Jimmy Meagher: Tackling both sides of a rivalry without borders

Jimmy Meagher worked for the Clare County Board as a Games Promotion Officer in 2018 and 2019 and worked with the county's minors, before returning to his native Kilkenny

Jimmy Meagher at Kilkenny Castle, Kilkenny City. Picture: Patrick Browne

Kilkenny is not such a long way, even by Irish standards, from Clare.

Around 80 miles lie between Freshford and Bunratty. More of a hop than a jump. Yet the two counties, both as a hurling culture and as a place, stand removed. The lack of edge to this evening’s All-Ireland semi-final comes in part because of a distance more psychological than actual. Some rivalries, due to geography, can never find the whetstone of a border.