Darach Honan is an Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Clonlara and has been a member of the Clare

Clare GAA

The Clare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Clare GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Clare. The county board is also responsible for the Clare inter-county teams....

 senior inter-county team since 2010.

Early life

Born in Clonlara

Clonlara

Clonlara, officially Cloonlara ,Clonlara, officially Cloonlara ,Clonlara, officially Cloonlara , is a village in County Clare, Ireland.-Sports:Clonlara has a GAA club and an equestrian centre.-Natives:...

, County Clare

County Clare

-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...

, Honan is the son of Colm Honan, a former Clare hurler, and Máire Ní Ghráda, an academic and native of Cork

Cork (city)

Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...

. Honan was educated at the local national school before attending Ard Scoil Rís in Limerick. Here he concentrated on basketball and enjoyed much success at All-Ireland level with the school. Honan subsequently studied at University College Cork.

Club

Honan plays his club hurling with Clonlara and has enjoyed much success. In 2008 he was just out of the minor grade when Clonlara lined out against Newmarket-on-Fergus in the final of the county senior championship. On that occasion Clonlara ended an 89-year wait to claim the championship with a 1-12 to 1-9 win.

Inter-county

Honan first played hurling for Clare as a member of the county's minor team. He enjoyed little success in this grade but later became a key member of the Clare under-21 side. In 2009 Clare made history by winning the Munster

Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship

The Munster GAA Hurling Under-21 Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1964 for players aged between 18 and 21 in the province of Munster in Ireland...

 title in that grade for the very first time. Honan's side later played in the All-Ireland final against Kilkenny

Kilkenny GAA

The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...

, claiming a narrow 0-15 to 0-14 victory and a very first All-Ireland

All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship

The All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship is the premier "knockout" competition for players aged between 18 and 21 in the game of hurling played in Ireland...

 under-21 title. Honan was later named the inaugural Bord Gais Energy

Bord Gáis

Bord Gáis Éireann , normally branded as Bord Gáis, is the main supplier and distributor of pipeline natural gas in the Republic of Ireland. The company has built an extensive network across Ireland. The company supplies gas to domestic and industrial customers on a fully regulated basis...

Breakthrough Player of the Year.

Honan made his senior championship debut for Clare in a Munster semi-final clash against Waterford in 2010. In spite of being beaten Honan scored an impressive 1-3 on his debut.