Surviving the furnace and fierce pace

During the early skirmishes, he found himself gasping for breath, dazed almost by the remorseless heat. It seemed as though Clare, by their very presence, had upped the championship furnace. Everything else had been a prelude.

"It was a matter of getting a second wind," recalls Offaly hurler Michael Duignan. "The match was played at a fierce pace and while I'm not sure the quality of hurling was that great, the game was certainly frenetic. After 10 minutes, I settled a little and we got some relief at half-time but by the close of the match, with tiredness setting in, things got tight again."

And when the dust settled and the Offaly players drove home in the dusk, Duignan found frustration gnawing at him. `Should be in the final now', a voice said.

"I suppose that was the initial feeling, that we relinquished a game-winning situation. But after reflection you realise that we were four down with 10 minutes to go and at that stage it was looking like Clare's game. So we were content to settle for a draw and are pleased enough to be in the position we are in now."

The much-maligned Leinster final seems like a lifetime ago now. Brows were raised and cases dismissed when Offaly and Kilkenny presented themselves and the jury looked fondly towards the distant fireworks in Munster. `That's where the real hurling is played', they said, but now only Clare can prevent another Leinster All-Ireland win.

What is it about these Leinster sides that allows them to flame so palely but with more durability than most championship teams?

"It's hard to put a finger on it," offers Duignan. "Perhaps the focus that we had in earlier years was missing for a while but our attitude last Sunday week confirmed that that has returned. Every puck was fiercely contested and you could just feel it, that the lads wanted this one."

Whereas earlier Offaly performances were summed up by perceptibly lack-lustre efforts, against Clare they hurled with renewed vigour. How instrumental has manager Michael Bond been in stoking their talents?

"Michael has done very well. He came in under very difficult circumstances and immediately established a good relationship with the players. He had us concentrate on our ball skills and emphasised ground hurling, which has always been our strong point. And the pessimism has lifted in the county now. They are talking about hurling again."

Duignan won an All-Ireland minor title with Offaly in 1986, a historic first for the county, and straightaway, he was plucked by the senior selectors at the age of 18. The following summer, he and Daithi Regan flew to Boston to hurl and make a few quick bucks, but by 1988 he was ready for the home game.

He made a championship debut against Laois that year and has hovered around the forward lines since.

By 1994, Offaly had flowered and shattered Limerick expectations in the All-Ireland final. The following summer, Clare did the same to them and while they have determinedly built on that platform, Offaly have flickered fitfully and came to be branded as enigmatic. Did success simply sate them?

"I don't think that's fair to say. If you look at a player like Joe Dooley who has been around for a long time, he still goes out and gives it his all. Maybe the ability to keep it going collectively has proven more difficult but that's not because of lack of desire. Some of the younger lads who have come in have injected a bit of life into things now and maybe they heighten the hunger as well," he said.

So now they are steeling themselves for Saturday and another crack at Clare, at a chance to ghost into an All-Ireland final with the same efficient stealth employed by Kilkenny.

"I'm not surprised Kilkenny are there", says Duignan. "They have tight backs and great forwards, some of whom have to start playing yet. With ourselves, well, it's hard to tell with replays, sometimes they swing easily one way. But I honestly think it will be very close again. A goal at a critical time may decide it, for there should well be no more than a couple of points in it."