Great hurling breakthroughs

July 1980: Offaly win first Leinster title. As far back as 1969 Offaly had given a robust account of themselves in a narrow Leinster final defeat against Kilkenny, but it would be another 11 years before they broke through. Before a famously small attendance of less than 10,000, they edged out Kilkenny 3-17 to 5-10. A year later, they were All-Ireland champions. Seán Moran compiles a brief history of hurling breakthroughs

September 1980: Galway win first All-Ireland in 58 years.

Through the decades, Galway hurling had established a formidable record of misfortune, narrowly losing All-Ireland semi-finals and finals. The efforts of Coiste Iomana, a hurling development project in the 1960s, produced firstly an All-Ireland under-21 title in 1972 then a NHL in 1975. All-Ireland senior final defeats in 1975 and '79 were finally redeemed in 1980 amid jubilant scenes best remembered for captain Joe Connolly's rousing victory speech as Gaeilge and Galway hurler and future GAA president Joe McDonagh's rendition of The West's Awake.

July 1995: Clare win first Munster title in 63 years

Like Galway, Clare suffered regular heartbreak in pursuit of a title. After losing the provincial finals of 1994 and '95, the county appointed Ger Loughnane as manager.

Defeat in the NHL final that spring didn't appear to hold out much prospect of a beakthrough, but, on a famous afternoon in Thurles, Clare reversed the nine-point defeat by Limerick from a year before and went on to win the All-Ireland in September.

July 1996: Wexford win first Leinster in 17 years

For a county that had routinely shared out provincial titles throughout the 1950s, '60s and '70s, Wexford's fall from grace was precipitous. The county went through the 1980s without winning a provincial title and wasn't fancied against defending champions Offaly. But in a match of remarkable quality, they summoned up a late scoring burst to win by eight and would add the All-Ireland that autumn.

June 2002: Waterford win first Munster title in 39 years

In 1998, Waterford enjoyed their best season in years, reaching the NHL final and taking the Munster final to a replay against Clare. By defeating Galway in the All-Ireland quarter-final, they made a first Croke Park championship appearance since 1963.

The momentum of that team looked to have stalled until last weekend when they recorded an historic victory.