Thousands of hurling fans queued for hours in Thurles last evening for the removal of Tipperary hurling great Jimmy Doyle, who passed away suddenly on Monday, aged 76.

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

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.