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Irish Times
2 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Seán Moran: Leinster hurling final and the battle for relevance
There was a picture that prompted much agonising after the 1998 Leinster hurling final. It was of Kilkenny 's corner back and captain, Tom Hickey, trudging across an empty Croke Park pitch, the Bob O'Keeffe Cup dangling from his arm like a bag of groceries. The photograph was widely used to intuit Kilkenny's sense of the underwhelmed despite having just beaten Offaly to win their first provincial title in five years. In the perennial comparison between the provinces, Munster hurling finals always come with the blessings of posterity and tradition, whereas Leinster bear the burdens of pale comparison and, at times, faint praise. Back in 1998, this eternal truth was further endorsed by news that then president of Ireland, Mary McAleese, (currently wrangling the three associations as chairwoman of the integration group), would attend her first GAA match of the year, the following weekend in Thurles for the Clare-Waterford Munster final. It felt as if the bar for her presence had been appropriately raised. READ MORE For context, this was the second year of the new championship structure – in the vernacular, the back door – which notionally rendered the provincial finals less important. That was unlikely to be the reason for Kilkenny's lack of excitement, though. A year previously, when the back door was first put on the latch, Clare regained Munster and triggered Anthony Daly 's famous speech about his county's mission to show 'that we are no longer the whipping boys of Munster' before a capacity crowd in Páirc Uí Chaoimh . Closer to home, the 1997 Leinster finals had attracted record attendances for both the semi-finals and final. Wexford beat Kilkenny a week after the Munster final, encouraging Rod Guiney to deliver a swift homage to Daly by declaring his team to be no longer the whipping boys of Leinster – a curious reflection for the captain of the All-Ireland champions. The contrast between the provincial finals has been heightened in recent years for two reasons: Kilkenny's domination of Leinster; and the big box-office success of the Munster round robin and particularly its finals, although they are not linked into the rest of the championship. At the same time, Limerick have been equally dominant in Munster, but their provincial finals have produced some fascinating matches. Unlike Leinster, where Galway are the only team playing in the province to have won the All-Ireland since 2015, Munster have produced three different champions even during Limerick 's six-year reign in the province. Galway's migration eastwards in 2009 has become routine and, in a way, anti-anticlimacticught in to intensify competition by providing a foil for Kilkenny, they have won three provincial titles in that time, 2012, '17 and '18. Galway's distance from Dublin hasn't helped attendances in recent years, as crowds of only 25,951 and 24,483 turned up to the last two finals to feature Kilkenny and the Connacht county. Yet Galway 's clash with Wexford eight years ago created a new record for a provincial hurling final and broke the 60,000 barrier for the first time. Galway's arrival has not transformed the provincial championship. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho The missing ingredient is Wexford, whose last two appearances in the final in 2017 and '19 have attracted the century's highest attendances for Leinster hurling's biggest day. For all that Galway's arrival hasn't transformed the provincial championship, it's as well to ask where would it have been without them? They have provided opposition for Kilkenny in nine of the 11 finals they have contested since they crossed the Shannon. The move has certainly added depth to the championship and helped to position Galway to contest three All-Ireland finals, winning one, and seven semi-finals. Another factor in Leinster's labouring box office is that it fulfils a role as a development competition, which features two of six teams every year earmarked for a relegation clash and in general not carrying much jeopardy for the other counties. In six years, the bottom teams have recorded two wins and three draws against established opponents. Since Kilkenny's last success 10 years ago, they have lost four finals. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho The main drag on the province's status, however, is its lack of All-Ireland relevance. Since Kilkenny's last success 10 years ago, they have lost four finals whereas Galway have won one and lost one. The record unbroken sequence for counties from the same province winning Liam MacCarthy is seven. It was set in the 1940s by Limerick, Cork's four-in-a-row team, Tipperary and Cork coming back for another in 1946. After Kilkenny broke that sequence in 1947, the next seven also went to Munster, from Waterford's first in 1948 and sequential three-in-a-rows for Tipp and Cork. Wexford stopped the run in 1955. This year Munster have again won the last seven, mostly Limerick but with help from Tipperary and Clare, and it looks certain that a new record will be set in July. Kilkenny and Galway will attempt to dispute that and next Sunday, one of them will qualify for the All-Ireland semi-finals. Back in that year of 1998, Offaly created history by becoming the first All-Ireland champions to have lost a match en route to winning the All-Ireland. That alternative approach has rarely been exploited in Leinster. Kilkenny walked that path in 2012, having avenged a provincial final defeat by Galway, but hardly any counties in the province could aspire to a national target if beaten in Leinster. Last year, Clare were just the latest side to avail of a route to the All-Ireland after losing in Munster. They joined Cork (2004), Tipperary (2010) and Limerick (2018). Even after defeat, counties in the south can see the bigger picture. It is fair to suggest that whoever loses next Sunday in Croke Park is unlikely to have a realistically similar view.
Irish Examiner
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Christy O'Connor: Clarity badly needed to address the black card issue in hurling
When Anthony Daly, Jackie Tyrrell and Joe Canning were discussing Mark Coleman's tackle on Stephen Bennett at half-time in yesterday's Cork-Waterford game in the RTÉ studio, there was no real debate on the topic. Seán O'Donoghue was also engaging Bennett in the tackle but Coleman hauled him down. Bottom line. Penalty. Black card. Except it wasn't. Johnny Murphy didn't deem it to be but he isn't the only referee to have come to that conclusion around black cards in hurling. 'The black card seems to have vanished out of the game,' said Tyrrell. 'When was the last black card given out?' 'The Clare 20s (recent Munster U20 final against Tipp when Jamie Moylan was sin-binned for 10 minutes),' quipped Daly. This is exclusive subscriber content. Already a subscriber? Sign in Subscribe to access all of the Irish Examiner. Annual €120€60 Best value Monthly €10€4 / month Unlimited access. Subscriber content. Daily ePaper. Additional benefits.
Irish Examiner
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Cork v Waterford, Limerick v Clare, Munster championship live updates
3.27pm Some pre-game listening? Anthony Daly, TJ Ryan, Mark Landers and Liam Sheedy convene on Dalo's Hurling Show. 3.24pm John Fogarty is on Leeside and checks in from his perch in the stands: It's a blustery one in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh. The wind is blowing hard and straight into the Blackrock End. The coin toss between Shane Barrett and Conor Prunty will carry extra significance. Waterford have made an 11th hour change to their squad, Conor Ryan replacing injured Iarlaith Daly and one of the named substitutes will be expected to start in place of the Lismore man. There have been a couple of rumblings that Alan Connolly isn't fit to start for Cork but that will become apparent in the next 30 minutes. Waterford supporters are scarce on the ground and the dropping of their captain Dessie Hutchinson, while justified, has probably dampened expectations. As expected, Cork folk are here in their droves, knowing a win and the prospect of doing themselves justice against Limerick in a first Munster final in seven years is quite the nugget. 3.20pm In the great tradition of 1980s professional wrestling, we have a blockbuster loser-leaves-town match topping the bill, from SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh this afternoon. Welcome to live coverage of that Cork v Waterford showdown on Leeside as well as Limerick v Clare at the Gaelic Grounds. We have reporters and analysts at both grounds and beyond and will go puck by puck for the next few hours.
Irish Examiner
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Limerick v Clare: What time, what channel and all you need to know about the Munster SHC clash
Limerick sit top of the table following their win over Cork at the weekend and will look to continue their winning run when they welcome Clare to the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday. Clare currently sit bottom of the table having lost two games and draw one while Limerick remain unbeaten with two wins and a draw to date. With a spot in the final up for grabs for Limerick Clare are looking to claim their first win of the championship. Here's everything you need to know. Where and when is it on? The match takes place at TUS Gaelic Grounds in Limerick with a 4pm throw-in on Sunday May 25. Who's the referee? Thomas Wales will be the man in the middle for the game. What can I read about and listen to on Our reporters will be building up to the final throughout the weekend and previewing the game ahead of Sunday's throw-in. Listen to Anthony Daly, TJ Ryan, Mark Landers and Liam Sheedy on this week's episode of Dalo's Hurling Show.
Irish Examiner
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Cork v Waterford: What time, what channel and all you need to know about the Munster SHC clash
Cork will be looking to get back to winning ways following their loss to Limerick last weekend. They welcome Waterford to SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday. Waterford have lost two games and won one and currently sit on two points. Cork have one a game, drawn one and lost win and sit just one place ahead of the Deise on three points. With a final spot on the line for Cork they need to get the full compliment of points on offer to get to second place. Here's everything you need to know. Where and when is it on? The match takes place at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork with a 4pm throw-in on Sunday May 25. Where can I watch the game? The game will be streamed live on GAA+ with coverage starting. Who's the referee? Johnny Murphy will be the man in charge for the clash. What can I read about and listen to on Our reporters will be building up to the final throughout the weekend and previewing the game ahead of Sunday's throw-in. Listen to Anthony Daly, TJ Ryan, Mark Landers and Liam Sheedy on this week's episode of Dalo's Hurling Show.
