Kelly 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. This is the real disadvantage when it comes to GAA and when you analyse the individual performance of Eoin Kelly against Limerick in his chosen sport as a hurler, to me it was every bit as good as any of the others above. I am not saying he should be paid for playing but a lot more must be done to promote Eoin Kelly and hurling. This man deserves a TV advertisement all on his own. There is no doubt, he is the best around and as GAA people we must build on it. We must now find the next Eoin Kelly, the next DJ or Joe Deane or else this fantastic game of ours will not survive. Every team game has individual star performers and they will be the first ones to tell you that it is all about the team and without their colleagues efforts they would not be the attraction they are. I am glad to say in most circumstances these guys recognise that - in other words they do not get too big for their boots! But it does bring the added pressures of coping with being in the spotlight and performing under this pressure and for Eoin Kelly and co, the old saying of you are only as good as your last game still stands. And knowing GAA fans, they will expect the same in every outing.. Looking at the overall picture of the Tipperary-Limerick match - a lot was expected of Limerick and it was all going to plan after seven minutes and then collapsed completely. It is very difficult to explain, just ask Joe McKenna! Firstly Limerick will have identified the difference in pace between league and championship and that by not placing Damien Reale on Eoin Kelly from the outset, they were asking for trouble and trouble they got. I have mentioned above what a talent this man is and not wanting to put too much pressure on his shoulders, I feel enough has now been said about his performance. Tipperary looked uncomfortable with the high ball into the full forward line where Brian Begley and Andrew O'Shaughnessy looked particularly sharp and it resulted in two quick goals been scored and huge question marks over Tipperary. But for some reason Limerick stopped using this tactic and elected to drop ball short and over elaborated out the field. The best line for Tipp at this stage was the half back line and in young Moloney they have a very good prospect. Tipp half backs on top and with no supply to the full forward line Limerick struggled for scores while at the other end Webster, Kelly & Co run riot on the inside while Redser O'Grady was on fire. It was a good win for Tipperary to build on and I am sure Babs will have been very happy with the outcome. The champions look good Everyone expected Cork and Clare to be a close affair, particularly after the semi final of last year. Clare seemed to have prepared as if this was going to be their toughest match of the championship and set about as if they meant serious business with scores by Barry Nugent and Tony Carmody unsettling Cork, or so it seemed. However, the one thing that this Cork team have learned over the last number of years is not to panic and slowly but surely they got themselves back into the game through Ronan Curran and John Gardiner in the half back line and Joe Deane upfront. There is no doubt that Anthony Daly will be disappointed with the return from his forwards but more importantly will be more worried by his defence and how it was opened up. It is still early days in the championship and as I have stated in the past a lot of the real action will only commence when it becomes knockout and you are guaranteed to see Clare there fighting tooth and nail to make the last four. Cork on the other hand have signalled their intent to all in sundry that they still have the desire and hunger for a third All-Ireland but will still know that some player did not perform up to scratch and that there is room for improvement Performances in May will be well forgotten if they are not built on in the next few weeks and John Allen & co will keep them on their toes no doubt. Leinster Championships A lot has been said of the Dublin against Westmeath game and certainly this game should not have been played, just as the Offaly v Laois match should never have went ahead. If it was any of the more seasoned campaigners like Kilkenny or Cork, they would have just refused to play. Expect to see Kilkenny win out in Leinster though as they seem to have a mean look about them now with Offaly not far behind. Offaly to their credit are giving the younger guys the chance and this can only be good going forward. Tweet

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