Christy O'Connor: Ballygunner and Dingle wins cap season of seasons for Munster GAA

The only two marquee competitions that Munster didn’t win were the minor and U20 football. Tyrone beat Kerry in the minor final and the U20 semi-final 

Ballygunner won their second All-Ireland Club SHC title with the victory over Loughrea. Pic: INPHO/Dan Clohessy

In the first 25 years of the All-Ireland club championship, it appeared as if Munster owned the competitions when the province produced 15 football and 11 hurling champions. And they weren’t ordinary outfits either, with a handful of those sides some of the greatest club teams ever produced.

Munster clubs won eight of the first nine All-Ireland hurling titles. The province produced ten football winners in a 13-year period between 1977 and 1989. There were six Munster doubles in those first 25 years; 1971, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1987. In 13 of those 25 seasons, a Munster team appeared in the football and hurling final in the same season.