NOBODY — and I do mean nobody — saw Dublin beating Limerick.
I’ve been going to hurling matches since 1952 and I can’t think of a bigger upset.
Limerick were 1-25 to win. To pull off what Dublin did — down to 14 men after 15 minutes following the dismissal of their captain Chris Crummey — was incredible.
Now, can they repeat the dose against Cork today?
Of course they can. It would be fantastic for the GAA if Dublin could follow up what they did at Croke Park two weeks ago.
But what they did to Limerick was not there against Galway and it was not there against Kilkenny in the Leinster round robin.
In the last 70-plus years, I’ve never seen anything like that from any team, in how they upped their game as much as Dublin did — particularly with a numerical disadvantage — against the hurling powerhouse that Limerick have been for the last eight years.
This is Dublin’s first semi-final appearance since 2013.
Rebels chief Pat Ryan has been forewarned but Cork are Cork, with all the history behind them.
After a 20-year drought, the Leesiders are badly in need of an All-Ireland title — but Cork come with a health warning.
Having led by seven points early on in last year’s decider, Clare pulled level with 20 minutes to go.
Then Tony Kelly turned the game. The Ballyea star and Shane O’Donnell stepped up and the Banner ran out 3-29 to 1-34 winners after extra-time.
What was worrying for Cork was that Séamus Harnedy, who had turned 34 four days earlier, was their best forward. And a hamstring injury rules him out today.
Alan Connolly and Shane Barrett really disappointed me against the Banner, though defenders Niall O’Leary and Seán O’Donoghue were outstanding until Kelly and O’Donnell took over.
From the Dublin starting team against Limerick, there were no huge names apart from Conor Burke and Chris Crummey — and Crummey is suspended today.
I must admit I didn’t know much about Seán Brennan but the Dublin keeper was superb against Limerick, saving his side several times.
Wouldn’t it be amazing to see a genuine Dublin hurling revival?
For a county with a population of more than a million to be waiting since 1938 for an All-Ireland title, it would be wonderful for the GAA if Dublin could take advantage of the decline of provincial rivals Wexford and Galway.
Niall Ó Ceallacháin’s men are big underdogs again today of course.
Still, the Rebels are not a team you’d be putting your house on — but I just think Cork being Cork, they’ll do enough to get over the line and back to the final.
PRESSURE GAME
As for tomorrow, all of the pressure is on Kilkenny boss Derek Lyng against Tipperary.
This fixture has so much history. It takes me back to the 1967 All-Ireland final. Kilkenny had been hurt by Tipp in the decider three years earlier but on this day they beat us.
The Cats lost the 1999 final against Cork but then came with one of the greatest teams ever.
But Tipperary still deprived them of another couple of All-Irelands. They were odds-on to win the five-in-a-row in 2010 and Tipp killed that off with Lar Corbett’s hat-trick.
The Cats had been lucky to beat the Premier in 2009 when Henry Shefflin was awarded a controversial penalty that decided the game.
The thing that worries me about Tipp is the performances of the forwards in the All-Ireland quarter-final against Galway.
Don’t get me wrong, 1-28 was a nice return, but they left a lot more behind them against a poor side.
I asked a former Galway player — who I won’t name — to rate the two teams. He rated Galway at 2/10 and Tipp 5/10. That didn’t sound too encouraging about a team going into an All-Ireland semi-final.
Nevertheless, when it comes to Tipp and Kilkenny, anything can happen.
The Kilkenny full-back line are probably as good as you’ll get at the moment. Huw Lawlor and Mikey Butler are exceptional players.
We’ve had some great performances since that sobering defeat against Cork in the league final.
Fair dues to Liam Cahill — it says a lot when the Tipp public are happy. But I’d be a bit worried now that Kilkenny are back at full strength, with Eoin Cody back in the team following a leg injury, having missed four games.
TJ Reid is basically just walking around in some matches but his experience is just so valuable.
This is a young Tipp team, an awful lot of whom have no Championship experience at Croke Park.
The county’s last game there was the 2019 final. Ronan Maher, Michael Breen, Séamus Kennedy, Willie Connors, Jake Morris, Jason Forde and John and Noel McGrath have been here before but the rest have not.
Six years is a long time away from HQ and Kilkenny have been there every year, winning six Leinsters in a row and playing in six consecutive semi-finals, not to mention the 2022 and 2023 deciders.
This is so new for a lot of these Tipp youngsters and that’s an awful lot of pressure.
I don’t want to be accused of knocking people — a la Kerry’s Jack O’Connor calling out former players last week.
I have huge admiration for what Cahill has done with these players on this journey. He had stated that patience was key and he has them back playing good hurling and playing with confidence.
But this is a huge game at Croker against a team who have been in every semi-final at least since 2019.
ON THE DEFENSIVE
The Kilkenny full-back line are probably as good as you’ll get at the moment. Huw Lawlor and Mikey Butler are exceptional players.
In terms of Tipp’s defence, I’d worry about them keeping Cody, Mossy Keoghan and TJ Reid quiet.
From Tipp’s perspective, all we’ve been looking for is good performances from Cahilll’s team with the back-up of the All-Ireland Under-20 success and the minors coming through.
The signs are good for Tipperary, and a strong performance would keep everyone happy. But that experience Kilkenny have at Croke Park is why I think they’ll shade it.
Hopefully it’s another epic chapter in the wonderful history between both counties.
