It took a while, says Conor O’Sullivan.

Last Saturday night, Clare’s All-Ireland winning captain Patrick Donnellan spoke of a magnificent unbreakable bond between this Clare team and their manager, Davy Fitzgerald.

Foolish pundits with space to fill in the aftermath of All-Ireland finals are frequently tempted to wax on about the likelihood of the new champions becoming a three-in-a-row team.

Jutting up against the misery of Cork’s defeat on Saturday was a glimmer of hope for Rebel exiles watching from afar in pubs at unforgivable hours, some serving drink much too early and some not serving at all.

Almost as coveted as a Celtic Cross, here are Michael Moynihan’s 2013 championship awards

Ahem. I have a new book out. My relentless quest for publicity is in full swing — check out @gaaconomics on Twitter — and I am afraid you are going to have to listen to me here.

TACTICAL TALKING POINTS

SATURDAY, Sept 28, 2013, is a day Clare people will remember forever. It was the day we saw boys become men before our eyes in Croke Park.

Just suspend disbelief for a moment and try visualising the following scenario, implausible though it may sound. Clare won this year’s All-Ireland all right, but they won it the first day.

Ger Loughnane said of him: “There are men, then there are men, then there’s Sean McMahon.” The totemic Doora-Barefield defender retains that innate honesty that inspired a generation of Banner hurlers. Now he wants the new wave of stars in the county to write a fresh chapter for Clare hurling.

So we’re all back in Croke Park for another day out. But Clare and Cork head there with a major worry — their defences.

PUCK OUTS

Once more with mixed feelings, then. It shouldn’t have come to this, and not because Brian Gavin was as liberal with his interpretation of the laws of added time three weeks ago as he usually is with his interpretation of the laws of the game.

The thorny subject of the economic realities for the GAA need to be addressed. My new book GAAconomics raises key issues about hurling — the cost, the progress, the snobbery and the urban areas that need careful tending.

Croke Park, September 3, 1995: Clare 1-13 Offaly 2-8.

Sadly, the passion and skill on the field isn’t matched by the promotion of tomorrow’s replay

THE All-Ireland champagne stays on ice, but the Chill bubbly can begin to flow.

Cork and Clare’s rivals will be keeping a close eye on events at Croke Park as they seek an edge for next year’s Championship

You wait 50 years for an All-Ireland hurling final draw... This is the second season in a row the big show has gone to a replay, but at least it means you have first-hand experience of preparing for a second day.

DR Liam Hennessy of Setanta College (inset) can draw on a lifetime of experience in preparing teams when considering how Cork and Clare might have readied themselves for combat in tomorrow night’s replay.

Carlow and Longford, all respect to them, would have been surprised as anybody else to be name-checked in an All-Ireland winning post-match press conference.

They have a name for it in Hollywood, of course, where there’s a name for everything: the non-recurring phenomenon.

The case for the defence rests.

Leaving Croke Park, I am laden with the strangest of feelings.

Five final questions. Stupid or not, their relevance will be decided tomorrow

If Mayo opt for a sweeper they will hand the initiative to Dublin.

Work yesterday, as it so often does in this business, involved a lot of footwork.

If Dublin win, Gavin’s spirit for adventure will be a cause for celebration.

Dublin have been a different animal this year. Mayo may take exception to that.

You couldn’t blame me for pining for Pana on Monday night.

Mayo’s 1993 All Star Kevin O’Neill expects the team will keep things tight in the hope of avoiding a repeat of early goal concessions in their last three All-Ireland finals.

There’s been a few mixed messages being bandied around by the Dublin camp this summer.

Jonny Cooper’s recollection of Dublin’s grand September day two years ago isn’t as sunny as some of his current colleagues.

This past weekend was spent in the company of a gaggle of St Brigid’s and St Jude’s members.

When we think of the joys and wonders of this joyous and wondrous hurling year, they aren’t confined to just the senior championship.

There’s been quite a debate about the proposed 5pm throw-in for the All-Ireland senior hurling final replay, and not just for the inconvenience.

How the hell did Antrim reach this All-Ireland final?