Readers with long memories will recall how, last month, we made the point that while Galway had lost to Dublin in the Walsh Cup, there was no need for the county to give up hurling just yet.

Thankfully, that message was received loud and clear and the county decided to bravely stick with Henry Shefflin for the start of the Allianz Hurling League at least.

An expected win over Offaly resulted and then, last Saturday night, they overcame All-Ireland champions Limerick at the TUS Gaelic Grounds.

Of course, it was a second straight defeat for the Shannonsiders, beaten by Wexford in their first outing and now the pressure will be on – only if you disregard last year, when they had a similarly slow start before things righted themselves.

The league means different things to different teams. For Limerick, it’s about finding one or two more players to improve them further and Cathal O’Neill’s performance against Galway certainly looks like ticking that box.

For the chasing pack, there are various degrees of ambitions to be had from the competition, but ultimately, as it ramps up right into the championship, the main purpose is as a vehicle to get into the right frame of mind for the right time.

Instead, the real action last weekend was in the two All-Ireland club finals and it was hard to argue that more drama could have been provided by the hurlers of Ballygunner or the footballers of Kilcoo, both of whom claimed national titles for the first time at the last gasp.

Celebrating their half-century, it seemed as if Ballyhale Shamrocks would become the first club to achieve an All-Ireland three-in-a-row when they led deep in injury time, but Harry Ruddle scored a goal with literally the final puck for the Gunners, who had previously won 20 county titles and three Munster championships without being able to go all the way.

If you haven’t already heard it, try to seek out the commentary of the goal by WLR’s Kieran O’Connor and Eoin Murphy – it’s the essence of everything Gaelic games mean to those who love them. It should also be noted how gracious Ballyhale were in defeat, having come so close to immortality.

Young Ballygunner supporter James O’Donnell, on the shoulders of his father, celebrates his club’s win against Ballyhale Shamrocks, at Croke Park. \ Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

For Kilcoo, there was a similar victory at the death, with Jerome Johnston getting the late goal to deny Kilmacud Crokes. The small parish had been beaten by Corofin in the 2020 final, the last played before the pandemic, and so to seize victory in this fashion made it all the sweeter.

They had to overcome Cork’s St Finbarr’s and Crokes after extra time and they were guided by Mickey Moran. Now in his 70s, Moran has won three Ulster titles with county teams while five of the last six Ulster club titles have been won by his sides – three for Slaughtneil of his native Derry and two for Kilcoo.

An All-Ireland had eluded him but, after finally achieving it, his first action was to seek out his opposite number, Crokes manager Robbie Brennan, for a hug.

Whether in victory or defeat, how you act is what ultimately defines you. Rather than the Armagh-Tyrone arm-swinging the previous week, Croke Park on Saturday gave some excellent examples of why the GAA can be our best reflection.

League of Ireland coverage issues

The League of Ireland is back this weekend and of course there is the usual mild controversy overshadowing the attempts to promote the domestic game in a way that might grow it organically.

For the last two years, the LOITV streaming service has been a valuable one for supporters unable to get to games due to COVID-19 restrictions. It wasn’t a perfect product – at one game, an automated camera trained to follow the ball accidentally set its target on a bald head, while the quality of the commentary was patchy, depending on the club – but it served an important purpose.

It will still be around for 2022 but, rather than a season pass being available at a bulk rate, it will now only be sold on a pay-per-view basis. While you might say that the true diehards will be at the games anyway and casual fans are likeliest to be purchasing, it seems harsh to deny them the option of the pass.That’s a side-issue, obviously, and the main focus should be on getting fans through the turnstiles. While the quality of the football and the players is arguably better than ever – witness St Patrick’s Athletic selling James Abankwah to Italian side Udinese and Cork City’s Cathal Heffernan joining Milan – the stadiums themselves remain a mark against the whole product, especially from the point of view of attracting families.

The recent FAI Strategic Plan included a desire to increase attendances at men’s and women’s league games, but the KPI (key performance indicator) for that was selling out Aviva Stadium for the men’s FAI Cup final and Tallaght Stadium for the women’s decider by 2025 – which is a real example of false equivalence.

Ultimately, the lack of a coherent approach from above means that it’s down to the clubs themselves and there are of course varying levels of success on that front.

Friday night sees RTÉ2 broadcast the Dublin derby between Shelbourne and the cup holders St Pat’s – here’s to a positive start and something to build on. CL

No need to panic yet

There’s a reason that Brian O’Driscoll’s hat-trick in 2000 and Jonathan Sexton’s last-second drop goal in 2018 remain such strong and cherished memories – it’s because Ireland don’t win in Paris all that often.

In the era of bonus points in the Six Nations Championship, a six-point loss at the Stade de France isn’t a bad result per se, though a fourth try would have been even more welcome. It’s a setback and Ireland will be left with the feeling that a better first-half performance might have made the difference, but France are a good team.

Wales’s win at home to Scotland at least acted as a leveller in terms of how both sides had done in their opening games, while the Scots will be keen to bounce back at home to France in a fortnight. Ireland will be at home to Italy, the perfect fixture to build up to the pivotal final two games.

Certainly there is no need to look at last week’s defeat as being terminal.