What a summer it has been to bear witness to probably the best All Ireland hurling championship in two decades. Nobody denies Kilkenny’s domination had taken hurling to a new plain in terms of application, skill and physicality but the game craved a new team to give hope to the pretenders. And like a good Bus Eireann service, two came along at once in Cork and Clare to give us an All Ireland final for the neutral to savior.
The 1990’s were truly hurling’s glory years when Clare, Offaly and Wexford delivered All Ireland’s at the expense of established superpowers in Kilkenny, Cork and Tipperary. The old order resumed itself in the noughties and the backdoor system instead of levelling the playing field for smaller counties has probably benefitted the stronger counties as both Kilkenny and Cork will testify in 2004 for example. Both were beaten in the provincial first round only to re-emerge as that year’s All Ireland finalists. That is what has made 2013 even more extroadinary in the annals of hurling history. Little did we know that a first round Munster championship encounter would give us our finalists this year….
While the beating of Tipperary by Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds perhaps highlighted deficiencies in the Premier County team that made them unlikely All Ireland contenders, the same could not be said of Dublin’s defeat of Kilkenny. Beating them in a replay was a huge surprise but we all awaited the Kilkenny fightback with trepidation and fear. Tipperary were devoured at Nowlan Park in a performance filled with the same unshakable hunger if not quite the same class of yesteryear. While they looked vulnerable against Waterford they just refused to die. The extra time masterclass displayed by a Cats team surely running on empty after so many consecutive weeks of hurling was truly awe inspiring.
As this was going on, an enormously promising Clare outfit with the backbone of the U21 winning teams were this year’s dark horse. Surviving relegation from division 1A in the league must surely have been a huge boost as it showed Clare once more were capable of competing at the top table on any given day. In fact, the way they demolished Cork in the league relegation play-off led all to believe that the various trajectories of the two teams was one of promise for Clare and one of decline for the Leesiders.
In fact, this writer has written in some detail before on the woes faced by Cork hurling in previous articles. Cork fans believed as much as we traveled to the Gaelic Grounds in much reduced numbers to face Clare yet again only weeks after the league defeat. A ray of light shone on the Jimmy Barry Murphy (JBM to Corkonian’s) revolution as the tables were reversed and Cork ran out convincing winners. However, it also posed questions as to Clare’s lack of clinicalness in front of goal as well as a game plan that seemed to stifle the team’s flair players. While Darach Honan was wasted on the edge of the square, Seamus Harnedy was making his mark from the unknown hurling ‘stronghold’ of Gortrue. He wasn’t quite the “new Ring” he was projected to be in local media but as it turned out, he’s been exactly the type of physical (and scoring) presence Cork have needed with so many small, speedy and skilful hurlers in the Cork panel.
So Cork faced Limerick with roles redefined in the Munster final. Cork were no longer to be underestimated but Limerick were no longer a secret commodity either. The Gaelic Grounds buzzed as Limerick simply outfought and out hurled Cork and again impressions were formed from this result. Cork were once more relative no hopers faced with a mammoth task of tackling a rejuvenated Kilkenny outfit looking for blood. Limerick were now real contenders with silverware for the first time in 17 years. A working man’s first fifteen with a ‘Hells Kitchen’ of a full back in Richie McCarthy and Tom Condon who to quote hurling speak “didn’t spare timber” on the opposition. Across the entire team they had quality hurlers but hurling being a 20 man game now, the ability to spring Shane Dowling, Kevin Downes and Niall Moran from the bench was a serious ace that no county bar Kilkenny had in their armory.
Dublin should have been beaten by Wexford in the first round after one of the year’s only blemishes in terms of a truly awful game of hurling. But yet week on week, they built momentum and confidence but one would have assumed they played their All-Ireland final in the drawn Leinster semi final encounter against Kilkenny. A lesser team would have went on to suffer a mauling in the replay but Dublin truly emerged has a serious force by showing the mental steel to slay the Cats. Their dismantling of a lackluster Galway outfit in the Leinster final only offered further proof of the qualities of the likes of Liam Rushe, Conal Keaney and Paul Ryan. They had won their first Leinster crown in 52 years that day but they also had undeniable Liam McCarthy credentials.
But all this talk was redundant unless the big looming shadow of Kilkenny could be slayed. Nobody denied that Kilkenny were vulnerable and not the same team as in their past glories but nobody could look past their permanent class either. Nobody either forsaw a down and out Cork taking out the big dog that day in Thurles. Kilkenny were on the ropes but it still needed a strength of character to finish them off that Cork clearly hadn’t displayed up to that point. JBM’s charges came of age that day by outfighting Kilkenny for the first time in a decade. It was also somewhat fitting that the Brian Cody and Henry Shefflin era which began with a loss to JBM’s Cork in the 1999 All Ireland final may have come to an end by a JBM managed Cork in 2013.
Speaking of a new era, Clare’s triumph over Galway in the quarter final now left us without Kilkenny, Tipperary or Galway in a semi final for the first time since…well I would imagine ever! Cork beat Dublin in what was described by many as the game of the year in a season filled with plenty of those type of clashes. Clare beat Limerick in what can either be described as a Clare masterclass or a Limerick collapse depending on what side of the fence you sit on. Clare were certainly well drilled and the likes of Tony Kelly and Podge Collins led the line imperiously as they have done all year but the hype in Limerick certainly played its part. The connection of this with Limerick’s lathergic display and erratic shooting/freetaking leave the Shannonsiders asking what might have been….
But then there was two and it’ll be a brave man who predicts the winner between Cork and Clare this weekend. Cork’s tradition will dictate that they arrive in Croke Park expecting to win. They certainly have a good balance in workhorses like the industrous Daniel Kearney and the strong and mobile Pa Cronin putting in the hard yards. On any given day, Patrick Horgan is a matchwinner and one has the feeling that one of these days Conor Lehane will finally put together an explosive 70 minutes that he has threatened all summer.
Looking at Clare, Davy Fitz certainly has a well drilled collective outfit that won’t be beaten for tenacity or work rate but have an array of flair players that are all match winners in their own right. Podge Collins has been sensational this summer – a fact not lost on Cork’s Conor O’ Sullivan who got caught for 6 points off the Cratloe man in the Munster first round. The same applies for Tony Kelly, John Conlon, Conor McGrath and Darach Honan with all Clare’s marksmen able scorers in their own right.
The use of Honan in particular will be fascinating. Will Davy Fitzgerald go for the juggler by going direct and isolating Honan in the full forward line? How will Cork utilize the vast experience of Brian Murphy who will surely be kept on the bench for this encounter. Can Clare find a way to tie up the outstanding Shane O’ Neill who has been almost invincible all summer? How will Cork counteract Clare’s sweeper system and deep lying midfield and half forwards who are infinitely more confident in this system than they were earlier in the season?
So many questions, all will be found out by 5pm on Sunday. Sit back and enjoy as perhaps another golden age for hurling begins with this final….
My question to you is - Will 2014 be as exciting?
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