It has been the case of Dublin first, the rest nowhere, in Leinster for a long time now.

“It’s such a hard blow. It was an incredible act of bravery – one of the bravest acts I’ve ever seen – and it stopped a Carlow attack when they were driving on looking for a goal to level the game.”

Laois 2-12 Limerick 0-9: Gary Walsh hit 1-6 and set up Paul Kingston for a 70th-minute goal as Laois got the John Sugrue reign off to the perfect start with a nine-point victory over Limerick.