IT’S time for hurling to steal our hearts again.
Football has been getting all the love after another gripping weekend of big-ball action but now it’s back to the clash of the ash.
Ahead of the All-Ireland semi-finals the numbers game is fascinating. Many feel Liam MacCarthy is Cork’s to lose but the Dubs will have other ideas after pulling off the mother of all shocks against Limerick.
The Sky Blues haven’t beaten the Rebels in the Championship in 98 years — since they won the 1927 All-Ireland final — and haven’t reached the decider since 1961.
Kilkenny and Tipperary do battle on Sunday. These two are steeped in hurling history, even if they haven’t met in the Championship since the Premier won the 2019 decider.
Cork have never played great rivals Tipp in an All-Ireland final. All-time Championship top scorer Patrick Horgan has registered 3-42 this season.
His nearest challenger on the overall list, Kilkenny’s TJ Reid, has clocked up 5-26.
Tipp have been waiting six years for glory, Kilkenny have had a decade of drought.
Liam has not resided on Leeside in 20 years and Dublin have not been champions in 87 years.
A famine will end and the Rebels are best poised to pounce.
Meanwhile, a few of them in Kerry must have read the column last week.
Yours truly roared that David Clifford needed help in attack or the summer would be over in the Kingdom.
And Seánie O’Shea stepped up with one of the all-time great Croke Park displays, scoring just the dozen points.
Clifford scored 0-7 mind you, but was just one of nine Kerrymen to raise flags in a devastating second half of football.
Doubters? Jack O’Connor’s men silenced them all with 0-14 in 15 minutes to KO the All-Ireland champions.
A few of the small-ball counties must have picked us up as well.
I had a moan last week about how none of the All-Ireland SHC semi- finalists had opened their doors to the media.
Dublin did not play ball — which is a shame ahead of their first last-four appearance since 2013.
But Cork, Tipperary and Kilkenny welcomed us with open arms.
As Frasier Crane would say, thanks for listening.
