in 1993.
After a winter of intense training Loughnane's side proved their worth by reaching the final of the National Hurling League.
Clare had lost the last two Munster finals, however, on this occasion Loughnane's side hurled Limerick off their feet and captured a 1–17 to 0–11 victory.
In the end the 3–12 to 1–13 victory was an easy one and Clare qualified to play reigning champions Offaly in the 1995 All-Ireland final.
In an exciting game against Limerick Ciarán Carey provided one of the greatest match winners of all-time when he soloed the sliothar for 70 yards before scoring the winning point.
Clare were winning by two points when the referee, Jimmy Cooney, blew the whistle with two minutes of normal time left to be played.
Kilkenny provided the opposition in the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final, however, 'the Cats', under new manager Brian Cody, defeated Clare by 0–19 to 0–16.
In September 2006, the Galway senior hurling team, devoid of a manager after the resignation of Conor Hayes, issued a press release indicating their desire for Loughnane to take the vacant managerial position.
Although he had already stated his disinterest in the position, he remained the favourite candidate to succeed Hayes, before Loughnane himself withdrew for the contest.
A huge victory over Antrim[11] allowed Loughnnane's team advance to an All-Ireland quarter-final meeting with Kilkenny.
[12] Following the game Loughnane entered into a war of words with Brian Cody after the former accused Kilkenny of striking late with the hurley and then referees letting them away with it.
The team has been a lot more settled compared to this time last year especially in the area of defence which is considered Galway's greatest weakness.
Loughnane himself has adopted a much lower media profile with less of his trademark outbursts and wasn't even present for the launch of the National Hurling League.
[13] Following a county board meeting on 19 August 2008 Loughnane agreed to stay on for one more year as Galway manager.