KILLINAN END - The cream rose to the top in 2023

Looking back on the year that was you wonder for the most part what was the point of it all. Little changed in hurling as Limerick beat Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final as with last year. Kilkenny beat a Clare team that had seriously put it up to Limerick. Kilkenny again failed to beat Galway in the round-robin and again Galway snatched defeat away from the same opposition in the Leinster Final. Same as it ever way in recent years anyway.

The big story of the year was of course Limerick winning a fourth consecutive All-Ireland hurling title. The manner in which they demolished Kilkenny in the League Final and later in the All-Ireland Final put to bed any notion that was out there about the 2022 All-Ireland Final. Kilkenny hung in there that day but when the real pressure moments were in question Limerick were the ones with all the answers. And that was a team without Cian Lynch, the playmaker supreme for this team. In 2023 they did it without Declan Hannon. The second-half scoreline of 0-21 to 1-6 beggared belief. Did Kilkenny ever expect a day would come when they’d concede 21 scores in one half of an All-Ireland final?

Can they win the fifth? Most certainly yes must be the answer to that. Indeed, judging by the final, they seem in a stronger place relative to other teams than Kilkenny were at the start of the 2010 campaign. In 2009 Kilkenny got lots of it from Tipp in the final and a rematch was always likely to be a close-run thing. On the face of it Kilkenny may be declining rather than improving in the next few years though will surely be at least in a semi-final again. Galway remain an unconvincing conundrum. Quite what they have achieved under Shefflin is difficult to discern. Certainly, the second-half of the Leinster Final was that of a team that has potential but the ability to lose it in the end having been eight points up implies the old failings remain.

Galway’s subsequent outings against Tipperary and Limerick suggested they are a long way off the pace in the context of the consistency to unseat Limerick. Another myth buried unceremoniously by Limerick in the semi-final was that Galway were somehow capable of beating them based on a few relatively close games in recent years. But Galway had been beyond ordinary in the quarter-final against Tipperary and nearly handed it away at the end against a team that itself looked lost. Had the opposition been clad in Black and Amber Galway no doubt would have found a way to lose.

Clare will have enough to do to get out of Munster next year. They travel to Thurles and Cork and no matter where they play Limerick, they will earn anything from that. No guarantees of anything. Cork, in the view of many, were unlucky last year though they themselves were fortunate to get a draw from the Tipperary game. They are still capable of losing a few games narrowly in the province. However, if they get beyond that – remember they beat Kilkenny in the 2021 semi-final? They’d hardly see much outside the province to unduly worry them but getting there is the challenge.

Waterford and Tipperary remain in the realms of mystery. It is hard to imagine the Déise having the form for a long championship run. They have no game that could be considered a probable win even allowing for their current run on Tipperary in competitive fixtures. Then there’s Limerick who’ll have Cork and Clare away – perhaps the two most difficult away games for them given their experience of Thurles. If Limerick fall short, you suspect it might be in the province. They are imperious in Croke Park with a full team to call upon, but you would not bet against them getting back there again. Not only did they win four All-Irelands consecutively but won a record-equalling five-in-a-row in Munster. There are no superlatives too strong for their achievements.

On the subject of fantastic achievements who thought the day would come when Kerry’s famous five – Páidí Ó Sé, Mikey Sheehy, Pat Spillane, Ogie Moran, and Ger Power – would be surpassed for All-Ireland medals. Certainly, as Stephen Cluxton celebrated his 29th birthday he must have been thinking along the lines of the Saw Doctors “to win just once would be enough”. What has happened since has been extraordinary. Three players – Cluxton, James McCarthy and Mick Fitzsimons - now stand apart with a record nine All-Ireland medals. Time was when you could count on the fingers of one hand the people outside Kerry who had four – Mattie McDonagh, Brian Mullins, Anton O’Toole come to mind. History will be very kind to these Dubs when the music has stopped, and they comb the grey hair.