Michael Harrington out to make history in All-Ireland series

Michael Harrington leads the Munster team in the first All-Ireland series at Grenagh this weekend. The Killarney man is hoping to make history as the first Kerry native to win the title when he faces Paul Rafferty on Saturday.

Momentum is an irresistible force in sport and in this account Harrington is most definitely in credit. From an inauspicious start to the season against Seán Murphy his performances have matured. In the Munster final he rode some choppy waters before surging clear of a player of Donal Riordan’s calibre. If he performs with the same level of intensity on Saturday he well be hard to hold.

Paul Rafferty has been down this road before, winning the title as a teenager in 1994. He won a second title in 2000, reached the final again in 2011 and might even have featured at senior level but for the dominance of Michael Toal. In this year’s Ulster final he beat James Oliver, the impressive 2014 All-Ireland champion. He is a serious competitor and if Harrington gives him an opening he will quickly take control.