In 1999, captained by Mark Landers, a young Cork team took the hurling world by storm, beating Kilkenny to ensure one of the most unlikely All-Ireland title wins, even in their own long history.

Joachim Kelly has made some outstanding contributions to Gaelic games in Offaly over the past 35 years or so.

Bravest coaching call, any sport?

Two youngsters clashed in the 1987 All-Ireland minor final, Tipperary v Offaly, who featured in a lot of headlines subsequently. You know them well...

THE shame when a county doesn’t go on to win the All-Ireland is it can forget what got it within touching distance of winning the All-Ireland in the first place.

A SPECIAL panel of guests and experts will review the hurling and football championships on tomorrow night’s extended The Sunday Game (9.30pm).

THE gathering in Portlaoise at the weekend of elite hurlers and footballers who adorned the Leinster championships over the past quarter of a century was noteworthy for the imbalance in the number of All-Ireland medal-winners between the two teams.

SEVEN Kilkenny, five Offaly, three Wexford, one set of brothers – that’s the makeup of the Leinster TEAM 25 selection, the best players in the Leinster championship over the last 25 years as voted on by the public, part of the GAA’s 125th anniversary celebration.

Westmeath 3-36 Wicklow 1-6

Nearly a decade ago, before controversies and strikes blighted the hurling landscape in Cork, the bond between the county’s hurlers and their loyal fans was forged by the emotional All-Ireland success of 1999 — with the legendary Jimmy Barry-Murphy at the helm. In a new book, the Irish Examiner’s Michael Moynihan reflects on an emotional journey.

BELIEF is the thing, isn’t it? Belief comes before everything. Is there anybody out there who would genuinely back against Kilkenny winning the All-Ireland hurling title tomorrow.

IN A FORTNIGHT when we had fantastic games of hurling and football all the publicity for the GAA should have been positive, as our players served up many matches of great skill and sportsmanship.

WHAT a magnificent match in Tullamore yesterday evening, this 2008 Christy Ring final.

WHEN the Christy Ring championship was first introduced a few years ago, along with the Nicky Rackard Cup, the idea was to give the teams in the lower divisions a real target, a prestigious title at which to aim, with the further aim of raising the standards in all those divisions.

WESTMEATH manager Johnny Dooley has already vented his wrath at the GAA authorities over the fixing of the Christy Ring final for this evening in Croke Park at 7.30pm, a slot which he felt showed utter contempt for the hurlers of Westmeath and Carlow.

The 2008 Christy Ring Cup final will now take place in Tullamore on Sunday afternoon (throw-in 6pm), after both counties requested to have the game rescheduled.

WESTMEATH hurling boss Johnny Dooley last night branded the decision to fix their Christy Ring final for Friday night in Croke Park (7.30pm) as “an insult” to weaker counties.

CHRISTY RING CUP GROUP 2A: WICKLOW 1-18 WESTMEATH 1-15

LIKE the gale force wind at O’Moore Park, Dublin huffed and puffed for three quarters of this Leinster championship opener before finally blowing Westmeath away.

Leo Smith will lead the Westmeath attack against Dublin in Sunday's Leinster SHC quarter-final clash at Portlaoise (throw-in 3.50pm).

Westmeath 2-12 Carlow 0-12

Westmeath 2-12 Carlow 0-12, Gaelic Grounds

Exactly 10 years ago Offaly's Johnny Dooley was in the midst of championship preperations in a season that would land the faithful their second All Ireland Senior Hurling title in 4 years.

FINALS of any description can be a trigger for nerves but both Westmeath and Carlow will be approaching Sunday’s Division Two decider with an air of calm, safe in the knowledge the hard work is already done.

LIAM SHEEDY’S two-year term as Tipperary senior hurling manager will officially begin this evening when the Kilruane McDonagh clubman is ratified at a meeting of the county board.

Johnny Dooley, a former All-Ireland winner with Offaly, will act as coach to the Westmeath senior hurlers for next season.

OPINIONS may differ amongst the members of the Wexford hurling team about the magnitude of the task facing them in Sunday's Leinster hurling final in Croke Park, but star goalkeeper Damien Fitzhenry knows exactly what to expect.

THE fact that Kilkenny have won the last six Leinster hurling titles is indicative of where Wexford, Offaly, Laois and Dublin lie in the pecking order.

DARREN FAY is in two minds about his latest Meath assignment, having been named in an unaccustomed midfield role for tomorrow’s O’Byrne Cup semi-final date with Offaly.

In a surprise move, Kildare County Board has announced that former Offaly dual All Ireland medallist Johnny Dooley will take over as coach to the senior hurling team.

Up until last season, Tipperary and Offaly had never met in the All-Ireland hurling championship but they clash for the second time in 12 months today.

Offaly star Johnny Dooley is facing a race against time to regain fitness ahead of the new season.

The Offaly county board have, as expected, landed the considerable services of Mike McNamara as their new senior hurling manager.

Tipperary showed they had the appetite back as they demolished the Offaly challenge with a devestating second half display in this All-Ireland senior hurling championship qualifier at Portlaoise.

All-Ireland champions Tipperary made amends for losing their Munster crown with a 13-point trouncing of Offaly in their Guinness All-Ireland hurling qualifier at Portlaoise.

TEAMS in transition are becoming quite a speciality for Fr Tom Fogarty.

Meath 1-11 Offaly 1-20

Offaly’s hopes of reaching this year’s Leinster hurling final have suffered a setback with the news that star forward Johnny Dooley is unlikey to be fit for Sunday’s semi-final clash with Kilkenny.

Goals from Brendan Murphy and Rory Hanniffy dashed Wexford’s league hopes as Offaly sprang a shock victory.

Kilkenny set up a final meeting with Wexford on July 8 as a result of this comprehensive victory over Offaly in their Leinster senior hurling championship semi-final at Croke Park.

A sharper Clare outfit had five points to spare over Offaly at the end of the Allianz National Hurling League clash at Cusack Park in Ennis today.