IT was one of the images of the 2010 championship.

FROM the time Ballyhale Shamrocks made the breakthrough in the 1970s, the Fennelly name has become synonymous with Kilkenny hurling.

IT would happen, wouldn’t it? This being the opening game of the 2011 Allianz Hurling League and thus the first official appearance of Tipperary since their All-Ireland triumph last September, the draw drum was kind enough to pair the Premier men with Kilkenny – their victims in that match.