John Horgan on hurling's key questions for the league and why Limerick loom large

A new competitive hurling season begins this weekend and over the best part of the next six months, many questions will be posed and answers provided.

As the old adage goes, yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and that is an appropriate way to describe what may lie ahead.

Here on Leeside, the visit of Waterford for the opening game of the league is what concerns us the most and the game in general in Deise country received a huge boost last Sunday when Ballygunner became the champions of Ireland.

All-Ireland titles, be it on the club or inter-county stage, are not easy to come by and Waterford's cup has not overflowed in that regard.

Winning the All-Ireland minor championship in 2025 provided a huge boost and if that success can be built upon, greater days may lie ahead on bigger occasions.

Now with Ballygunner's graduation with first class honours on the club front, there has to be an air of positivity in the county. And for the teams travelling to Walsh Park in the coming months, difficult tasks surely await.

SPECIAL

This column has been following the fortunes of Ballygunner for some time now and their achievements within the county and on the provincial and national stages are worthy of extra special mention. No matter what the standard of the game in any county is, to win 12 county titles in a row is a staggering statistic.

In the past eight seasons, they have been kings of Munster on five occasions and All-Ireland champions twice.

That second All-Ireland has now cemented their place as one of the great club teams from any era.

Loughrea fought the good fight last Sunday at headquarters but when push came to shove in the second half the Waterford team shone the brightest.

Their only goal from Mikey Mahony was a massive turning point, Padraic Mahony's accuracy from the placed ball was sublime and goalkeeper Stephen O'Keeffe proved again his vast worth to the team.

He made some stunning stops and the manner he sometimes positions himself provides so many options for his defenders, a sort of quarterback as was mentioned afterwards.

There won't be a Ballygunner player on view at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday, quite understandable and the starting Waterford 15 will be as interesting as Cork's. They were well beaten in the end last Saturday by Limerick in the final of the Munster League but it was a useful experience, nonetheless, for the newcomers.

How many of them will feature on Sunday? Who knows and the opening game of every national league campaign contains a bit of the unknown.

Limerick are not in action on this opening weekend but, no doubt, John Kiely will be keeping an eye on proceedings in the three Division A games that will be played.

WINNING MENTALITY

There is a certain school of thought that this Limerick team has had its day. One wholeheartedly disagrees and anyone who thinks otherwise might end up with red faces.

We have seen Kiely's men twice thus far, their wins over Cork and Waterford in the Munster League and whilst that competition is of no great importance, there was a sense that Limerick and the management team are going to be there or thereabouts again, developing an early winning mentality.

Aidan O'Connor, wearing the number 11 shirt rifled over 11 points and was hugely impressive.

Kiely blended the old with the new and the subs that were introduced illustrated that his squad depth will be considerable again.

The Munster League is already a footnote in the season but Limerick wanted to put down an early and maybe they did.

Let's wait and see.

Every county starts the new season with a clean sheet of paper and no matter how successful or unsuccessful a county was last season, it's all history now.

Who would have foreseen 2024 double winners Clare being relegated in the league and failing to get out of Munster?

Who would have predicted that Tipperary, almost a hopeless case in 2024, ending 2025 with the Liam MacCarthy Cup?

Can Clare bounce back this time? Can Tipp push on further? Can Kilkenny end a lengthy famine where they are concerned and can Waterford emerge from the province for the first time?

Just a few of the many questions to be answered between now and July.

Over the past number of weeks and months, TG4 have done a fantastic job as they do each year with their coverage of the club championships which concluded last Sunday.

This column has thoroughly enjoyed the games from the comfort of the couch and apart from the Manchester derby in the Premiership and Utd's magnificent victory, the hurling and football has surpassed everything else.

And despite this column being 99% hurling, I am sure the Sports Editor will allow me a few sentences about the big ball game.

EPIC

A few weeks back, we had Dingle and Ballyboden, prior to that Dingle and the Barrs, unbelievable drama in those games. But that paled into insignificance last Sunday with the Dingle, St Brigid's final, an epic 80 minutes of football that ebbed and flowed throughout.

Many might not agree but for sheer drama, nothing is unlikely to surpass it over the coming months.

It was sport in all its finery and it was another one of those agong and ecstasy occasions when you are drained at the end.

The Kerry team nudged it right at the death, another illustration that nothing is ever lost until it is.

Players like Tom O'Sullivan, Mark O'Connor and Paul Geaney, among many more, put their bodies on the line in the cause of their club.

And in both the hurling and football finals last Sunday, as GAA president Jarlath Burns referred to in his presentation speeches, the club is what the GAA is all about, the place you went to school, the mates you grew up with and the sacrifices you make for your own people.

Those present headquarters remarked that it was one of those days, the football final, in particular, that will endure through time.

And in a game of far less significance last Friday night, the O'Byrne Cup final in Leinster between Westmeath and Kildare was an absolute thriller too, thoroughly enjoyable. The big ball game is almost unrecogniseable now from what it used to be, so often a dour spectacle of sometimes 11 or 12 behind the ball. 

Now it's a game that is drawing in the most ardent of hurling people.

If those games in both codes that we have witnessed are a portent of what's to come then it's fasten your seat belts for another rollercoaster ride.

The counties enter the arena now for the next couple of months but for those clubs and supporters who went to Croke Park in the depths of Winter, and conquered, our own Kilbrittain among them, the memories will linger through the ages.

For those present, they can proudly state, 'I was there.'