When we were locked down in misery over the winter, it was the prospect of weekends like this that kept so many people going

Allowing John Conlon — who Waterford effectively allowed play as a sweeper — to play so much easy ball was crazy stuff

Whatever team Waterford name, they will fancy their chances. They will take a lot of confidence from the manner of last year’s All-Ireland quarter-final win, especially the way in how they streaked away from Clare in the last quarter. Waterford ended with 3-27 that afternoon. Anything close to that will be enough again

In 2017 and 2018, you could hand-pick Galway’s main leaders but the guys who are running this team now are the Mannion brothers, Conor Whelan, and Brian Concannon

There was bound to be an element of shadow boxing between teams who are set to meet in the championship, but you could see how much sides were ramping it up last weekend. That was evident in Salthill, Parnell Park and especially Corrigan Park.

There is more of a skill in trying to maximise your good hand, which is exactly what John Kiely did on Saturday evening. Did Kieran Kingston play the right cards? I don’t think so

When you’re not a traditional county, and you’re threatening to take over, it is far easier to develop that siege mentality, and to think that the traditionalists — and everyone else — want to see you taken down

No Wexford players were considered close contacts, while both Clare players were stood down from yesterday’s game against Laois as a precaution.

It’s much easier to be reflective in cold blood on the way home in the car

In co-commentating for RTÉ over the last two days, I often found myself trying to explain refereeing decisions to the listeners. At times, it’s hard to know what actually is a free now