Christy O'Connor: Cork clubs looking to repeat a double act 

When Tynagh/Abbey-Duniry were relegated from the Galway senior championship in 2022, and were looking for a new manager to get them back up the following year, there was only one logical starting point in that search – Mattie Kenny.

TALKING POINTS: Sean Desmond (Watergrasshill), pictured ahead of the AIB GAA All-Ireland Hurling Intermediate Club Championship Final. Picture: ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

From early on in last year’s All-Ireland Junior and Intermediate hurling finals, it was obvious that it was going to be a long evening for St Catherine’s and Castlelyons. In the first nine minutes alone of the Junior final, Tullogher Rosbercon had ten shots to St Catherine’s two. Over an hour later, Thomastown had four points on the board inside the first three and a half minutes whereas Castlelyons failed to convert their first seven shots and had to wait until the 14th minute for their first score.

Both Cork sides did as well as they could but they were just outclassed by two excellent Kilkenny teams that won both games by an aggregate margin of 27 points.