SATURDAY NIGHT AT the Gaelic Grounds brought the curtain down on the 2019 inter-county hurling season.
Tipperary completed an All-Ireland double with their U20 success on Saturday night to accompany the senior victory the previous Sunday while Galway can cherish their minor success.
But how will the twelve counties that competed in the Liam MacCarthy Cup reflect on their hurling campaign this year?
Carlow
Carlow embraced the novelty of appearing amongst the Leinster elite, putting in a highly credible opening showing against Galway and savouring the chance to welcome neighbours Kilkenny to their home patch. Four straight defeats pointed to the hard learning experiences they have to endure. Their relegation brings into question the Leinster system and whether a six-team format would be more beneficial to prevent a yo-yo existence for teams like Carlow.
Clare
For a team that were on an upward curve after 2018 and came agonisingly close to an All-Ireland final spot, this summer will be regarded as a major disappointment. They began with a rousing win away to Waterford and finished with a flourish at home to Cork but it was an eight day time frame in early June that pushed them towards the exit door. Losses by 13 (Tipperary) and 18 point (Limerick) margins will leave them in a reflective mood for the winter.
Cork
The All-Ireland U20 reversal on Saturday night capped off a dispiriting season for Cork hurling. After coming so close to an All-Ireland final place in 2018, they slipped back notably this year. Apart from two wins over Limerick in different competitions, Cork’s form slumped. Patrick Horgan’s scoring class and Alan Cadogan’s successful return could not sustain their challenge against Kilkenny. The manner of this weekend’s underage defeat rounded the year off on a low note.
Dublin
A summer of deep frustration. From the height of Parnell Park on 16 June when they took down Galway in a memorable fashion to the low of O’Moore Park on 7 July when they were toppled by Laois. That chain of results points to an inconsistent streak that still runs through this Dublin team. Mattie Kenny’s team put a huge amount into qualifying from Leinster, the failure to kick on thereafter is galling for them.
Galway
From 2015 to 2018 Galway contested three All-Ireland finals, ended their Liam MacCarthy famine in one of them and in the other season lost by a point in the semi-final to the eventual champions. To see their 2019 efforts wind down in mid June was a sudden change. They were hurt by injuries at key junctures to Joe Canning and Conor Whelan but didn’t do enough when it mattered against Wexford and Dublin. The abrupt departure of manager Micheal Donoghue places an emphasis on getting the right replacement on board.
Kilkenny
Plotting a route back to the All-Ireland final was a testament to Brian Cody’s greatness on the sideline and that of TJ Reid on the pitch. A few younger guns stepped up strikingly, they bounced back impressively from their Leinster final loss and the Limerick win was one of their most notable recent results. But the high standards on Noreside mean that coming up short on in the national decider will colour their view of the year. They protested at the sending-off of Richie Hogan but the fall-off in their second-half display hurt them most.
Laois
The joyous emergence of Laois lit up the middle of the summer. They steadily took care of business in the Joe McDonagh Cup before catching fire when released into the All-Ireland series. Their win over Dublin was a seismic moment, the fact that it was achieved in front of their own in Portlaoise embellished the game as one that will endure in the memory for some time. They gave Tipperary enough to think about as their season closed with a Croke Park lap of honour.
Limerick
Two pieces of silverware stowed away in the trophy cabinet and a return to Croke Park to compete in the last four. That’s quite a decent showing for a county attempting to defend an All-Ireland title that had been landed after a long spell in the wilderness. Yet the brilliant hurling served up during the league and that which clinched their Munster final win at home cannot mask the regret Limerick will feel at their sluggish start to the semi-final against Kilkenny and all those missed scoring chances they amassed. Limerick will have watched on ruefully as Tipperary, their provincial decider opponents, went on to win the big prize.
Tipperary
The hurling decade ended for Tipperary in the dream like fashion that it had begun. The height of an All-Ireland senior success over Kilkenny followed by the boost of an underage victory six days later. Liam Sheedy’s return to the hotseat oversaw quite a transformation in results from the series of losses in their 2018 Munster campaign. After the setback of their beating at the hands of Limerick, Tipperary recovered brilliantly. The Wexford comeback felt like a defining moment and their hurling class told in the second half against Kilkenny.
Waterford
Another miserable season that they will not be keen to dwell on. After some hope flared with their qualification for the league final, Waterford’s Munster campaign was another write-off. Being pipped by Clare was an early setback and then their challenge was derailed by a succession of double-digit defeats. Paraic Fanning left after a single season at the helm and the challenge to recover looks considerable for a county that were only three points off ultimate honours two years ago.
Westmeath
Got the Joe McDonagh Cup final spot that they craved but Westmeath were swept away by the power of the second-half play from Laois in that Croke Park decider. Trying to pick themselves back up within a week to face Cork was always going to be an onerous task, their eventual concession of 1-40 was ample proof of that. The Joe Quaid era concluded in a messy fashion and their search for a new manager is ongoing.
Wexford
Wexford were responsible for one of the great hurling occasions of 2019, the outpouring of emotion after their Leinster final success proof of the significance of this breakthrough. Contributed plenty to a pulsating All-Ireland semi-final but after a superb showing for three quarters of the game, they could not maximise their scoreboard and personnel advantage against Tipperary. A championship campaign where they only lost once is a sign of their improvement but it will be a source of regret at not getting over that semi-final hurdle. The key question now is whether they can retain Davy Fitzgerald for another season.
