TOMORROW, the All Ireland club championships, sponsored by AIB, begin with hurling semi finals at Thurles and Croke Park. More attention will focus on the former venue as Munster and Clare champions Sixmilebridge face Galway's Sarsfieids, who are in pursuit of their third All Ireland in four years.
It should bring back a few memories for Sean Stack, the distinguished former Clare hurler. He was a member of the Sixmilebridge team that contested the club's only previous All Ireland semi final in 1984. Then, as a coach, he took Toomevara of Tipperary to the 1994 final - relinquishing his duties for the Munster final in which he played for the Bridge and then taking up where he left off - where they lost to Sarsfields.
It is 1984 that he best remembers. "Sixmilebridge are very much a changed outfit since then, but the seasoned players have been very, very enthusiastic this year while the new blood has given the team fresh impetus. It's one of the best sides the club has had.
"We have the huge burden of getting out of Clare and for some reason, we never play well in the county and were really, really lucky to win out this year. In every round we should have been beaten, except the semi final against Cratloc where the fear of being beaten by neighbours had an effect - we would never have heard the end of it."
The story outside the county has been different. Great surging victories, based on second half dominance, wiped out Ballygunner of Waterford and Tipperary's Nenagh Eire Og, in the semi final and final respectively.
In the final, it was indeed the contribution of the veteran players that caught the eye: Gerry McInerney's predatory instincts, the power of Noel Earlie at midfield and Flan Quilligan's industry in the half forwards.
During the second half exhibition, in particular, there was much to admire. McInerney's brother Declan caused major problems in the right corner of the attack and John Chaplin's long range striking was spectacular and yielded five points.
One big question to be answered concerns the injuries to Sarsfields' Padraig Kelly and goalkeeper Tom Kenny. Both are out - subject to the usual mind games beloved of selectors although Kelly may appear off the bench at some stage. These absences undermine Sarsfields, but they are a resourceful team, as Stack knows.
"They make no mistakes and are so competent at covering weaknesses. They capitalise on their strong points and hide errors. Even the less skilled players know what to do and get rid of the ball quickly when they have it."
There is also the question of how far Sarsfields can stretch their determination to win another All Ireland. Even allowing for the less draining journey undertaken by Galway teams during championships, they have a lots of miles on the clock. All area reportedly enthusiastic and Joe Cooney, in particular, is said to have worked very hard for the match.
Nonetheless, it may be that the Bridge's priceless first time hunger may prove a sharper attitude.
At Croke Park, Dunloy return to where they so nearly won an All Ireland last March. Unfortunately they face, in Glenmore, a rather more measured force than that provided by Birr. Glenmore mightn't have gone in at half time in last year's replay 13 points to the good, but neither would they have failed to finish matters on St Patrick's Day.
Dunloy are older and wiser than when the clubs met at a similar stage five years ago, but Glenmore are also better, with top performances frequently coming from less well known players. It looks too varied a challenge for Dunloy.
