Classic clashes cloud over fixture farce at underage

When we think of the joys and wonders of this joyous and wondrous hurling year, they aren’t confined to just the senior championship.

The other grades added to the tapestry and bonhomie of it all. Waterford winning their first minor All-Ireland in 75 years. Limerick winning their first Munster minor championship in 29 years. The hurling Clare served up in winning their third U21 All-Ireland in four years. Throw in Antrim’s shock U21 win over Wexford, Carlow’s over Dublin in the same grade, as well as the Laois minors’ progression to a Leinster final, and the underage game offered up its share of shocks and romance as well.

And yet we can’t avoid the feeling that it could have been better, that, like most GAA competitions, they could be structured better, that there was something too random about how it threw up its finalists and even champions.