Religion, rugby inspirations and being a role model - Clare GAA's multi-sport star
THERE’S A SINGLE word tattooed across the back of Ikem Ugwueru’s left hand.
Agape.
When The 42 enquires, the Clare defender happily shares its significance.
“It basically says ‘God’s love’. I’d be very religious, so whenever I see it on my hand, [I think] God always loves you. He has given me the strength and the capability to show what I’m able to do on the pitch. It’s all thanks to him really.
“Love can take you a long way and If you know someone is always backing you, and always has your back no matter what, you will do your best every day. I give all thanks to God.
“God always loves you, and it’s something my parents have put into us since we were kids.”
A permanent reminder for the multi-talented Ugwueru family, now of Ennis.
Ikem excelled across an array of his sports before finding his way as an inter-county footballer, while his younger siblings have since followed in his footsteps in the rugby sphere.
His sister, Chisom, was UL Bohemians’ hat-trick hero in the AIL final at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday.
Ikem’s pride shines through when he speaks about being the first black man to play for Clare and his status as a role model.
The 24-year-old’s involvement in SuperValu’s #CommunityIncludesEveryone campaign has elevated that, leading to lots of kind words and positive feedback.
“It does kind of move me. I play football because I like it and if I’m inspiring people by the way I play, I’m just going to continue doing that.
“I would hate if my brothers or sisters were treated differently by the way they look or the way they are by playing a sport. Sport is for everyone. There is no rule to say it is for a certain type of person; it’s for everyone. It does hurt me that people get racially abused.
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“I’m happy to be a role model for the younger kids, and to show them that if they really want to do it, they can. There is nothing to stop you, only yourself can stop you.
“You can’t please everyone; there will always be a few critics, a few haters, but that’s fine. If you weren’t doing anything good, you wouldn’t have haters really. That’s the message that I’m spreading.”
“My sister [Chisom], too, that’s playing [rugby] for Ireland,” he adds. “It’s her and Linda [Djougang], they’re the only two black females that are playing and they’re doing great things for this country and for the younger girls too.
“Same with my brother, playing with Shannon RFC. He’s the only black boy on his team too. Him doing that is massive. He probably doesn’t know that, but I’ll always let him know that he’s doing us proud and Chisom is doing our family proud. I hope to say that I’m doing people proud too.”
Ugwueru after helping Ennis to Munster U18 Club Cup Final glory in 2017.
Ugwueru was a latecomer to Gaelic football, first learning the ropes as a 10-year-old.
He played soccer for Avenue United and then the Clare Youth League team — he was versatile but his preferred position was centre-midfield — while he even represented Ireland at judo as a kid, winning a silver medal at a tournament in Liverpool.
Rugby soon superseded all else. He remembers watching former Wasps player Christian Wade tearing it up in a game against London Irish and thinking, ‘I could do that’.
Ugwueru established himself as an “exceptional rugby player for Ennis underage,” as Éire Óg Ennis football manager Paul Madden told The 42 last year, and was in turn, recruited by Shannon RFC.
He lit up the All-Ireland League, and balanced his rugby commitments with club football.
But the round ball eventually won him over.
Ugwueru lifted back-to-back Clare senior county football titles with Éire Óg Ennis; as a substitute in 2021 and a starter in 2022.
An explosive, athletic player, he repeatedly caught the eye of former Clare manager Colm Collins, and soon answered the inter-county call he had previously turned down.
“I’ve had to adjust to that because with rugby it was different,” says Ugwueru, who now works as a personal trainer in Treacy’s West County Hotel.
“Rugby was three days in-a-row and then the game at the weekend. But with football it’s one day and then a day off and then another day and another day off and then the game at the weekend.
“It’s been good, the adjustment. I’ve played all kinds of sports and they’re all different in their own ways. Football has been the most ‘up there’ in my opinion.
“I had to work on [the skills]. Whatever you’re good at, work on it, and then use it to your advantage. That’s what I’m doing right now with my pace and my step and physicality. I’m using that to my advantage.”
Ugwueru on the ball for Clare.
His step is one certain asset.
In fact, it’s modelled off former New Zealand star Nehe Milner-Skudder.
“He was the same build as me and people thought he wouldn’t be able to make it but his step was unbelievable and no-one was able to defend him.
“I broke it down, I looked up a few videos. I’ve never actually told anybody this. Everybody thinks it’s natural, but I did go to YouTube a bit for those videos just to learn how to go off one foot and then bang off the other one. A little skip.
“It’s just sizing up your defender because if a defender thinks you’re running straight at him, he might just stop and once he stops, you have him then. It’s one thing saying you’re going to defend it but when you come against it, you see it’s kind of different. It’s worked for me so far!”
He’s sure to unleash it in Sunday’s Munster final against Kerry, a repeat of the 2023 match-up as Clare contest back-to-back provincial deciders for the first time in 87 years.
“We do have a lot of doubters so we do want to prove them wrong in a way,” Ugwueru concludes.
“Underdogs have come and caused an upset. We don’t really care about these titles, favourites or underdogs. It’s two teams, anything can happen on the day, it doesn’t matter.
“If anything, there’s no pressure on us. We’ll just go into the game, express ourselves and play the way we want to play.”
As Ikem Ugwueru has always done.