Not for the first time, an equine metaphor by way of setting the table.

New Kerry football manager Peter Keane had full autonomy in selecting his backroom team, Kerry county board chairman Tim Murphy has insisted.

Michael Fennelly never let on to his pal in Belfast, but when he stayed the night there recently he secretly slept on the floor.

Jackie Tyrrell tells a tale in his autobiography which hints at just how hard Brian Cody must be pushing his Kilkenny players right now.

To grasp just how novel this upcoming All-Ireland final will be, you need only look at the sideline and the profile of the two selectorial teams compared to who was there last year, writes Kieran Shannon.

Met the proverbial — and in this case corporeal — man in the street the day before the league quarter-finals. The man in the street in question is a keen punter, often to be espied going in and out of his local Ladbrokes.

The 11-time All-Ireland winning manager returns for a 19th campaign at the helm in Kilkenny. A few question remain...

Brian Cody will mark 19 years in charge of Kilkenny’s senior hurling team after he was confirmed as manager for 2017 following a meeting of the county board in Nowlan Park last night.

The frightening thing is they might just be starting out.

You wouldn’t dare say Brian Cody is getting softer now in his 17th year as Kilkenny manager but he would do well to argue he’s not more understanding.

There’s not a grey hair to be seen on Derek Lyng’s head. Five years have passed since the 37-year-old retired from Kilkenny but looking as trim as he was as a player and wearing a county tracksuit it’s hardly surprising people walking past in Langton’s Hotel are trying to place him in the squad.

Let us now praise Anthony Cunningham’s nous.

Alan Cadogan will not feature for the Cork senior footballers in 2015, having chosen to focus on hurling next season.

There is great news for Kilkenny fans this morning with confirmation that Brian Cody will stay on for a 17th season as Cats manager.

As expected, Brian Cody was last night reappointed for a 17th consecutive season in charge as Kilkenny senior hurling manager.

This tent, it seems, is pitched here forever.

The famine is over.

An All-Ireland final is a peak for any player, but like any peak worth reaching, it takes time to recover from the ascent. Ask Kilkenny selector Michael Dempsey.

The future visited Derek Lyng when he was in Limerick.

When Kilkenny get time to think about what they’re doing they’re better than anyone.

It’s hard to think of Tommy Walsh as a veteran, one of hurling’s old-stagers, yet as the Allianz Hurling League kicks off this weekend, a veteran he is.

The thought of stepping down from his role after last year’s All-Ireland SHC never crossed Kilkenny manager Brian Cody’s mind.

It is a safe assumption that Walter Walsh and Shane O’Donnell will never stand side by side in any identity parade.

Cork and Clare’s rivals will be keeping a close eye on events at Croke Park as they seek an edge for next year’s Championship

Brian Cody will take charge of Kilkenny for a 16th season in 2014 but will do so without long-term selector Martin Fogarty.

Brian Cody will be staying on as Kilkenny hurling manager, it was confirmed tonight.

ALL-IRELAND SHC PHASE II:

Those who think that the Kilkenny team that lines out against Cork in the final and defining round of the 2013 Allianz Hurling League Division 1A on Sunday is an ‘interim’ side, that several players are merely keeping the jersey warm for all the ‘regulars’ still to return, have short memories.

“I think Kilkenny will just about shade it. The main reason is that they have the more room for improvement. In the drawn game they got off to a slow start while most of their midfield and forward line didn’t perform.

Check back over the videos of Galway’s three Championship wins over Brian Cody’s Kilkenny and there are common threads.

Whatever way Sunday works out, there’ll be a change of the guard, in some shape or another.

Now that we’ve all had a bit more time to register last Sunday when we were all so impressed as well as shocked by Galway, there’s a temptation now to be somewhat sceptical of them.

Ratoath GAA club will host an international hurling training camp for teams from Denmark, Norway, France and England.

Less than a minute into Kilkenny’s win over Waterford in Walsh Park in the Allianz Hurling League game on Sunday last, Michael Fennelly laid down a marker — a full-blooded frontal hit on Waterford’s powerful centre-back, Kevin Moran.

Leinster manager Seán Boylan argues the Interprovincial Series is a valid way of helping curb the recent spats of indiscipline at inter-county level.

JAMES ‘Cha’ Fitzpatrick was the first to walk before Christmas, Eddie Brennan followed him soon after and PJ Ryan handed in his notice just two weeks into the New Year.

Kilkenny's James 'Cha' Fitzpatrick has sensationally retired from senior inter-county hurling, explaining that he felt he 'wasn't rewarded' for his efforts during their 2011 All-Ireland winning campaign.

The cream eluded Kilkenny's Cats 12 months ago and it is that hunger which their 2009 All-Ireland winning captain Michael Fennelly hopes will drive them to glory tomorrow afternoon.

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?