Given my Clare loyalty and my Limerick connections to their underage Academy, I stole into Thurles yesterday like a thief in the night; head down, baseball cap pulled tightly down over my eyes, plain clothes, biro and notepad in my hand.

Clare have only won one game in Munster since 2008. It hasn’t been good enough, writes Anthony Daly.

When I was coming out of Tullamore yesterday, I ran into a few Dublin supporters. The disappointment and frustration was visible on their faces.

On Wednesday night I took out a pen and paper and wrote down an alternative Dublin team to the one that is selected for tomorrow in Tullamore.

On my first year on the Clare panel in 1989, we had five-weeks with the clubs after the league finished, writes Anthony Daly.

On the way home from the Gaelic Grounds yesterday, I was snaking my way out the Ennis Road in my car when I saw Conor Hayes at the side of the road.

After Clare were well beaten by Cork in the 1998 league semi-final in Thurles, myself, Fergie Tuohy, and ‘Sparrow’ O’Loughlin went back to Powers in Clarecastle.

There is everything to play for now but you’ll probably be able to tell from the warm-ups in Nowlan Park and the Gaelic Grounds who is up for this the most, writes Anthony Daly.