The All-Ireland Hurling Championship is one of the highlights of the sporting year in Ireland, that’s for sure. But hurling at the moment is not without its problems. I don’t think it does any good for a sport when it’s dominated by three or four teams, or even two, the way Cork and Kilkenny have done over the last eight or nine years.

Going back a little bit, there were probably seven or eight teams consistently in contention. That was a far healthier scenario and it’d be great to get back to that. Having said that, the top two have raised the bar to a higher level, so everybody else has to follow. I think there’s a few contenders emerging in that department.
With all due respects to the other teams, it looks almost like a foregone conclusion that Kilkenny will win out in Leinster, which will see them back in an All-Ireland semi-final again. My three other top teams would be Tipperary, Galway and Cork, so two of that three should also make their way into the semis.
I’d be pretty confident that Kilkenny will be heading for another final. Their main opposition could come from Tipperary, who played a very good National League and who I fancy to come out on top in Munster. But – and here’s the really interesting one for 2008 – I have a hunch that the day Galway hit top form they’re going to be a serious force to be reckoned with. Individuals can play a key role, both players and managers. While a player can swing a match, no one player can get you through a whole series of matches – but if a manager like Ger Loughnane can impose the same level of commitment on the Galway team as he shows himself, he could make a real difference. Galway have been very successful at Minor and Under-21 level over the past few years, so they’ve a good young element in the side, some of whom already have All-Ireland medals in their back pockets, so they’ll be hungry for more. Ger is very dangerous at the moment in the sense that he’s gone very quiet! Last year he was making a lot of noise and it didn’t help the team. This year he seems to getting on with business and saying nothing. So far this year, Galway had a good League, losing in a magnificent final, so they’re really worth watching.
Waterford have been one of the better teams in recent years. They haven’t won an All-Ireland, and have been beaten on several occasions by the eventual champions, so it must be very frustrating for them, being there or thereabouts without making the final breakthrough. But how many times can you go to the well? They didn’t show great form in the League, and they have injury problems at a time when they can’t afford to have them. I think they might struggle.

A PLAYER AND A HALF
Who are likely to be the individual stars of the championship? There are several key players with Kilkenny and Cork, including the obvious ones like Henry Sheflin and Sean Óg O Hailpín. Then there’s Andrew O’Shaughnessy with Limerick, Brian Carroll in Offaly, David O’Callaghan in Dublin and Eoin Kelly with Tipperary. These are great players, who can all have a major impact on the day or even on several days. But you still need a team, which is where Kilkenny and Cork have been winning out. You can’t afford to have weak links if you want to win the Championship.
Derry have lost Liam Hinphey and Barry McGoldrick may be out too, which is a pity. Much is made of key players being out through injury and the impact that can have on a team, but from my own experience playing with Kilkenny, that attitude overlooks the fact that the new player coming in is anxious to get a permanent place, so that determination can often balance the loss of players. In my playing days, I was delighted to be taking over from a key player and given a chance to shine. Then again, I think if Henry Sheflin was missing from the Kilkenny team it would be a big psychological problem because to me Henry’s worth a player and a half.
The new initiative, matching strong counties with weaker counties is a very good idea, and in the long term should bring more teams into contention. But this isn’t going to happen overnight. Just because Kilkenny might be advising Donegal about, say, fitness and training, it doesn’t mean that Donegal are suddenly going to be a division one team. But if there’s a more realistic approach, and people are saying, let’s get more people hurling in Donegal and helping to get the county to the next level, then it could really help to open things up in the long run.
Let’s not forget that when the “back-door” rule was introduced it was meant to give weaker counties a chance to at least get to the All-Ireland semis. But it hasn’t really worked out like that, not in Hurling anyway. In fact, it actually works in reverse, giving strong teams who have a bad day and don’t qualify a second chance. Now, teams have to play maybe up to seven or eight matches to win through.
Personally, I’d like to see Antrim doing well. Hurling in the north has really been down-graded to a very low ebb, where we had Cork playing Down in a challenge match behind closed doors and locking out a championship hurling match for two hours!
So who’s going to win? In the end, it’s straightforward: I’d have to put my money on Kilkenny. There’s a little bit of loyalty in that, I admit, but they’ve got the form and the panel of players. Otherwise, I’d put a few bob on Galway to do well. The bottom line is that, this year, it’s hard to see anybody springing a surprise.