I’M DOWN in Cork for a few days this week, took in a game, a senior hurling relegation match between Midleton and Carrigtwohill. It was a replay, went to extra-time, and all I can say is this – if I see anything tomorrow in Croke Park like I saw in Castlemartyr, the quality of the hurling, the play, the players, I’ll be a happy man. I met a man on the way out, and typical Cork, he thinks I won’t — “Hey boy,” he said to me, “you won’t see anything like that on Sunday.”

IN all the years I’ve been doing this column, the one major disappointment for me is that I’ve never been in a position to analyse a big win for Clare.

I WAS down around the square in Thurles yesterday, and five or six Dublin lads passed me talking loudly.

GOING through the records, we have two very unusual situations tomorrow in Thurles, two games in which two teams have never beaten their opposition in championship – I’m talking about Galway and Dublin.

I WAS talking to four fairly shrewd Corkmen in the press box before throw-in against Galway on Saturday evening and asked them who they thought would win.

I’M going to start this analysis not with the senior final – by which I wasn’t at all impressed, and more on that later – but with the minor game.

BEFORE we get into the match analysis, I thought it was nice light touch by the announcer at the end of proceedings in Croke Park yesterday, when he thanked the Kilkenny supporters for staying off the pitch.

THE TWO games I saw this weekend – Tullamore on Saturday and Tipperary against Clare in Limerick yesterday – have restored my faith in hurling.

COMING into Tullamore on Saturday, you knew something special was going to happen; there was magic in the air.

OVER the last few months I feel there’s been a lot of begrudgery directed towards this Kilkenny team and their fantastic achievements, growing criticism over their style of play and so on.