The poor turnout in last week’s by-elections might, with a Christmas-party dash of wishful thinking, be explained by an approaching general election and the by-elections’ relevance in the face of the ongoing supply and confidence arrangement between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.

The secretary always gets the tough jobs. Just ask Mike O’Riordan in Limerick.

Outgoing chairman Sean Walsh has pledged that the Munster Council will do whatever is necessary to ensure that admission charges ‘are not a deterrent’ to supporters from attending their games.