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Three challengers to the Cats
27 April 2010
We are now almost to the stage where most managers are beginning to finalise their championship line-ups and experimentations and rotation policies are coming to an end. The summer is almost upon us and all the focus will be geared towards championship time even though there are still a few important league matches left.
 
What's in store for 2010?
The County Board Conventions are all over and they have outlined how much the running of the inter county teams cost. We have heard all the new motions which will be addressed at National Convention.
 
GPA and GAA agreement is good news
This is a decision that was long overdue in my eyes. As an organisation we could no longer pull in opposite direction and falling out over simple matters like looking after player welfare, providing job opportunities
for those out of work, better promotion and branding of
our games was not acceptable.
Awards season in full swing
All Stars 2009
At this time of the year when the action on the intercounty scene is more focussed on matters off the field with the Vodafone Allstars, GPA awards, the Texaco Sports Star award and many other Oscars being handed out. I have often wondered has the gloss gone from these schemes for players as there are so many now and so many different opinions from players to journalists, that rarely you see uniformity of opinion. Winning an Allstar award does not guarantee you a GPA award and vice a versa.
Kilkenny are still my tip
It has been a very strange few months for hurling and with only one Sunday left of premier competition, it would be fair to say that we need a big one to get us over the winter months. We need a game that will show us that hurling is alive and well and even I will admit that we have been overshadowed by the quality of football this year.

It can all change in the blink of an eye
The West was awake and well but over the space of 48 hours all went quiet with the defeat of the hurlers and footballers. Who would have predicted these results? My job is to talk hurling and having watched Galway over the last few weeks - one would have said that this was a team to challenge Kilkenny and Tipperary.
Glorious summer hurling
At last summer has arrived and championship fever is with us again. Expectations are high in most counties that this will be their summer of success. All the hard slog of the winter months has all but ended now and it is replaced with nice crisp and fast hurling sessions to get the eye in and quicken the reflexes
Tipp are beaten but the hay is saved!
Hurling followers all over the country got the tonic that was badly needed - a bloody great contest in the home of hurling between those great rivals Tipperary and Kilkenny. It certainly has wet the appetite for the season ahead.
Portumna are in a class of their own
Talk about keeping the best wine 'til last! I have never seen such a good team performance from any club team in the history of this competition. Talk about peaking on the day and delivering a style and brand of hurling that was a joy to watch.
Is the Rebel war over?
Tomas Mulcahy column: Is the Rebel war over?
Anybody from outside looking in at Cork over the last few months is now thinking that we have lost the plot completely and what has been going on over the last few weeks has nothing got to do with sport.
The Rebel saga continues to make the headlines
One month later and we are still none the wiser as to any outcome from the dispute. What is different this time round though is that a team of youngsters has been put together and they have taken to the field full of commitment and desire to do the red jersey proud.
The Rebel saga continues.
Another year but the same old story on Leeside - the 31 hurlers of 2008 training on their own while a new group start off their intercounty careers by playing in the Waterford Crystal Cup. The general public now seem to be completely sick of what’s going on and a lot of people feel they will not even bother attending any games this year.
Rebel Army with or without a cause!
I never thought I would see the day when the hurlers of the Rebel Army would be up in arms over the how managers and selectors of intercounty teams are picked. Nor did I believe that there would be so much coverage in the press and television on this very one issue. This is what I wrote last January and here we are again in exactly the same position but no sign of a resolution in place.
The final countdown
Who would have predicted a few months back that the pairing for this years All-Ireland hurling final would be between Kilkenny and Waterford? Okay everyone would agree that the Cats were racing certainties to be there but what about the boys from the Deise?

The season is getting into gear
The Hurling Season has finally begun but the fireworks are still to be ignited by a number of so called championship contenders.
Worrying trends to begin championship 2008!
I wrote my last article with great encouragement and was very enthusiastic about the forthcoming GAA championships as it is now known.
In a league of its own
Ever feel that something is missing from your sporting diary and you are waiting for a competition to seriously take off - well that’s the way I feel about the current national hurling league to date. There are very small attendances, no real bite to games and as Joe Dooley described, the games as nothing more than challenge matches - what’s gone wrong?
Rebel Army with or without a cause!
I never thought I would see the day when the hurlers and footballers of the Rebel Army would be up in arms over the how managers and selectors of intercounty teams are picked. Nor did I believe that there would be so much coverage in the press and on television on this very issue.
Pride of the parish takes centre stage
For the next few months while the majority of intercounty players take a break from competitive action, all the GAA interest will swing to the club scene and Sunday afternoons will be spent watching TG4 to see the real grassroots of the association in action. We get to see just what it means to the local town or village who have a team to support in the pursuit of provincial honours for now and All-Ireland honours in the New Year.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

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.
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.
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.