Good morning Hurling Nation.
A big weekend with three important games. The Munster final throws in tomorrow. Yes, a Munster final, at tea-time on a Saturday evening in early June. That will always feel unnatural.
Anyway, and luckily, Cork and Limerick are a good story. The Treaty host the Rebels at the same venue they beat them by 16 points only 21 days ago.
Some have gone from wondering if Cork would canter to an All-Ireland, to now writing them off. Pat Ryan knows how quickly the mood changes, and often, nuair a chacann gé, cacann siad go léir.
He also knows that things aren't as dark as they are painted. For some reason, Cork were loose and disorganised three weeks ago in Limerick. At times they gave away space without Limerick having to demand it.
Five points down in three minutes, 15 points down by half-time, Limerick playing to settle the score after two losses to Cork last year and knowing a win would put Clare in deep trouble.
Desire isn’t always evenly shared, on that day it wasn’t even close. Nuair a chacann gé, cacann siad go léir (when one goose shits, they all shit).
To win tomorrow, Cork need to find energy and aggression from the throw-in. Marking cannot be Covid-style social distancing. Cian Lynch can’t be allowed to conduct the orchestra. There must be a way around the state-of-the-art surveillance and response unit that has Kyle Hayes at number six.
The Cork full-forward line needs to show and make it tell with goals. The middle third has to be a battlefield with fire coming from both trenches this time. Cork could do all that and still lose.
What’s been most impressive about Limerick this year is their continued growth. They have the experience. They have embedded new faces who have been on the panel for two or three years being readied for this.
They have the most comprehensive team of substitutes that we can remember a top team having and they have two brains working in one with Kiely and Kinnerk.
A good fight, Cork to narrow the gap. The heart even says Cork might eliminate that gap, but the head says a storied seven in a row for Limerick.
Sunday’s Leinster final doesn’t carry the same weight, but still, could be a serious contest.
After the limp showing against Kilkenny in the first round, Galway have grown into the championship since.
They weren’t bothered much by Offaly, Wexford and Antrim, and then went on to Parnell Park and beat Dublin convincingly, scoring 29 points into the bargain.
While Micheál Donoghue used 37 players in the national league, Kilkenny are more settled. A win on Sunday will give them a six-peat in Leinster, but won’t cut too much mustard in Kilkenny.
Derek Lyng knows an All-Ireland is the minimum requirement, but to be fair, he hasn’t the luxury of the raw materials that his predecessor had.
With an eye to the All-Ireland series, both sides would be as concerned with performance levels as much as winning the silver.
The stripey ones, narrowly.
Before the Leinster final, we have the Joe McDonagh Cup, a pairing that could only be more novel if the GAA had chosen to shoehorn New York hurlers in, like they did the Lory Meagher.
A few weeks back, Laois would have been the favourites here, but Kildare’s progress has been rapid. After a narrow first-round loss to Kerry, they beat the big guns of Carlow and Laois to get here.
The McDonagh Cup finals are invariably entertaining games. Hard to call this one, but we’ll go for the cup to be passing through the Curragh of Kildare on Sunday evening.
Sin é a chairde.
Two big days, enjoy them. The feast will finish soon enough.
Dónal Óg Cusack was speaking on Morning Ireland.
