"That would be a massive mistake. It would be an unforgivable mistake if they don’t let the players come to the final, unforgivable, unforgivable. I hope they will.”

After guiding Limerick to a second final in three years, John Kiely doubled down on his call for extended panel members to be allowed attend their eagerly anticipated clash with Waterford.

"We were down maybe five at one stage, but came back again, which is testament to the boys. They just dug it out and kept going and going and as I said, we're immensely proud."

Galway finished second best to the Treaty County by three points but Shane O’Neill focused on the positives after the final whistle.

"Kilkenny are a massive force in hurling and always have been, they’re always the benchmark, the team to beat, so it would have to give us extra confidence, so it’s great.”

Tipperary native Liam Cahill has guided the Deise to the Liam MacCarthy Cup showpiece in his first year in charge.

“We are going home disappointed, and that’s the way losers always go home; Waterford go home very happy, with something terrific to look forward to and we wish them well.”

Brian Cody ended up on the losing side in an All-Ireland SHC semi-final for only the third time as Cats supremo.

“I’m delighted for some players there. This time last year Siobhan Killeen and Nicole Owens were on crutches in Croke Park, but the two of them appeared in an All-Ireland semi-final there today. Sport can be cruel, but it can also be hugely rewarding. We are obviously delighted with that.”

Mick Bohan’s Dublin passed a tough test against Armagh and have another All-Ireland final appearance to look forward to.

“They’re a marvellous bunch of players, I wouldn’t expect anything different from them. But there’s no point in doing all of this if we do not win the All-Ireland.”

Meath manager Eamonn Murray will be hoping his players can make up for past disappointments in this year’s All-Ireland Ladies IFC decider.

“It’s great to be back in an All-Ireland Final. It’s what the day was about I suppose. I was happy with the performance at times. There are things we need to improve on but we knew it was going to be a battle. Tipperary beat us already in the League and they’d a great win over Waterford in the Quarter-Final so we knew they’d give us a huge test and that’s what they did.”

Cathal Murray and Galway are on course to retain the O’Duffy Cup.

“We probably didn’t play as well as we could have played but we got over the line and showed great heart and that’s the main thing.”

Kilkenny stand in Galway’s way and their manager Brian Dowling was very pleased with their semi-final showing against Cork.

“I’m sick of hearing that to be brutally honest with you. There were an awful lot of people during the week shouting about it. It’s when we play our short, running game… the first 15 minutes is an example of that. When we did it, we carved them open. My biggest problem is that we went away from that. Maybe the players were listening to the press too much.” 

Dowling’s Cork counterpart Paudie Murray doesn’t subscribe to the theory that his team should adopt a more direct style of play.

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