September Road

No getting away from the monarchists and moggie-baiters... So, just to recap on where the senior hurling championship stands. Yesterday, a county famous for cruelty to animals beat a group known for parading around with signs to set up a final meeting with a band of royalists.

Doesn't have quite the same ring to it as "Cats lower Banner as Rebels lie in wait", now does it?

With Cork and Kilkenny about to decide between them the destination of the Liam MacCarthy Cup for a fifth straight year, we feel entitled (and obliged) to whinge. We on September Road, along with occupants of 30 other counties, have "Up the Rebels" and "Come on the Cats" ringing in the ears. So we thought we'd explain where the two nicknames originated.

The Rebel County? While the common perception is that the county earned the monicker from being at the forefront of the fight for Irish independence, the truth appears to be a little less, ermm, republican.

Apparently, Kilkenny were not the first to feel the wrath of the Rebel County. This honour fell to adherents of the House of Lancaster in the War of the Roses in the 1400s. Such was their interest in British royal affairs, a large contingent from Cork travelled to England to help the House of York.

So far from rebelling against the crown, the "Rebels" fought for their own "legitimate" English heir.

Still, Corkonians should feel honoured with such a nickname - at least when compared with their final opponents. If you like animals you may want to stop reading now.

In the days prior to Kilkenny folk spending their spare time pucking two pieces of stitched leather to each other, there was, apparently, a favoured local pastime that involved tying two cats together by the tail and hanging them over a clothesline - last cat standing, ermm, hanging, won.

There once were two cats of Kilkenny,

Each thought there was one cat too many,

So they fought and they fit,

And they scratched and they bit,

Till excepting their nails

And the tips of their tails,

Instead of two cats, there weren't any

Top SHC Scorers 2006

Eoin Kelly (Tipperary)3-38 (47)

Henry Shefflin (Kilkenny)2-38 (44)

James Young (Laois)1-33 (36)

Niall Gilligan (Clare)3-25 (34)

David Curtin (Dublin)0-34 (34)

Andrew Mitchell (Westmeath)0-30 (30)

Quote of the weekend

The Cats v The Rebels will never again have the same ring to it.Quote of the Weekend: "When you work with lads, you get a family. I love every one of them. And we make mistakes, we know we get things wrong but we also get some things right," - Mayo manager Mickey Moran

What a Difference a Day Makes: Sam Maguire Cup

Sam Maguire Cup

(Odds at start of weekend)

Kerry5/6

Dublin7/4

Cork8/1

Laois10/1

Mayo12/1

Westmeath80/1

(Odds at end of weekend)

Kerry5/6

Dublin6/4

Cork8/1

Laois14/1

Mayo14/1

Liam MacCarthy Cup

(Odds at start of weekend)

Cork4/7

Kilkenny6/4

Clare11/1

(Odds at end of weekend)

Cork4/6

Kilkenny11/10

(Odds from Paddy Power)

Next weekend

Women's SFC - Quarter-finals

Galway v Meath ... Portlaoise (Sat 3.15)

Cork v May ... Portlaoise (Sat 5.00)

All-Ireland MFC - Semi-finals

R'common v Meath ... Croke Park (Sun 12.45)

Kerry v Donegal ... Croke Park (Sun 2.15)

All-Ireland SFC quarter-final

Meath v Laois ... Croke Park (TBA)

All-Ireland SFC - Semi-final

Kerry v Cork ... Croke Park (Sun 4.00)