WITH the focus of hurling attention about to fall on this year's League final, the championship gave notice yesterday that it was about to rumble into action with a press conference in the New Stand at Croke Park to launch the second year of Guinness' sponsorship.

In a new departure, the sponsors honoured John Doyle, eight times an All-Ireland medallist with Tipperary, in the first of an annual series of awards to commemorate distinguished former players. It was also announced that an award will be made to the outstanding newcomer of this year's championship, in collaboration with the Association of GAA Writers.

Guinness Ireland's managing director, Colin Storm, said the company would invest more than £1 million this year "not just on marketing, but to assist the development of the game". On the marketing front, the company was doubly pleased.

Firstly, the sponsorship had registered a 40 per cent association with the public in the immediate aftermath of the All-Ireland final and secondly, the advertising campaign for last year's championships had won several awards.

This year's business gets underway on Sunday with the Leinster preliminary round between Westmeath and Carlow. Three weeks later. the first big match of the summer is expected to attract a full house to Pairc Ui Chaoimh for the meeting of Cork and Limerick.

A particularly interested observer at that match will be Anthony Daly, captain of All-Ireland champions Clare, who will face the winners in the Munster semi-final. Daly was among the guests at Croke Park yesterday and spoke about what has been a satisfactory League - neither relegated nor distracted by involvement in the play-offs.

"It's been not bad. It suits us to be out of sight because there's a lot of talk about the League semifinals and we already got a lot of attention from the media. It suits us to get a bit of a low down period now where we can get back to doing our own thing.

"We were a little disappointed that day when we heard Waterford hadn't beat Offaly (preventing Clare from qualifying for the semi-finals), but at same time on reflection, it mightn't be a bad thing to concentrate on our training and focus for the championship rather than trying to win a League.

Clare face their first campaign to defend the All-Ireland in 8 years in fairly good shape. The team has progressed well during the winter and should be able to boast at least a couple of new names for this year's championship.

"I'd like to think we coped very well." says Daly, "but time will tell, how we play in the championship. But fellas haven't changed anyway and most of us are still the same ordinary fellas we were when we were being beaten. That'll be the way it'll continue. I wouldn't like to think anyone would change their personality because of a bit of success.

At this stage last year, Clare were on the verge of a League final where defeat by Kilkenny was to raise much scepticism about their long-term prospects. Was that a big setback?

"It wouldn't have appeared to be," says Daly. "I mean it's (the League's) good, competitive stuff. You see we needed to win something at that stage and we didn't win it, but it was another final under the belts, another big day flop, so that when we did get back into the Munster final, we had had two, three, four of them under our belts. Eventually there'll come a time when you say this isn't good enough, we have to stop the rot here. Maybe that had an effect.

"I'd say we were happy enough with this year's. Before Christmas certainly we performed well, although we got caught the first day against Kerry (first match after winning the All-Ireland). Sure, we weren't right going down to it I'd say not knocking Kerry, they played great on the day. Just we couldn't lift it when we were asked questions. So that sobered us up a bit and we went off and beat Offaly and drew with Galway.

"Then after Christmas, after the holidays, Kilkenny beat us when we were really out of shape. But we were getting back to the bit for the Tipp game and I felt we were unlucky to lose that day, a draw would have been a fair result. Then two more weeks against Cork we were in reasonable shape going down there and determined not to be relegated."

That day, Clare put in a great performance against a distinctly out-of-sorts Cork line-up. Despite the poor performance of the opposition, Clare still looked like a team that had become used to their lofty place in the world.

"Yeah. It was real winter hurling, that's the only thing I'd say about it. We went down there to win and we dominated Cork on the day, but, at the same time, the pitch was a bog and the Cork lads were physically smaller than us, really geared for championship hurling. It didn't suit them on the day."

Finally, he addressed the differences in approach between being All-Ireland champions and being outsiders.

"It's great. We know what the taste of massive victory is like. We've known small victories in our time, great days against big teams and now we know what the ultimate is like and we know what the rewards are.

"Fellas are really determined they don't want to let go of that. We don't want to be ever down the way we were again. I know they can never take it away from us that we won in 1995, but you want it to continue.

"The way Clare people reacted to it, if you didn't want it to continue, there'd be something wrong with you. And the one way for that feeling and that way of life to continue is to keep winning.