Leinster elite stars gather for 25 honour

THE gathering in Portlaoise at the weekend of elite hurlers and footballers who adorned the Leinster championships over the past quarter of a century was noteworthy for the imbalance in the number of All-Ireland medal-winners between the two teams.

The accumulation of medals among the players on the Leinster 25 hurling team – confined to Kilkenny (7), Offaly (5) and Wexford 3 – totalled close to 60.

In sharp contrast, it amounted to no more than 15 in football equivalent which featured six Meath players, four from Dublin and one each from Wicklow, Wexford, Kildare, Longford and Westmeath.