Gaelic games: Kilkenny's big weekend dawns with confirmation that the 'miracle' recoveries of Henry Shefflin and John Tennyson remain on track. Both are named in the team to face old rivals Tipperary with the prospect of an historic five-in-a-row just 70 minutes away.
Both have satisfied Brian Cody and his management that their cruciate ligament injuries have been patched up sufficiently to take their places for the biggest match in the county's distinguished hurling history.
It's been the biggest All-Ireland injury story since four Kilkenny players – Eddie Keher, Jim Treacy, Kieran Purcell and Eamonn Morrissey from the previous year's All-Ireland winners famously missed the 1973 final, won by Limerick.
After a couple of well publicised training sessions over the past 10 days, last night's inclusion of Shefflin and Tennyson had been expected, but less so was the decision not to recall Michael Rice to the team.
Last year's outstanding centrefielder and again a front-runner for an All Star until he picked up an injury that kept him out of the All-Ireland semi-final against Cork, Rice had been expected either to deputise for Shefflin or take someone else's place to accommodate his own inclusion in the half forwards.
But the announcement of the team last night revealed just one change from the side that annihilated Cork, the inclusion of Tennyson instead of Brian Hogan, who broke a finger at training last week.
The team shows five changes from the one that completed the four-in-a-row 12 months ago. As well as Hogan and Rice, Michael Kavanagh, Derek Lyng and Richie Hogan are missing with Noel Hickey and Cha Fitzpatrick restored and John Dalton and captain TJ Reid starting their first finals.
This watershed weekend has crept up almost without being noticed. It feels like only yesterday that a re-tooled Kilkenny caused a mild shock by preventing Cork from recording a three-in-a-row All-Ireland run in 2006.
Four years on the county is on the verge of making history as the only county in GAA history to win five successive senior All-Irelands.
It's an almost unprecedented state of domination. Of the four teams who previously got as far as winning four-in-a-row, only one – the 1982 Kerry footballers – made it to the following September and their fate is one of the most famous tales in 126 years of Gaelic games.
Excitement has been picking up even in the normally phlegmatic county of Kilkenny where All-Ireland finals have become as much part of annual routine as buying the Christmas tree.
John Knox, sports editor of the Kilkenny People, told RTE radio yesterday evening that the atmosphere was far more marked than before previous finals.
He also pointed out that within the county the 'drive for five' had additional connotations given that local champions Ballyhale Shamrocks won the All-Ireland club title on St Patrick's Day and the hurling academy of St Kieran's followed up with the Hogan Cup for colleges.
Last week the county intermediate team won their All-Ireland and tomorrow the minors are hot favourites to defeat Clare, meaning that should Brian Cody's team make history later in the afternoon, it will mean five All-Irelands in the one year as well as five Liam MacCarthys on the trot.
The prospect of history being made is enticing enough but the capacity crowd that turns up will also be hoping for a reprise of last year's final which Kilkenny won in a dramatic closing 10 minutes.
It's not as if an occasion like this needs sub-plots but when Waterford referee Michael Wadding blows the final whistle all eyes will be on Croke Park's Hill 16 terrace to see if the new fencing can succeed – where gentle persuasion has failed – in keeping supporters off the field.
The uncontrolled crowd traffic of pitch invasions have become a growing concern for the GAA and gardaí but to date pleas to stay off the playing surface have come to nothing.
Yesterday it was revealed that tomorrow's presentation will be made in the Hogan Stand, a cautious move presumably taken with last year in mind when the announcement of Plan B (standing down of stewards and opening of gates to the pitch) precipitated a stampede that aborted the on-field presentation.
As usual the final won't be an entirely national matter with live coverage being provided to a growing global market. In Britain, Premier Sports will show the match, operating on the Sky platform which ensures that the final will be available in almost 10 million homes.
The GAA's commercial and marketing manager Dermot Power told The Irish Times yesterday that European rights to live broadcast of the games are no longer on the market, due to the widespread availability of RTE on the Sky platform.
"It's just the way things go with the pace of developing technology," he said, adding that Eurosports 2 would be broadcasting deferred coverage of the match next Thursday and Setanta will provide a live webcast at http://setanta-i.com/.
"Eurosport will also be showing next month's International Rules series live from Limerick's Gaelic Grounds and Croke Park."