History beckons as Cats strive to connect four

HARD to believe that another 12 months have passed, but here we are again, All-Ireland final day around the corner.

Seems like only yesterday we were previewing the 2008 final, and of course the sense of déjà vu is only heightened by the fact that, yet again, Kilkenny are in the final. Four-in-a-row they are chasing, four-in-a-row, only a few years after people were talking about a new era in hurling, an era where all teams would be equal, where the demands on teams and individuals had become such that no team would be able to sustain success for any period of time, where no player would be able to keep up the pace for more than a few years, short careers going to become the norm.

Remember all that? Clare, Offaly, Limerick, Wexford, the fresh and glorious 90s when, after Cork, Tipperary and Kilkenny (2) had won the first four titles, democracy was finally deemed to have descended on hurling, the big three being squeezed out? Then came Brian Cody…