Stars
all
Well it is this time of year again when the playing fields of Ireland
are virtually empty from an inter-county point of view but are still
full of action and drama as the concluding stages of the club championships
are in full swing.
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A
look back at the hurling final
Firstly, congratulations to Kilkenny on winning their 30th title
and moving level with the boys from the Rebel County. It was a superb
performance and one that will satisfy Brian Cody in a lot of ways
and I will tell you why later in the article.
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The
Final Countdown
So we are down to the final pairing and most of us pundits and so
called media whiz kids are eating our words a little at this stage.
We all predicted that the Cats would make it to the last day of
the season but how many predicted the boys from Limerick would be
their opponents – not many I am afraid.
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The
winner takes all!
Starting out in February everyone knew that with only 12 teams competing
for All-Ireland honours, you could immediately pick out who was
going to be involved when the knockout stages took centre stage.
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Waterford
step up to the mark
Well the marker has been set that Waterford are now serious contenders
for Munster and All-Ireland glory after this fantastic win in the
national league final.
As per my previous article, I stated that Waterford needed to win
this and set themselves up for a long summer, full of confidence
about their own ability to close out big games. This they did and
did so in style with a few newcomers stealing the limelight over
some of the more established players.
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Up
the Dubs!
Yes this is hurling I am talking about and what a start they had
had to their national league campaign. They drew with Kilkenny,
and then went on to beat Galway and Limerick. Their final two games
against Antrim and Tipperary were disappointing, but injuries and
increased expectation played their part. The question we are asking
is - is this the real thing or just a flash in the pan?
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League
returns
Just a few weeks back all the fanfare and publicity was geared towards
to other sports in Croke Park and to the first game under lights
in football between Dublin and Tyrone. It got a great build up on
TV, in the media and from overseas. It was fantastic to see and
the attendance on the night of the game was incredible – full
house, a great atmosphere and a very good quality of football. Don’t
get me wrong, as I really enjoyed this hype also but there in lies
my bone of contention.
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New
Year, new season, will we have new champions?
Many debates have raged over the last few weeks in counties as they
ponder their team’s credentials for the forthcoming hurling
season. The questions most likely to have been asked were: Will
the team be the same as last year? Is there any new talent around?
Who will stop Kilkenny? Can the so called weaker counties make an
impact in the All-Ireland series? Is 2007 Waterford’s last
chance of glory?
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The
Stars and the cars
Being a Corkman, of course I am going to be biased and say that
Cork did not get enough All Stars this year - only joking of course.
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The
club stands the test of time
It is the time of year again when the greens fields of all major
venues get a break and the emphasis is now firmly focused on the
club championships.
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Cats
get the cream
Firstly as a Corkman, let me congratulate Kilkenny on their fine
win and point out that the Rebel army have no complaints or grudges
to bear as they were not the better team on the day. |
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The
big one
The predictions of earlier in the season have now been fulfilled
with the Cats eager to halt the Rebel County’s search of another
All-Ireland victory in the first week of September. |
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Limerick’s
slide
All those involved in the backroom setups of Clare and Limerick
hurlers will have been quick to point out that their teams did not
do themselves justice in the Munster championship and that they
could not wait for the qualifiers to start so they could rectify
the situation. |
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Kelly
really impresses
Over the last few months we have had the privilege of watching the
individual performances of talented sportsmen throughout the world
- greats like Paul O’Connell and Ronan O’Gara of Munster,
Ronaldinho of Barcelona and Wayne Rooney of Manchester United showcasing
their talents to wide ranging audiences. They are all international
sportsmen getting paid nice sums of money for their efforts and
that is the beauty of professionalism and the dimension of international
sports. |
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Kilkenny's
route to success
You have hand it to the Cats, they have contested and won more league
finals in the last few years than any other team I can recall over
the last 50 years. |
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Portumna
are deserving champions
There was so much hype and attention given to the All-Ireland club
final that invariably it was going to turn out a poor contest for
the neutral supporter who was so much looking forward to this. |
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A
club final to look forward to
It is the one everyone is waiting for and seems to have grabbed
the attention of hurling fans all over the country. Two fantastic
hurling teams in opposite corners with the game set to be played
on one of the finest surfaces in Ireland with plenty of space for
the top players to showcase their talents. |
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Bring
on St. Patrick's Day
We now have another exciting senior club championship final to look
forward to. Many would have predicted at the start of the year that
these two teams would contest this year's final. But few have predicted
at the ease in which Portumna made the final and how difficult Newtown
would find their Northern opponents. |
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All
Star trips and early starts
The All Stars trip to Singapore is a just reward for all the hard
work and effort put in by players over the last twelve months. I
was lucky enough to win two All Star awards and got the chance to
head to San Francisco and Chicago and let me tell you, when you
look back on these trips, they were probably the best times of our
lives. The craic was mighty and the friendships built up are still
in place. The memories are still fresh in my mind, even if it is
almost 20 years ago. |
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New
Year's resolutions and solutions
It is now the time of year when those who had success in 2005 are
enjoying the fruit of their labours, most likely sunning themselves
in some exotic place or chilling out and recharging the batteries
for the 2006 onslaught. That is the benefit of winning or getting
close to the real thing .Others to benefit, and rightly so, are
the females behind the males and speaking from experience, they
really do enjoy these trips abroad. |
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All
Star awards versus the GPA awards
Being a Corkman, of course I am going to be biased and my team of
the year selection in the last issue was not too far away from the
official All Star team selected. |
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The
calm after the storm
After all the hype of September now dying down, it is time for the
majority of intercounty teams to reflect on the year's performance
and look at ways of improving for next term. |
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30th
title for the Rebels - now for the 3-in-a-row?
After all the excitement and drama of the semi-finals, everyone
looked forward to the clash of Galway and Cork in the final. Most
people stated that it would be a very open game and so it proved
to be. |
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The
Summer is almost over Bar the big one!
My predictions at the start of the year were, that Cork and Kilkenny
would contest this years All-Ireland final again and low and behold
have I got it wrong this time. What has been witnessed over the
last few weeks has been incredible and what an advertisement it
has been for the game of hurling. |
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Let
the serious stuff begin!
It has taken a long time to get there but now we can really look
forward to the knockout stages of the All-Ireland series. |
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Are
we keeping the best wine until last - I sincerely hope so!
Two months into the serious action of the Guinness All-Ireland senior
hurling championships and I am sorry to say that you would not know
it has existed.
Where have all the crowds gone? Where are the quality games we have
witnessed year in, year out, played in front of capacity crowds. |
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Summer
hurling has arrived at last!
After the anti climax of the national hurling league campaign, all
eyes were focused on the commencement of the provincial championships
with the Munster campaign topping the agenda. What a list of fixtures
we had to look forward to with Limerick against Tipperary and Cork
versus Waterford to get the ball rolling before the serious stuff
in Leinster gets off the mark. |
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Review
of the national hurling leagues
It has to be said that the national hurling league of 2005 has not
set the world on fire and the sooner this is ended and we move on
to more competitive action, the better for everyone. |
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The
men from the little village take the honours in style
I mentioned in the build up to this final that I never had the opportunity
to play in an All-Ireland club final and that it was the one big
regret I have from my playing career. Looking at the expression
on the faces of those James Stephens players, management and supporters
alike once the final whistle was blown brought it home to me what
I had missed out on. |
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Follow
the leader, follow the rules?
The last couple of weeks have been very interesting from a hurling
viewpoint with the club championship reaching its final stage and
the commencement of the national hurling leagues, but both of these
have been completely overshadowed by the introduction of the so
called new rules. |
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Players
shouldn't have to sell their soul to get a holiday
2005 has just arrived and already the preparations and training
for the new season are underway. But the lucky few, players and
mentors, and more importantly the wives and girlfriends, are off
on well earned winter break and holiday abroad. |
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Recognising
and rewarding brillance
Team and individual performances are recognised the length and breath
of the country at this time of year. If you happen to be the All-Ireland
champions, then as either a player or coach the months from September
to December will see you clock up more miles than you did previously
in the year. |
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Decision
time for us all
Already as I pen this hurling teams and county boards from all
over the country are now putting plans in place for next season.
New coaches are being appointed, new players getting their opportunity,
new physical trainers brought in and with that territory will
follow new methods.
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It
is a fine line between euphoria and dejection - Sept '04
When
the final whistle was blown on the 2004 All-Ireland Hurling final
at around 5pm on Sunday the 12th last, it became apparent to me
the huge gulf that exists between winning and losing.
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September
2004 article
My prediction at the start of the year was that Kilkenny and Cork
would contest this year's All-Ireland Final again but I did not
believe that it would be as a result of both teams losing their
respective provincial championships and going on to qualify through
the backdoor system.
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August
2004 article
The
Hurling Year So Far - Backdoor or no backdoor, the quality of
hurling this year has been phenomenal. All teams (except the provincial
champions) have had a second chance. You would have said the stakes
were not as high in the earlier rounds but the most amazing feature
to me has been the desire shown by each county to win their provincial
crowns.
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