Cork and Waterford. The curtain-raiser tomorrow where a few years back it would have been the feature event.

AND we thought last Sunday was dramatic!

HE never went away, you know.

NO recriminations or no excuses,” said Galway manager John McIntyre after this All-Ireland quarter-final loss in Semple Stadium yesterday.

WATERFORD’S big confrontation against Galway came down to the final five minutes and the turning point was the introduction of Big Dan Shanahan.

Waterford 1-16 Galway 0-18

HE WAS in posh surroundings recently, was Waterford’s Dan Shanahan, in the lap of luxury as the Munster senior hurling championship was given an impressive and formal lift-off.

MANY Cork fans are angry about the role – and we do mean ‘role’, as in Hollywood films – of Kerry’s Aidan O’Mahony in getting Cork’s Donnacha O’Connor red carded on Sunday. Kerry ‘great’ Dara Ó Sé is criticised for his analysis of the incident on RTÉ’s ‘The Sunday Game’.

I HOPE hurling fans are aware that we are witnessing one of the all-time great teams in action.

A FEW words pertaining to last week’s piece, before we get into the meat of the 2004 hurling Allstars.

DAN SHANAHAN, Waterford’s sensational scoring machine, has the potential to become a truly great hurler.