I KNOW a lot of people were giving out about the final being so early this year, but I don't think many will be giving out too much after this final, especially with the fantastic weather we had. 

Maybe, after all, it is the right time to have it. There is a way better chance of good weather mid-summer rather than autumn. I'd say a lot of people got great suntans on Sunday, and it only cost them €90! A trip to Spain would be a lot more, and they have no hurling there. 

A great day and a great occasion and brilliant to see the 1996 Wexford and Clare team of 1995 and 1997 being honoured.

Maybe with only one game on now, it should have been done at halftime when the stadium was full, and not an hour before the main event as happened here. I'm sure both teams were delighted to get that honour. Looking at them, some in very good shape and looking well, others perhaps have wintered very well, as they say! Still all household names, they were really good in their time. 

They brought new ways of playing in the '90s and it was great to see that they got rewarded for that. I was just thinking to myself, how would they cope with this game. I believe some would cope very well because they were all winners, and no matter what All-Ireland you win, you have to have something special to do it. Both these counties had a bunch of special players at that time.

Limerick are still champions, and what good champions they are. It was not easy this year for them. 

They were asked serious questions, firstly against Clare in the Munster final, and again, against Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final, and their greatest test was against the masters of the game. They still found a way to win. 

A lot of that can be down to the good hurlers they have, and sometimes it can be down to a bit of luck, but I believe the greatest asset this team has is the character of the team. 

And when I say team, I mean everyone, especially their manager, John Kiely. He showed leadership in every sense of the word.

He protected the team at every opportunity and if that meant taking disciplinary action, he did that as well. Everyone knew what they had to do, and more importantly, what they needed to do to be part of this set-up.

That is all down to the leader.

SHOW

Limerick looked like they were going to run away with it early on, Gearoid Hegarty giving a one-man show, just taking the Kilkenny defence on, assisted by Kyle Hayes and Tom Morrissey. They were on to every breaking ball and scoring at their ease, getting great supply from Declan Hannon, Dan Morrissey and the Hurler of the Year, Diarmaid Byrnes. How Kilkenny were only four points down at half-time speaks volumes for them. They kept hanging in there when other teams might have folded.

In the second half Kilkenny brought on Walter Walsh, and what a difference he made. I was actually surprised when he did not make the starting 15 as he has always performed in All-Irelands. 

But Limerick were still in the driving seat until Kilkenny got their goals: game on. Limerick then showed what they were made of. Experience played a crucial role as they kept their composure and kept the scoreboard ticking over, and John Kiely decided to bring on a few subs that made all the difference. Conor Boylan, David Reidy, and Cathal O'Neill made a big contribution. 

Richie Hogan, John Donnolly and David Blanchfield also contributed well for Kilkenny. You have to ask the question, would Kilkenny have been better off if these players were on from the start?

How Kilkenny only lost by two points is hard to believe, because they were beaten in most sections of the field, more breaking ball and individual battles won by Limerick. Yet Kilkenny were in it going down the home stretch. 

I suppose the DNA is very important for that, and Kilkenny have loads of that. I'm sure if Brian Cody went picking his team again, I believe he would put out a different one. They were a bit slow to make changes when it was obvious that they were losing some key battles. 

They never led. Limerick did not allow that. They kept their noses in front all the time. 

This Limerick team is of the right age to go on and be even more dominant in the next few years.

What other counties must do now is try and catch up, and that is not going to be easy, because this is a team at the top of the tree. Next year all square again though, that's the beauty of hurling!