Last weekend, Slaughtneil and Tooreen, those oases in the hurling wastelands of Derry and Mayo, emerged from the shadows and into the limelight

Ballyhale Shamrocks captain Michael Fennelly has added his voice to the criticism of the condensed club calendar, bemoaning that Christmas was “cancelled” as the prepared for Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final win over Slaughtneil.

An hour after the game, and anybody from Ulster who has a passion for hurling is still swamping Ballyhale Shamrocks manager Henry Shefflin, queuing for selfies, presenting hurls and jerseys for his signature.

Ballyhale Shamrocks’ Joey Holden admits he is getting to grips with the scheduling of their AIB All-Ireland club semi-final with Slaughtneil.

Reid was given little space or respite by St Mullins’ Michael Walsh in the provincial decider in Portlaoise on Sunday.

A routine day for Ballyhale. Only the opposition was novel.

Seamus Murphy reckons St Mullins colleagues Marty Kavanagh and James Doyle would “walk onto every club in Kilkenny”.

Already trailing heavily with just 10 minutes on the clock at UPMC Nowlan Park, St Martin’s midfielder Aaron Maddock found himself hurley-less, surrounded and under pressure out on the left wing.

It almost isn’t fair.

Martin Comerford will complete Brian Cody's set of selectors in a new-look Kilkenny backroom team.

Ballyhale Shamrocks manager Henry Shefflin remembered the late Eugene Aylward after yesterday’s county final win — Shamrocks panellist Aylward passed away a few weeks ago and captain Michael Fennelly dedicated the title win to him.

Experienced Ballyhale Shamrocks made it a 17th senior county title in Kilkenny yesterday, throttling a game James Stephens outfit and running out easy winners in the end.

New Offaly manager Michael Fennelly has admitted he was lukewarm on the job at first but came around to the idea after a sleepless night.

Former Kilkenny star Michael Fennelly is set to be appointed as the new Offaly senior hurling manager.

Eight-time All-Ireland winner Fennelly will be given a two-year term with the option of a third, according to a statement from Offaly GAA this evening.

James Barry revealed that he knew he would not be included in Tipperary’s All-Ireland final team over a week before the game, but instead of wallowing in disappointment, he passed on a few nuggets of full-back advice to help Barry Heffernan and Ronan Maher.

Martin Comerford has bemoaned Kilkenny’s “systems failure” following Richie Hogan’s red card in last Sunday’s All-Ireland final.

Trust me when I say this — it’s every referee’s worst nightmare to send a player off in an All-Ireland final.

Davy Fitzgerald believes a traditional shoot-out will suit Tipperary more than Kilkenny should it manifest itself in tomorrow’s All-Ireland final.

Former All-Ireland winning captain Michael Fennelly has advised Kilkenny’s players to tap into the tears and emotion of 2016 as they prepare to face Tipperary once more.

There are match-ups all over the field that will be key. That’s the great thing about Tipperary-Kilkenny matches — both sides tend to go orthodox and are 15-on-15.

“I would have felt at the start of the year that there were seven or eight teams capable of winning the All-Ireland final.

Scoreboard Saturday afternoon in Portlaoise was an easy one for those selecting a man of the match in the All-Ireland U20 semi-final.

Four things we learned on Saturday

Lee Chin confessed himself to being “a bit lost for words” afterwards, an occurrence he promptly acknowledged to be unusual. But, in the circumstances, why not?

Thirteen months ago, Henry Shefflin tried to do his club-mate TJ Reid a turn. Rather than calling on referees to protect his fellow ‘hurler of the year’, Sheffin suggested Brian Cody move him to full-forward to avoid man-marking.

Edge, by definition, is a margin of superiority, a quality or factor that provides an advantage over rivals.

After the same county lifted the MacCarthy Cup on seven occasions in the noughties, the decade that followed was always going to be more democratic.

The only problem with throwing a party like this is that you don’t get to have the final say over the guest list.

Carlow's first home game in this year's Leinster senior hurling championship may have made for a heartwarming tale but Kilkenny have never been ones for romance or fairytales.

Colin Fennelly has often been accused of performance-inconsistency in the past.

At times on St Patrick’s Day as the Fennelly brothers, TJ Reid, and Joey Holden breezed to All-Ireland club final success, it felt like going back in time to Kilkenny’s glory era.

Ballyhale Shamrocks are AIB All-Ireland club SHC winners for a record seventh time after a power-packed Croke Park display proved far too much for an overwhelmed St Thomas'.

“Whatever it was, I wish we could have bottled it,” Liam Fennelly says.

A cold night in Thurles twisted decisively with one goal, Eoin Cody’s calm second-half finish for Ballyhale Shamrocks proving the difference in their All-Ireland club semi-final clash with Ballygunner.

Colin Fennelly produced his best display for some time with a sparkling 4-4 in his side’s 16-point rout of first-time Wexford champions, Naomh Éanna, in this Leinster Club SHC semi-final at Innovate Wexford Park yesterday afternoon.

Former Kilkenny midfielder Michael Fennelly believes the demands of club hurling are beginning to match that of the inter-county game.

Donal O'Shea, son of former Tipperary manager Eamon, is selected at full-forward.

Hurling aficionados love drama, an enjoyment forever in need of the unexpected.

He played in three All-Ireland final wins for Kilkenny, and won four medals in total, but the conversation that ended Kieran Joyce’s county career last October was a short one.

Michael Fennelly believes his old comrade-in-arms and current club boss Henry Shefflin has the drive and ambition to make the step up to county management one day.

Offaly 3-11

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