 Galway went into decline again following this defeat, having failed to build on a reasonably successful year.In 2004 Cloonan won a National Hurling League medal following Galway's 2–15 to 1–13 defeat of Waterford.Cloonan played for Galway during the National League in 2005, however, he drifted away from the team then and played no part in Galway's All-Ireland final appearance that year.