A week is long time in politics and it certainly was for the Galway hurlers, too.
They showed ten changes from the side that lost to Tipperary the week previous and with that we witnessed a new energy and life to their performance that was epitomised by the brilliance of Gavin Lee at centre-back.
The most impressive thing for me about them was the response they showed in Nowlan Park - of all places - after Kilkenny took themfor 1-06 without reply to go from eight down to one up.
That showed great resolve and grit and I'm sure it would have put a smile on Micheál O’Donoghue's face as he headed back west on Sunday night.
There is talent there, it’s just a matter of tapping into it now.
Elsewhere, we got what we have come to expect down in Páirc Uí Chaoimh from Limerick and Cork: 11 yellow cards - two for those on the sideline - lots of bite and intensity, jerseys ripped and this only a league game! It set things up for later in the year very nicely.
Tipp got the job done against a Wexford team who made a big improvement on their first outing against Cork. For Tipp it was mighty to see Seamus Kennedy back starting in the blue and gold; a great weekend all round for them with Thurles CBS becoming the third Tipp school in a row to win the famed Harty Cup, while Clonmel High School won the Munster B schools title. Nice business done for the Premier County.
But the story of the weekend for me was in Dr Cullen Park, where Carlow defeated Waterford for the first time in their history.
It was a deserved win for Carlow, who started well, absorbed the pressure thrown at them by Waterford and then went on to finish the game strongly. Chris Nolan was the hero with his haul of 2-03, but Carlow are not defined by any one player and that is what is making them so competitive now against the top-tier teams.
Marty Kavanagh and his accuracy from dead balls was crucial, Kevin McDonald chipping in with a score from centre-back, James Doyle with two points from midfield, and the impact of their subs bench in the form of Paddy Boland and Jon Nolan, who scored three points after being introduced.
The days of moral victories are gone now for this group and their manager Tom Mullally.
May 11, 2024 is a date that probably won’t resonate with a lot of people, but for Carlow hurlers and their followers it is one they will remember forever as one of the greatest days in Carlow’s history when they drew with Kilkenny in the Leinster Hurling Championship.
That night I was down in Cork on radio duty to witness one of the greatest sporting events I have ever been to when the Rebel County beat Limerick in a thriller in the Páirc, but the talk afterwards was of this result from Carlow.
The victory on Sunday backs up that result and is further proof that Carlow hurling is heading in the right direction.
Granted, Waterford were without a lot of first-team players, but Carlow could only play what was in front of them. They made history for their county with that performance.
The man steering the ship comes from a place where winning is quite simply expected.
Mullally from Glenmore in Kilkenny is a serial winner. He has guided Clara to the county championship in Kilkenny. He won the Leinster Club championship with Mount Leinster Rangers in 2013 when they defeated Oulart-The Ballagh and he guided them to the All-Ireland Club final where they lost to Portumna.
He was also involved with the Wexford Under-21s in 2018, guiding them to the Leinster final against Galway.
He has done fantastic work with this Carlow group and I am sure he will be the first to say he is continuing on the great work done by Colm Bonnar before him.
Mullally is installing a belief that he was reared on; telling his players they are good enough and they can mix it with anyone on their day.
To believe you can do it is one thing but to go out and perform is another and Carlow have done that. Teams are no longer taking it for granted when they see the fixture of Carlow in Dr Cullen Park. They know it will be a serious battle right to the end, so that surprise or shock performance element is gone now for Carlow and now they have that respect from other teams.
Now they must continue to back that up with a consistent level of performance regardless of the opposition or venue. That is not a pressure but rather a privilege and shows where this current group of hurlers from Carlow are at on the hurling stage.
The one word you always hear when mentioning hurling in Carlow is 'passion'. For them to be to competitive with top teams is an even greater feat when you consider they have just six senior club hurling teams in the county.
Hurling in Carlow is also mainly focused in the south of the county. But the passion they have and the geography of the county has allowed them to delve into other strongholds over the years for experience.
Examples of this are their club teams playing in the Kilkenny league to get an exposure to quality games and sides outside of their county. Many of these Carlow hurlers will have gone to school with Wexford and Kilkenny lads and seen up close how they train, learning first hand from seeing these guys day in, day out just what it takes to perform at the top level.
You marry all this exposure to top-level hurling from other places with that passion and then throw in a manager who can guide them on the path to success and it makes for a winning recipe.
Success is relative and for Carlow they must aim high, so why not target a top-three finish in the league and use that momentum to drive them on for the Joe McDonagh Cup and get back up to the Liam MacCarthy?
'Carlow rising' was a phrase associated with the county's footballers back in 2018. Perhaps the baton has now been passed to their hurlers to stir the emotions of the county’s supporters and get them believing what Mullally and his players do about hurling in Carlow; that it is rising and that people need to get behind the group and drive them on.
Watch Wexford v Kilkenny in the Allianz Hurling League on Saturday from 5pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch Allianz League Sunday from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on all matches on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to updates from around the country on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
