1996 and all that: Wexford's golden summer left no legacy other than itself

Thirty years ago, hurling was different. It just was. Every tribe lost in the desert needs a Moses. Wexford's was Liam Griffin.

George O'Connor praying after the All-Ireland victory in 1996. Pic: Kieran Clancy 

The IRA bombed Manchester. England failed on penalties (naturally) to Germany (naturally) in the semi-final of the Euros. Francie Barrett was off to Atlanta. Tom Cruise was starring in the first instalment of what would become the Mission: Impossible franchise. The nation reverberated to the sound of the macarena. And the entire hurling world was, to paraphrase Sean O’Casey, in a glorious state of chassis.

It was the summer of 1996 and it climaxed with Wexford lifting the MacCarthy Cup, the third Leinster county in the space of four years to do so. Will that happen again before the end of the century? Will themselves or Offaly win another All-Ireland while any of us is alive to witness it?