THE KIERAN SHANNON INTERVIEW: An hour after Declan Hannon lifted the Liam MacCarthy Cup last August, Éamonn Cregan phoned another Adare man whose leadership wasn’t so visible. ‘Congratulations. That’s what you started.’ Shane Fitzgibbon may have been a frustrated if well-heralded player, but that would inform him in becoming a brilliant, if unsung coach

With The Sunday Game 40 years old this year, I was asked to pick my highlight for a short clip which was aired during yesterday’s live show from Cork.

Éamonn Cregan is looking through a window in the Hunt Museum Café, out at the Shannon running away with itself, a dull August afternoon rising merely to scurries, writes PM O’Sullivan

When first asked to write a column for this paper, the esteemed sports editor gave me three guidelines: Write clearly; be informative; and stay impartial, writes Jack Anderson 

With all the attention the various awards and big-name autobiographies command at this time of year, that little gem of a read for that special GAA person in your life can remain hidden, lost in the heap, writes Kieran Shannon.

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.

Jamie Wall tried wheelchair tennis. He tried wheelchair basketball. He even tried a bit of writing. None were for him. None filled the void.

Mary Immaculate College 2-31 GMIT 0-16: Former Cork underage prospect Jamie Wall was pleased to see his Mary Immaculate College side run out 21-point winners over GMIT in yesterday’s Fitzgibbon Cup clash.

Here’s the lowdown on today’s seven games...

Eamonn Cregan has called on Limerick to “stop bloody hand-passing the ball out of defence” and operate a more direct style of hurling ahead of Saturday’s Division 1 quarter-final against Dublin.

Richie Bennis contends the roar that greeted the Limerick players as they ran out for the 2007 All-Ireland final spooked them.

Mary I 1-30 UL 3-22: Eamonn Cregan fought back the tears. After 23 years of service, Saturday was his final afternoon in the Mary I corner.

Mary I 0-11 LIT 0-9: The Mary I management cut a somewhat perplexed bunch at the final whistle.

Times weren’t always this good for the hurlers of Mary I.

I came on against UCC in the Waterford Crystal in January, and the last time I hit a free was against Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final in August.

It’ll be the wrecking ball for Cork soon enough as the bulldozers move into Páirc Uí Chaoimh. But it was county secretary Frank Murphy who was constructive, namely hitting the nail on the head when he spoke against plans to end the St Patrick’s Day All-Ireland Club senior finals.

Uncertainty hung over the Fitzgibbon Cup last night as IT Carlow’s appeal dragged into the early hours.

Mary I’s "unfair and excessive" Fitzgibbon Cup schedule which saw the teacher-training college play three games in six days has been described as madness by manager Eamonn Cregan.

Mary I 2-19 Waterford IT 0-10: Jamie Wall was the final speaker in the Mary I dressing room before Eamonn Cregan’s charges emerged onto the field.

Disappointment, dismay, that was the prevailing feeling in Limerick with the news of the shock resignation of joint senior hurling manager Donal O’Grady.

John Brudair is tipped to become Limerick’s new senior football manager.

In recent years the Fitzgibbon Cup has become a vital breeding ground to gain experience for the inter-county game

Limerick’s double setback at Croke Park last Sunday rendered further ammunition to a theory supported by many on Shannonside, that national headquarters has a jinx on their teams.

As someone born and reared close to the border — just off the main road to Ennis on the banks of the Shannon in Cratloe — I grew up with first-hand experience of the Clare and Limerick rivalry.

Eamonn Cregan has been around the block a few times, seen many changes in hurling since he first began pucking a ball in his beloved Limerick over 60 years ago.

In hurling there’s a cycle every 20 years or so in the middle section of the decade. “New teams” surface and hold sway until they fade and the big guns boom again.

As Limerick won a first Munster senior hurling title since 1996 at the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday, one man with a grandstand view has a unique link to Limerick past and Limerick future.

Limerick legend Eamonn Cregan has delivered a damning verdict on the county’s senior hurling team — insisting no progress is being made.

Eamonn Cregan recently expressed concern with the growth of “hurling scrums”, claiming that players are determined to get the ball into their hand instead of pulling first-time. Is this true? Is ground hurling gone forever? Or is today’s game much more precise and controlled than the game of old?

With a host of inter-county stars on board, Mary Immaculate College cruised to success in the Ryan Cup final on Saturday in the Mardyke.

UCC and Cork IT will face off in an all-Cork centenary Fitzgibbon Cup final at the Mardyke tomorrow afternoon (throw-in 3pm) after semi-final wins over Limerick sides UL and LIT respectively.

MIKE O’BRIEN doesn’t normally do interviews, notoriously gun-shy when it comes to facing any kind of microphone, so when you get a call from him saying he wants to talk, you know that this is an upset individual.

The 24 members of the 2009 Limerick senior hurling panel, who are refusing to play under current manager Justin McCarthy, have issued a statement in which they accuse the Limerick County Board and the senior management team of using underhand tactics in an attempt to end the ongoing impasse.

LIMERICK hurlers who refuse to play under manager Justin McCarthy last night sensationally claimed that “a deliberate and concerted effort” is being made to end their resistance.

EX-LIMERICK captain TJ Ryan last night launched a fierce defence of Limerick’s embattled hurlers, insisting they’re not unmanageable. However, the Garryspillane man said there’s only one resolution to the crippling dispute – Justin McCarthy’s resignation.

JUSTIN McCARTHY last night defiantly vowed to remain as Limerick hurling manager despite increasing pressure to step down.

The Limerick hurling saga is set to drag on for another week following the postponement of tonight's specially-convened Limerick County Board AGM and the first County Board meeting of the year.