Nicky Brennan has resigned as manager of the Kilkenny hurling team following disappointing defeats in the Leinster final and All-Ireland hurling semi-final. Brennan, who holds five All-Ireland hurling medals, was due to take charge of the team for at least another year. The defeats, by Wexford in Leinster and Clare in the All-Ireland semi-final, came as a great disappointment to hurling followers in Kilkenny and within the weeks since those setbacks, criticism of Brennan's handling of the team has grown. His fellow selectors, Pat Aylward and Richie Power, have also resigned.

The decision was announced to the players following the defeat by Limerick in the semi-final of the National League on Sunday.

Brennan spoke bitterly yesterday of the attitude of a section of the Kilkenny supporters who had been verbally abusive of him and his brother Canice, a member of the Kilkenny squad, in recent times. When Canice was taken off in the National League semi-final against Limerick on Sunday the decision was given the biggest cheer of the afternoon. Brennan had also been subjected to verbal abuse some months ago and on that occasion referred to a section of the Kilkenny supporters as "scum".

"Things have descended to a new low in Kilkenny and I have had enough," he said yesterday. "It is strange that we were praised after a thrilling come-back to beat Galway in the All-Ireland quarter-final in Thurles a month ago and yet some of the supporters turned against us so quickly. "It seems to me that nothing short of All-Ireland success is acceptable in Kilkenny. I had a feeling that before Sunday's match I had lost the confidence of the players and, in that situation, the best thing for me and Kilkenny hurling is that I should step down."

Apart from winning All-Ireland medals on the field in 1979 and '82 he was also a member of winning squads on three other occasions. He was second in command as a manager to Ollie Walsh on winning teams in '92 and '93 and in their National League victory in 1995. He managed a successful under-21 team in 1990 and served as chairman of the Kilkenny county board for a two-year term.

He made it clear also that he will continue to serve on the hurling development committee and on the national council for communications and technology at Croke Park to which he has been appointed by GAA president Joe McDonagh. Meanwhile the four provincial councils of the GAA and the Dublin county board are to receive £20,000 apiece from the Guinness sponsorship of the All-Ireland hurling championship during the next week.

In addition each provincial winner will receive an extra £5,000 and the All-Ireland finalists will each receive £10,000 plus an added £5,000 each as a contribution to their holiday fund.

Every county board, apart from Dublin will receive £3,000 and beaten provincial finalists will receive an added £2,500.

The Guinness company is also creating three hurling scholarships to UCC, UCL and UCD, a continuation of a policy started in 1996. It is designed to encourage outstanding young hurling talent to continue their studies and their hurling at the same time.

By the time the 65,000 capacity attendance is added to this year's All-Ireland hurling championship figures an increase on last year of 25 per cent will have been achieved. More than 483,000 will have attended the matches compared with 395,000 last year.

The figures quoted take into account last year's extra 40,000 for the Munster final replay between Limerick and Tipperary as well as a balancing 30,000 for the two extra matches played in this year's championship as a result of the new format allowing the beaten Munster and Leinster finalists back into the competition. The comparative figures for this this year and 1995 show an even more remarkable contrast involving an approximate increase of 58 per cent on the '95 figures.

The most remarkable increase has been noted in Leinster. In 1995 an aggregate of 65,593 watched the matches and in 1996 that rose to 88,371. This year the total had soared to 125,571. The Leinster final between Wexford and Kilkenny attracted an attendance of 55,492.