Former Limerick All-Star Seamus Hickey has claimed it was ‘short-sighted’ of the GAA not to have seriously considered introducing video technology to assist referees. Hickey’s Limerick were on the wrong end of arguably the biggest mistake all season when a ‘65 to potentially level their All-Ireland semi-final against Kilkenny wasn’t awarded.

Cian Lynch supports the Limerick County Board’s call for video technology to be used in inter-county games where possible.

Sending offs can have major influences on a game.

One county is ecstatic this morning and one despairing, as is always the case after an All-Ireland final.

In the Father Ted episode where a bomb was planted on Dougal’s milk float, two fellow priests and a tense Ted were involved in a major planning session.

As anticipated, Kilkenny have drafted in Cillian Buckley for Richie Leahy for tomorrow’s All-Ireland SHC final.

Reigning Hurler of the Year Cian Lynch has admitted he was ‘distraught’ following the incorrect decision not to award Limerick a late ‘65 in their defeat to Kilkenny.

The Limerick County Board have registered their disappointment and frustration with Croke Park about how they were denied a 65 in the penultimate play of Saturday’s All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Kilkenny.

The GAA’s newly-appointed national match officials manager is open to the idea of more technology being used to assist referees, but has questioned just how far it can go.

Having been nine points adrift as early as the 17th minute, Limerick would have given their right arm if offered there and then a 1-12 to 1-9 interval scoreline.

There’s no value in told-you-so’s and there’s no satisfaction in them either but what happened yesterday was in the offing.

Limerick manager John Kiely said he knew straight away that Darragh O’Donovan’s late sideline had taken a deflection off Cillian Buckley’s hurl, but did not criticise the match officials for failing to award a ‘65.

John Fogarty Tipperary boss Liam Sheedy has drafted in Barry Heffernan and Michael Breen to give his team a more physical edge in tomorrow’s All-Ireland semi-final against Wexford.

In the sporting realm, it’s obvious, but often under-appreciated in business is the maxim that you can’t get anything done without a team.

In the NFL, the quarterback is always looking at the match-ups. He scans the backfield for a mismatch. Tom Brady, who drove the Patriots to another Super Bowl win this year, is renowned for it. The New England win back in early February was greatly influenced by two mismatches on coverage on Rob Gronkowski.

There has been no wielding of the axe by the Clare management in the wake of last weekend’s 13-point hammering at the hands of Tipperary, with the team named for tomorrow’s game against Limerick showing just one change in personnel.

This week on Dalo’s Hurling Podcast, Derek McGrath and Ger Cunningham talked Waterford’s psyche, Tipp’s flexibility, Limerick’s big calls, and Galway’s need for a performance.

Castlelyons’ Niall O’Leary is the new face in the named Cork team to take on Tipperary in Sunday’s Munster SHC Round 1 clash as John Meyler goes with 13 of the team that were defeated by Limerick in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final.

In his 21 seasons as Kilkenny manager, Brian Cody is not sure if there has ever been a more even and finely balanced hurling championship.

When Henry Shefflin talked up Limerick’s All-Ireland credentials earlier this week, he kept referencing the spine of their team.

The Cats are already set to be without Cillian Buckley and James Maher against Dublin.

That Tipperary have only one league win from three outings is not a concern for Liam Sheedy.

When we won the All-Ireland with Clare in 1995, the following year’s league kicked off that October. The celebrations obviously took their toll early in the campaign. We lost our first match to Kerry but the bank of fitness we’d built up stood to us as October segued into November. We went up to Birr and put on an exhibition against Offaly in our last match before the winter-break.

The exact odds differ between bookmakers, but all are in general agreement that Kilkenny are fifth favourites for the 2019 All-Ireland hurling title.

Kilkenny have had little time to recover and re-energise since last Sunday. Fatigue will be a factor this weekend and it will be easier to defend a lead rather than chase a deficit in the finishing stretch.  

Brian Cody took a seat in front of the media, after Kilkenny’s Leinster final stalemate with Galway, and planted his tongue in his cheek.

A stunning second-half comeback by Kilkenny this evening saw them exact revenge on Wexford for last year’s Leinster semi-final defeat.

Galway 1-22 Kilkenny 2-11

Cork captain Seamus Harnedy says it’s “on to the next assignment” for him and his team-mates after Sunday’s Munster SHC win over Clare.

I came in for a bit of criticism during the week about Offaly football matters, which I’ll come back to shortly, but I’m never going to shy away from calling it like I see it. At referees seminars, I would have been known for speaking my mind, whether I was right or wrong, and it’s an attitude I’ll be sticking to here, writes Brian Gavin.

Henry Shefflin enjoyed a winning start to life in management as Ballyhale Shamrocks blitzed their way to the points in the Kilkenny senior hurling league.

The Allianz Hurling League concluded yesterday with a resurgent Kilkenny upsetting the odds against favourites Tipperary, writes Donal O’Grady.

Brian Cody has been able to take a break from the psychological manipulation, because Kilkenny, for the time being, are underdogs, writes Larry Ryan

Damien Young may not be a recognisable face in the Tipperary management but the performance analyst and sports studies lecturer is playing a crucial role in how Michael Ryan’s team goes about its business in training and on gamedays, writes Kieran Shannon

Kilkenny captain Cillian Buckley has admitted his team are getting to grips with their new style of play which places more emphasis on ball retention.

Brendan Maher may have handed over the Tipperary captaincy to Pádraic Maher last year but if the 2016 All-Ireland winning skipper gives the pre-match speech on Sunday it won’t come as any surprise.

Relax. We won’t say ‘they haven’t gone away’. We won’t inflict ‘write Kilkenny off at your peril’. We promise to stay away from talk of nine lives.

For years I spent so long trying to take down Kilkenny lads that I am now spending so much time alongside in TV studios, writes Anthony Daly.

After this game in Walsh Park Waterford manager Derek McGrath, who’d just seen his side beaten well by Kilkenny, was asked if the Cats had done a Waterford on Waterford.

With the third round of the Allianz Hurling League taking place this weekend, Enda McEvoy eyes eight mid-term trends worth keeping a weather eye on...

 Kilkenny 1-18 Clare 2-18... Deep in injury time there occurred arguably the most noteworthy event of a first half full of noteworthy events. Kilkenny scored their first point from play of the afternoon.

Cork 1-24 Kilkenny 0-24: This first NHL game - under lights - in the redeveloped Pairc Ui Chaoimh saw Cork drive to a thrilling win in front of 16,180 spectators.

Beyond the Christmas pudding, every intercounty hurling team now faces a fresh season and fresh challenges. What new year resolutions do they need to make?

The word from Kilkenny is that all leave has been cancelled.