Caman down and enjoy hurling on the quays or green

MOSTLY HURLING:Imaginative initiatives that bring hurling to the people in cities and towns must be hailed, writes John Allen

AN OLD Irish seanfhocail (old saying) advises "muna bhfuil ach pocán ghabhar agat bí i lár an aonaigh leis", which for the uninitiated means "if you have only a puck goat be in the middle of the fair with it".

The time is coming when we need to bring that national treasure called hurling into the middle of the fair. There is a lot of progress being made but there is a whole lot more to do. A GAA initiative called Step is endeavouring to develop the skills of the game, particularly in areas outside the so-called strong counties. The Sligo Primary Schools coaching programme has been expanded to include all 65 primary schools in the county. Under the guidance of coaching officer Brian Henry and games development administrator Liam Óg Gormley, 65 schools have been coached in Gaelic football and 28 of these also did hurling.

During the month of May, under-8 Go Games blitzes in hurling and football took place as part of the AIB "Play and stay with the GAA" initiative. The Go Games model is designed to increase participation and improve playing standards in young players. The emphasis is on participation, not on winning.

Excellent coach Joey Carton has run Hurling on the Greens in Waterford city. This scheme brings hurling on to public play areas in the towns and cities of the country. The Galway County Board has also promoted this wonderful idea. The St Finbarr's Club in Cork is also going back to its roots with its promotion of Hurling by the Lough. The famed Cork club's original base was in the Lough area in the southside of the city before it set up home a little further south in Páirc Uí Níonáin.

Originally, the parish leagues were played on the banks of the famous landmark. Now every June, Mick Finn and Donie Doolan run the 21st-century version of Hurling by the Lough, with the children from the fourth classes in the local schools participating in this ground hurling competition with prizes for all.

But for innovation, the Oscar must go to George O'Connor (yes, that hero of many a battle on the hurling field) and his coaching team in Wexford who have come up with a novel way to mark June 21st, the longest day of the year. They are staging Hurling on the Quay, which will take place from 11am until 8pm in Wexford town.This must surely be a shot at getting an entry in the Guinness Book of Records, with a plea going out for onlookers to relax and embrace the natural beauty of the Sunny South East as well as enjoying the clash of the ash.

So the Wexford town quays is the place to be tomorrow to see the under 10 hurlers of the county play Setanta's game right in among the people at the water's edge within sight of trawlers, trains, trendy traders and triple espressos.

Innovative schemes like these which bring this wonderful game right in among the people are to be encouraged and applauded. We need to showcase the wonderful product we have and introduce it to a wider audience.

Dublin hurling is proof positive of the value of proper promotion. The huge amount of work that has been done in promoting the game in the capital is paying dividends in terms of numbers playing and the success of the intercounty teams.

Last Saturday in Nowlan Park the senior team took a further step forward in that progress. They didn't lose the game against a traditional strong hurling (you know what I mean) county which, in similar circumstances they lost last year. Yes, of course they should have won. They dominated the first half and much of the second and failed to covert one gilt-edged goal chance and another very good chance and shot far too many wides but, very importantly, they didn't lose.

Psychologically, this is very important. Now they get to play in Croke Park which will be of huge benefit to them, further on in the year, if they succeed in finishing off the job on Sunday. But Wexford will be pleased enough with their second half and, of course, will like the fact the Dubs will be written up for Sunday.

If Dublin can convert a better percentage of the many chances they have been creating over the season they should win.

But the fact still remains, based on Sunday's evidence, Kilkenny are in a different league. Offaly played with passion and spirit for much of the first half and even for a fleeting minute, when there were just two points between the sides, there was a glimmer of hope. But it was soon snuffed out by those assassins Shefflin and Comerford.

Joe Dooley can take some consolation in the fact his team fought to the end and is improving, but Kilkenny remain the yardstick.

Limerick and Clare renew acquaintance on Sunday. The Banner caused a bit of a shock the last day out and will certainly be not lacking in confidence in Thurles. Limerick are at a decided disadvantage in that it's their first championship day.

The lessons learned from one championship game are invaluable. There are question marks about the form of some of their key players and I'm not convinced their backs will cope with the size and strength of the Clare forwards. I think it might be the Banner's turn this time.