A Munster season like no other

In a year where the Munster Senior Hurling Championship has already given us everything and more, could the final be the cherry on top of the icing on the cake?

Limerick and Clare is the gripping rivalry in hurling at the moment, and the intrigue around the venue for Sunday’s provincial decider added another layer – Clare wanted the game played in Thurles while Limerick favoured Páirc Uí Chaoimh and then the Banner threw a curveball by offering to play in their rivals’ backyard, TUS Gaelic Grounds.

The Ennis Road venue is a relatively short journey for the Clare fans, and Brian Lohan’s side have already won there this year, beating Limerick in the round-robin, having started off with a heavy loss at home to Tipperary.

Even so, Limerick (with silverware on the line) are a tougher beast, as Clare found in last year’s final when they pushed John Kiely’s men all the way for 70 minutes and then 20 minutes more, but still had to give way.

Crazy

Given that they were All-Ireland champions ten years ago, it’s crazy to think that Clare haven’t been kings of Munster since 1998, when they made it three in four years.

Limerick are going for five in a row in the province, something not done since the Cork side of 1982-86 inclusive. Something has to give, and it will be fascinating to see what that is.

If that game lives up to its billing before a packed stadium, there is a fear that the Leinster final between Kilkenny and Galway in a half-full Croke Park will have an ‘after the Lord Mayor’s show’ feel to it, but neither of the protagonists will mind.

It’s unusual that both sides come in after failing to win their last group games – Kilkenny lost to Wexford while Galway drew with Dublin – but this clash should bring about improvement from both.

Intensity

There is a school of thought that the Munster championship intensity takes something out of those sides and leaves the Leinster top dogs in better shape for later on, but of course Limerick’s dominance has given the lie to such a view to a certain degree.

Having lost to his native county in last year’s final, Henry Shefflin will be keen to give Galway the victory to show progress has been made, but a Leinster title for Derek Lyng in his first year in charge would prove that there is life after Brian Cody.

It could be a great Sunday of hurling.

A curious thing happened at the end of last Sunday’s oneills.com All-Ireland U20 Hurling Championship final at FBD Semple Stadium.

The final whistle brought a six-point win for Cork, the county’s third win at the grade in the past four seasons. Rebel players and supporters naturally celebrated but the loudest sound around the famous venue was the repeated chanting of, “Uibh Fháilí!”

There was a crowd of 29,380 in Thurles for the double-header of the U20 decider and the Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship final, in which Clare beat Galway to record the Banner County’s first victory since 1997.

At a conservative estimate, half of the attendance was from Offaly and it’s not an exaggeration to say that their supporters outnumbered those of the two competing counties at the start of the minor final.

The roar when the Offaly team came out for the U20 final was deafening, and they had plenty to shout about as they led for much of the first half only for Cork to wear them down and lead by two points at half-time.

A searing start to the second half by Cork put them 11 clear at one stage, but when Conor Doyle pulled a goal back for Offaly, it was celebrated louder than any previous goal in GAA history and reduced the gap to seven points.

Unfortunately for Offaly, the defeat came on the back of the Joe McDonagh Cup final loss to Carlow the previous weekend, while many of the U20 side were part of the side that reached the 2022 All-Ireland minor final, pipped at the death by Tipperary.

The fans of the Faithful County continue to live up to their name though, and you can rest assured that the trademark Offaly pride will be on show next weekend as they take on Tipperary in the All-Ireland hurling preliminary quarter-finals.

With talents like Adam Screeney and Dan Ravenhill coming through, the good times may not be far away.

While Ricky Gervais’ greatest creation, David Brent, said many a questionable thing on The Office, part of his final speech after being made redundant was a real bullseye.

“Life is just a series of peaks and troughs, and you don’t know whether you’re in a trough until you’re climbing out, or on a peak until you’re coming down,” he said, “and that’s it, you know, you never know what’s ‘round the corner.”

Last year, Meath were on top of the ladies’ football world, having won back-to-back senior All-Ireland titles on the back of intermediate glory in 2020.

With manager Eamonn Murray stepping down after taking the Royal County to the promised land, he was succeeded by Davy Nelson.

Meath finished second from bottom in Division 1 of the Lidl NFL, and last month they lost to Dublin in the Leinster final.

Then, last weekend, a statement from the county board revealed that Nelson and his backroom team had departed en masse and would not be in charge for the All-Ireland series.

Meath face Donegal and Waterford in their three-team group, with two advancing from each section to the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

Obviously, it’s not beyond the bounds of possibility that they would do that, but it won’t be easy for a new management team to come in and hope to have positive results immediately.

It’s a reminder, if it were required, that we should enjoy the good times while they’re happening, because we just never know when they might be taken away.

On Monday night, it was revealed that the FAI had put together an ambitious wishlist to improve its infrastructure and construct a national football centre.

The total cost of the various plans is around €863m, with the FAI seeking 80% or so of the funding through public channels – either directly from government or through state-led project partners.

It’s quite the chunk of change, but if something approaching the plans were to materialise, it would probably be worth it.

In such a landscape, €550,000 wouldn’t seem like much, but apparently an application for that amount by the Women’s National League has been turned down by Sport Ireland.

At a time when women’s soccer could be on the verge of something huge with the World Cup just around the corner, giving each of the 11 league clubs a €50,000 windfall would be of huge benefit in terms of promoting the league, which has struggled to capture the imagination of the casual fan.