Tadhg Kennelly says none of his 10 seasons with the Sydney Swans compared to the pressure of playing for Kerry in 2009.

You know the rivalry-but-not-actually a rivalry that exists, or did exist, between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova?

In the previous decade, both times I was collared for penalty points happened on the way to meeting the Ó Sés. 

Last week, Tommy Walsh picked up his phone and scrolled down through his phonebook looking for Éamonn Fitzmaurice’s number.

Eoin Kelly insists comments he made during his 2010 All-Ireland winning captain’s acceptance speech were not aimed at former Tipperary manager Babs Keating.

Confess it: when Dónal Óg Cusack criticised the decision to award Limerick a goal against Westmeath this summer you couldn’t have agreed more. Neither could we.

Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final between Kilkenny and Waterford followed a template we’ve become familiar with this season: A great deal of anticipation followed closely by a vague sense of disappointment.

Amid the mix of those who played last year and the new faces aiming to impress manager Brian Cuthbert, the Cork side which beat Mary Immaculate College on Sunday had one notable returnee.

McGrath Cup: Cork 7-20 Mary I 0-4

Eoin Kelly remembers his last point for Tipperary. A summer Saturday evening in O’Moore Park against Offaly in the 2014 qualifiers and the number 20 on his back.

Eamon O’Shea reduces the challenge of preparing a team for an All-Ireland final to its basics.

The siege mentality, it’s a must wear this season. Pat Horgan had one after the Clare game when he spoke of the new penalty regulation.

Cork, it can be said, have better rapport with other Munster counties. The same for Tipperary as much as geography means every game is a rivalry. This particular relationship on Sunday thrives on lashings of respect but a smattering of contempt too.

I imagine you turn to these pages out of weariness and disgust with much of what appears earlier in the newspaper. As in the confirmation of the banana-ness of this particular republic with such spectacular own goals such as missing files in the Department of Finance, the kind of hapless cock-up quite at odds with the notion promoted by that same Department of its own expertise...

“Until the countdown to an event we are obliged to adhere to social conditioning even to the extent of chatting to the timekeeper, officials or other riders.

This time it won’t quite feel like walking on eggshells with Roy around.

Shortly after the closure of The Sunday Tribune, I was asked to contribute a couple of articles to a book celebrating the best of writing from the staff that were there to the end.

He’s talking like an old pro now.

JACK O’Connor and Brian Cody were chatting in the function room of the 2009 All Stars when a conversation across the room caught their eye.

In late 2012, Kilkenny camogie chiefs had a big decision to make.

Galvin, Gooch and ...? Kerry’s No 12 jersey has bounced around in recent years, andno-one’s been bounced around more than Donnchadh Walsh.

At the London Olympics last year I could see that John Joe Nevin didn’t want to do an interview after losing his gold medal bout.

Dr Crokes’ lead midfielder knows that there’s more than tomorrow’s Kerry SFC final opponents, Dingle, keeping an eye on him as he heads into what he calls his “breakthrough season” in 2013.He spoke to Tony Leen

By the dawn of spring, Mario would either be long gone or be breaking his back foraging for ball out around wing-forward

Eamonn Fitzmaurice doesn’t do public rage. In fact, he’s impossibly and unfailingly polite.

There’s no need to go into contortions about Limerick’s prospects.

Kieran Donaghy has been omitted from the Kerry team for Sunday’s Munster SFC quarter-final against Tipperary, partly due to a breach of discipline.

Three factors that could decide tomorrow’s Allianz Hurling League final

Last Friday night on The Late Late Show, Eamon Dunphy was asked his opinion on the scenes witnessed at the Dromid Pearses v Derrytresk game.

ULSTER Council delegate Pat Darcy has warned other counties to stop pointing the finger of blame at his native Tyrone, and the province, following the violence that marred Sunday’s All-Ireland Club JFC semi-final.

Goalkeeper PJ Ryan has become the latest Kilkenny player to retire from the inter-county hurling scene, joining James 'Cha' Fitzpatrick and Eddie Brennan who both bowed out in recent weeks.

LAR CORBETT admits the Tipperary players may have allowed the pre-All-Ireland final hype in the county to seep into the camp before last September’s defeat to Kilkenny.

KERRY might beat Dublin, but the occasion won’t.

KERRY are the masters of synergy. Aside from the fact they are an extremely athletic and talented bunch of players, the sum of their parts has always been greater than the individuals. They are the most studied team in the country.

JACK O’CONNOR has named the same side that beat Mayo for Sunday’s All-Ireland final against Dublin, in doing so seemingly keeping faith with Donnchadh Walsh over the temptation to recall Paul Galvin.

Tomorrow’s All-Ireland hurling final against Tipperary is a career challenge for Henry Shefflin - much like the one the Kilkenny talisman has had to overcome in the last 12 months.

IT’S the third year in-a-row we’ve had Tipperary-Kilkenny in the All-Ireland hurling final – is it all getting a bit stale?

NICHOLAS MURPHY, Tomás Ó Sé and Paul Galvin are all set to start from the off in Sunday’s All-Ireland SFC quarter-final double-header in Croke Park after both Conor Counihan and Jack O’Connor named the experienced figures in their respective Cork and Kerry line-ups last night.

BRIAN WILMOT will be the standard bearer for Munster bowling in next weekend’s All-Ireland series on the Derrinasafa Road in Dunmanway.

HURLING referees haven’t exactly swallowed their whistles but Lar Corbett has noticed their willingness to let the game flow more — and he’s hoping for more of the same from Brian Gavin on Sunday.

IN THE way of these GAA things, Killarney’s street corners and snugs were more concerned with the repercussions of defeat more than the rewards of victory.