'Limerick hurling is just as good as it is in any of the other counties. It’s just a case of having the belief, heart, the hurling, the commitment and the will to win. We have all those now and we’ll be hard to beat from here on.' A defiant Richie Bennis praises the virtues of hurling in the county after his side's epic victory over Tipperary in the Munster SHC semi-final, a win that was almost four hours in the making.
'We would have taken a five-point victory at training on Thursday night. It was a fairly poor performance overall if you were rating it but it leaves us with areas to improve on. That’s for the next three weeks.' Dublin football manager Paul Caffrey admits there is plenty to work on following his side's unconvincing win over Offaly in the Leinster SFC semi-final.
'It is agreed by Árd-Chomhairle that no system of discipline can be administered satisfactorily unless there is a universal acceptance that indiscipline cannot be tolerated. There must be a change of culture and mindset in terms of respect for authority, for the game's officials, rules , procedures and structures.' One of the key principles contained in the statement issued by the GAA at Saturday's meeting of the Central Council.
'0-17 is a good score, especially when we didn't play that well, but weren't good at the back and we're normally good there. So there are a lot of things for us to get right for the final. We wouldn't have been happy the way we played overall.' Galway manager Peter Ford admits he was disappointed with his side's performance despite their eventual four point win over Leitrim.
'We’re very proud of them, proud of them as a bunch of amateurs, the way they kept at it. It’s a credit to both teams, the entertainment they served up today. We’re after playing in an epic three games, and to lose the way we did – very, very disappointing.' Tipperary manager Babs Keating lauds the efforts oh his players after the narrow defeat to Limerick.
'The best side won. At the end of the day, if you don't take your chances against a quality team like Galway then you are going to be punished. The only thing about the Galway team is that they kicked very few wides and any time they got a chance they scored. We had to use up many more chances before we got one score.' Leitrim manager Dessie Dolan reflects on a missed opportunity to lead his men to a Connacht final.
'Today, they gave their lives for 73 minutes, maybe close to dying on the field for us. That's what we looked for. This is hard work, hard labour, a group of fellas who have given their lives to Monaghan football for the last three years. People don't really know what it takes to be an inter-county footballer, the time away from families, wives, girlfriends.' Monaghan manager Seamus McEneaney praises the commitment of his players, who steered the county to their first Ulster final appearance since 1988.
'Yet again we had a game that swung back and forth with unbelievable excitement, probably four different games in one.' Former Tipp great Nicky English describes the third instalment of the Limerick v Tipperary trilogy in Monday's Irish Times.
'We were completely run off the park, didn't turn up, that's to say the least. Monaghan were the hungrier, more committed side, we never got a breaking ball in the middle of the park. If you don't win the dirty ball you can't feed forwards.' Derry manager Paddy Crozier highlights some of the reasons for his team's Ulster SFC semi-final defeat to Monaghan.
'They are very workmanlike and what they have now is a solid look about them. But I would be worried for Dublin that they still tend to disappear from a game.' Offaly manager Pat Roe believes Dublin have much to do if they are to challenge for Sam this year.
