From the remarkable entertainment offered by traditional giants Kilkenny and Tipperary last Sunday, we now turn to two of the less-storied counties in Clare and Wexford. These two don’t dominate many rolls of honour, but one of them will be crowned U-21 hurling champions in Thurles this Saturday night.

This intriguing contest will see the largest attendance at an U-21 final in years with a welcome and deserved ratings boost for TG4, which has transformed interest in this competition.

This final will be tinged with some poignancy, however, following the tragic farm accident that claimed the life of Gerry O’Connell in Ballyea a week ago. Gerry’s son, Gearoid, known to all in Clare as Gudgy, is the starting wing-back on the all-conquering Clare team. His team-mates provided one of four guards of honour at Gerry’s emotional funeral at the weekend. Hurling’s importance was put into perspective.

Back to matters on the field. Clare are going for a three-in-a-row at this level, something the county really doesn’t know how to deal with. We have been very blessed in the county these last five years with a collection of young hurlers that have surpassed anything the county ever produced. For a couple of them, this will be their fifth All-Ireland final in the past four years (three U-21, one senior and one minor).

The Banner are the overwhelming favourites but in their way are Wexford, a county with something of a hurling renaissance in their sails. The Model County are coming and they can feel it. This final appearance caps their second successive Leinster championship at U-21 level. Can a senior be far behind?

That’s the beauty of this grade. Success or even progress at this level allows you to dream. We did that in Clare and all of a sudden our fairy tale came true last September with Liam McCarthy secured. That’s what an underage All-Ireland can do for you.

Another compelling attraction with U-21 hurling is the lack of cynicism on offer. Young hurlers tend to want to just play the game and that is what they do. As a result, the frees and puck-outs are taken that little bit quicker, the off-the-ball stuff is less apparent and there is definitely less of a physical edge to proceedings. It’s about hurling.

At the turn of the century, Limerick won three U-21 titles in a row and hailed a new generation of hurlers and almost sat back and waited for the senior All-Irelands to flow. That didn’t happen and their lost generation most definitely suffered from the physical nature of the progression to senior.

Just a decade on and the distance between U-21 and senior has narrowed somewhat. Three of Wexford’s starting 15 this Saturday played against and beat Clare, then defending All-Ireland senior champions, back in July. Eight of Clare’s starting 15 have real senior experience, some of it of the All-Ireland senior success variety – two of them are Tony Kelly and Shane O’Donnell.

Clare are the strong favourites on the back of their recent record and personnel, but something tells me we are in for a right battle. Something is stirring in Wexford and all they are really missing is a trophy of some kind. Their manager, JJ Doyle, knows a bit about winning them as he guided the senior Wexford camogie side to a three-in-a-row All-Ireland success.

Jack Guiney and Conor McDonald will be the two talismans Wexford offer up in response to Kelly and O’Donnell, and both were mightily impressive in their semi-final win over Galway. Both of these guys know where the net is and if Clare don’t curb them, they could be in trouble. Young McDonald has two more years left at this grade – he is a serious prospect.

When push comes to shove, however, it has to be Clare and a historic third All-Ireland on the trot. Shane O’Donnell has only played about four hurling matches this summer due to injury but he has looked very sharp in recent times (he has another year at this grade). Beside him, Aaron Cunningham at full-forward is also a goal-getter of great ability. Throw in the cheetah that is Seadna Morey, the engine provided by Colm Galvin and the class of Tony Kelly (overage for next year by just two weeks) and the ledger weighs in Clare’s favour.

While we don’t think anything could match the entertainment on view in Croke Park last Sunday, this won’t be a wasted hour nestled in the old stand in Thurles or in front of the television. I’m expecting a rip-roaring final to be played out with a super atmosphere only two counties not used to winning All-Irelands can provide. Best of luck to both (but come on the Banner!)

Best of luck, too, to Kildare and Roscommon in the All-Ireland B U-21 final, which acts as a curtain-raiser for the A clash, with this game also live on TG4.

Camogie final

It’s back to the traditional on Sunday as Cork and Kilkenny provide the combatants in the All-Ireland senior camogie final. I’ve had the good fortune to see both in action this year and I’ll definitely be tuning in on Sunday.

Kilkenny annexed the national league crown earlier in the season with a demolition of Clare that was most impressive to witness, while Cork and Wexford’s draw in the quarter-final in Thurles was another I happened to catch, as well as their quarter final win over Offaly.

They do a lot of things right in the camogie championship. The nine top-flight counties play out their provincial championships, they then split into two groups of five and four, and play the actual championship. This is a sort of Champions League format and it clearly works – the men’s equivalent could do with such a system.

Galway were All-Ireland champions last year and defeated the Cats in the final by five points in a rugged contest, 1-9 to 0-7. The year before, the Rebels lost to Wexford in the final, 3-13 to 3-6, so both of Sunday’s protagonists know what it’s like to lose a recent final. That’s powerful motivation.

Kilkenny, home of the Downeys (who put Henry and Tommy in the shade), have not won this championship since 1994 and on what I have seen this year, they will take all the beating.