As the absurd Pantomime of Brexit negotiations continues and I prepare for a very busy final week of an exhausting term I’m taking this afternoon off to watch the final of the All Ireland Senior Hurling Championship from Croke Park in Dublin. The final is between Limerick and Waterford, and is in effect a re-run of the 2020 Munster provincial final, which was won by Limerick. (The winners of the Leinster and Munster Provincial championships go straight into the semi-finals of the All-Ireland Championship, while the runners-up play in the Quarter-Finals).
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final usually takes place in August or September, but this year’s competition has been rescheduled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
It was raining very heavily overnight and into this morning in the Dublin are but the bad weather has cleared so I’m looking forward to a good match. According to the bookies, Limerick are strong favourites at 4/9 with Waterford at 5/2. Throw-in is at 3.30pm. The match will be played in a largely empty Croke Park, which means the atmosphere won’t be the same as in front of a crowd of 80,000 but I hope it will be enjoyable nonetheless. I’m not going to live blog the match but will update at half time and at the end.
As a bonus, the main event is preceded by the final of the Joe McDonagh Cup which is the second tier of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. This year’s final is between Antrim and Kerry. Antrim were strong favourites before the match and began the match better of the two teams, but Kerry fought back well from a poor start to lead 1-07 to 0-9 at half time.
UPDATE: Half-time Limerick 0-14 Waterford 0-11. The scoreline doesn’t really reflect Limerick’s dominance, but Waterford are doing well to stay in the game. Only three points in it. I still think Limerick will win.
UPDATE: Full-time Limerick 0-30 Waterford 0-19. Limerick just too strong for Waterford, who had no answer to the relentless accuracy of Limerick’s shooting from long range. Limerick’s defence also impressive, nullifying the threat from Waterford’s full forwards. Congratulations to Limerick.
Yesterday’s Irish Times prediction has aged well…
