Limerick and Cork are, writes Malachy Clerkin, “the best of sport, thrillingly tangoing their way through hurling summers for eight years now”. The latest chapter in their story came in Sunday’s Munster final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Limerick prevailing this time around. “Six teams left in the All-Ireland. It’s no slight on the other four to start counting the days until these two meet again.”
For a team that has won everything, Denis Walsh notes in his match report, Limerick “greeted the final whistle as if they had never won anything”, Nicky English doffing his cap to John Kiely’s men for a deserved seventh Munster title in the last eight years.
Nicky salutes Galway too for their Leinster triumph over Dublin, Seán Moran reporting on their 14-point victory. Gordon Manning heard from Micheál Donoghue after the game, the Galway manager insisting that lifting the Bob O’Keeffe Cup was his number one target for the season – although there’s the small matter of an All-Ireland semi-final to come.
Denis, meanwhile, looks at the “classic GAA farrago” that was the handling of those Ger Brennan and Jim McGuinness incidents. “In one case, the disciplinary system was decisive and strong, in the other it was decisive in its weakness.”
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In football, Ken Early turns his eye on Gianni Infantino’s reign as Fifa president. He is man who “never stops babbling about the unique power of football”, but “has little reverence, respect or even feeling for the game itself”. It’s all about the money.
Kevin Kilbane previews the tournament, which gets under way on Thursday, and reckons Thomas Tuchel has made a glaring error by leaving Cole Palmer out of his squad.
There’ll be no World Cup for our men, alas, although Chiedozie Ogbene is sufficiently impressed by the young talent coming through to be hopeful that there are brighter days ahead. Our women, though, can have a decidedly bright day as soon as tomorrow if they get the better of France in Grenoble – a win there and they’ll have booked their tickets to Brazil 2027. Gavin Cummiskey hears from Ruesha Littlejohn in the build-up to the game.
In rugby, John O’Sullivan reports on Leinster’s “dogged” URC semi-final triumph over the Stormers, one that set up another meeting with the Bulls in the final at Croke Park. Leo Cullen was well chuffed with his team’s “grit and determination”, and was especially impressed by Jamison Gibson-Park’s performance.
In racing, jockey Ronan Whelan delivered trainer Aidan O’Brien the ultimate present in the shape of a Derby victory on Christmas Day, but that success was somewhat overshadowed by the British Horseracing Authority “twisting itself into a bureaucratic knot” when Benvenuto Cellini was declared a non-runner in the race – despite, well, running in it. Brian O’Connor explains all.
TV Watch
Alas, another slim-pickings of a telly day, but at least TG4 has highlights of the GAA weekend (8pm), and at 8.10pm, Northern Ireland provide the opposition for France in their World Cup farewell send-off in Lille (BBC 2 and Virgin Media Three).
