Regrets, Clare have a few.
A season that saw them confirm their credentials by ending Limerick's long unbeaten run ended at the penultimate hurdle again yesterday.
It was far from the drubbing Kilkenny handed them last season but Sunday's 1-25 to 1-22 defeat to the Cats almost feels worse: in a game that was there for the taking, the Banner came from behind to lead but fell short down the finishing straight.
"Very disappointing," manager Brian Lohan told RTÉ Sport afterwards. "We have to go and analyse it, look at it and see if we can improve.
"I feel for our team. They found it hard to get breaks there.
"Kilkenny took their chances, they were very accurate and efficient in the use of the ball. They got scores from all over the field which is what they do and we suffered because of that. Best of luck to them now in the final."
Lohan was unhappy with some of referee Colm Lyons’ decisions – they had seven scoreable frees to the Cats’ 11, and his side were shown five yellow cards to just one for the winners. Lyons also seemed to prematurely end a Clare advantage before Mark Rodgers had the ball in the net.
"We didn’t seem to get a huge amount from the referee today," Lohan told RTÉ Sport. "Found it hard to get frees."
But ultimately, some of Clare’s biggest problems were self-inflicted. They hit almost twice as many wides as their opponents (9-5) and, despite having six more shots, converted just 54% (23/42) to Kilkenny’s 72% (26/36).
Seadna Morey played as a sweeper in the first half but their forwards looked isolated while Kilkenny's took their chances and went in 0-15 to 0-10 ahead at the break.
Lohan explained the thinking afterwards but also suggested the change in tactics hadn’t been implemented as he had intended.
"Last year, we felt we played the game on their terms. They had the extra defender back and we didn’t make use of the ball the way we might and left a huge amount of space.
"We didn’t want to be out of the game at half-time, conceding goals early on. And also, we didn’t want to push up on them, it’s hard enough defending their forwards. But to defend against that quality and that space, we just didn’t want to do that.
"We made a decision on that to go with the plus one, or the sweeper or whatever you want to call it and we went in, 15-10 at half time, so we were still in the game. Five points isn’t much in hurling. We changed it round, thought our players played really well in the second half.
"Disappointed in how we played in the first half, for sure. Very disappointed in how we played, how we attacked the ball. Disappointed in our shape, our structure and there were a number of things that made it easy, I suppose. There’s nothing easy out there but it makes it as easy as can be for their defenders. Richie Reid was hitting ball for fun. Just too easy for them and left our defenders with too difficult a job to do. Ball was too accurate going in, you need pressure on the strike."
Lohan brought on Ian Galvin for Morey at half-time and went 15 on 15. Clare looked a different team and immediately got on top, scoring nine of the next 11 points to take the lead by the 55th minute.
But then Billy Ryan dispossessed Rory Hayes as he tried to run out the ball and Eoin Cody fired home what Lohan called "a killer goal from our perspective".
"These things happen in hurling. It’s a tough game. A tough place to play out there and a tough to play against really good opponents."
The momentum had swung back Kilkenny’s way but Shane O’Donnell’s goal drew Clare level going down the home straight. Kilkenny pulled clear again though, Cody continuing to run his markers ragged, and one of the all-time great saves by Eoin Murphy denied Peter Duggan and Clare the chance of extra-time.
"Eoin Murphy always seems to produce those really, really good saves," marvelled Lohan, whose own goalkeeper Eibhear Quilligan also made super stops from TJ Reid and Eoin Cody.
"The standard of goalkeeping now, they’ve got so much pressure now with their puckout and their shot stopping as well. But some of these guys are just outstanding.
"A really good save from him. Unlucky from us, but it was kind of a half-chance for us. It was one of those that could have gone in, but we were a bit unlucky."
Four years into Lohan’s reign and despite the lack of silverware, it does feel like Clare are getting closer.
"It’s an absolute pleasure to be involved with them," he said of his players. "They give everything, every day they go out. I don’t know if it’s redeeming now but they’re tough guys, they work really hard. Disappointed with how they played in that first half but then they turned it around.
"They just work and work and work. They love playing for the county. Sometimes this game – you get what you deserve, you get rewarded for the work that you do. Sometimes you don’t. So I’m disappointed for them. But look, we’ll dust ourselves down and we’ll come back again."
Derek Lyng was relieved to have steered Kilkenny to an incredible 45th victory in 59 All-Ireland semi-final appearances.
"It was very edgy towards the end there," he admitted. "I just thought we did enough to get over the line. The first half, I think we were pretty much on control of the game but Clare came out in the second half and set up a little bit differently and asked more questions of us.
"We're just really happy with the way we responded because it looked like the momentum had swung towards Clare and I just think our lads settled it back down. Some of our key players came on and got our shape back, I think we'd lost our shape for a while there in the second half. But our work-rate all through was outstanding and that was ultimately maybe the difference in the end.
"Obviously Eoin (Cody, 1-05) was outstanding and he won really important balls in there, but the work-rate right throughout the team and the lads that came on made a huge contribution as well. TJ leads by example, he's doing it a long time and to see him hooking and blocking, Conor Fogarty the same, leading by example, they're fantastic players for Kilkenny over the years and still doing it, to be leading by example in terms of work-rate shows a lot about them."
Was he surprised by Clare playing a sweeper?
"A little bit. We haven't seen that this year with them. When we heard the change before the match, we had an idea that might be the case. I think we coped pretty well with it. We were in a strong position on the back of that at half-time. But they changed things around for the second half, got more of a run at us and posed more questions of us at that stage. We just saw it through and just managed it out."
"We're in the final now but we're not just happy with that"
Lyng won six All-Ireland SHC titles as a player and two as a selector with Brian Cody.
In his first season in charge he now has the chance to end Kilkenny’s eight-year wait for Liam MacCarthy, and deny Limerick the opportunity to equal the four-in-a-row mark he and his team-mates reached in 2009.
"It's a massive challenge," he said of facing the champions on 23 July. "They're a fantastic team, obviously going for the four-in-a-row and rightly so.
"They've been the form team for many years now, but that's the challenge that's ahead of us and we'll look forward to it.
"It's obviously been very satisfying this year. I've really enjoyed it. We have a great team, a squad of players and management team, and we enjoy it.
"Maybe the same as last year, I think we were kind of outside probably the bottom four to get to the final for most people. We're in the final now but we're not just happy with that. We want to go and perform now in two weeks."
