WHAT times we live in. Computer science has hardly changed as much as the hurling, landscape in recent seasons.

Three years ago tomorrow, a late goal by PJ Delaney put the final stamp on Kilkenny's second successive All Ireland victory. It meant, among other things, that the decade's first three championships had gone, to Cork, Tipperary and Kilkenny as they pulled further clear at the top of the role of honour.

Even Clare, who had sensationally dumped League champions and All Ireland favourites Cork out of the Munster championship, went on to receive such a mauling from Tipperary in the provincial final that they must have wondered at the wisdom of their earlier presumption.

Early the following year, in a survey of intercounty managers, only two counties - Kilkenny and Galway - received votes as likely winners of that year's All Ireland. Tipperary varied the plot a little in the spring by winning the League in impressive style, but the prospects were the same: the ancien regime had their claws dug deep into the championship.

There were no signs that the extraordinary sequence of the last three years was about to begin. Categorising the recent winners at this stage is a bit premature and superficial, but let that not stop us. Offaly were - and remain, albeit in need of renewal - a remarkably talented bunch who found the motivation and drive for sufficiently long to capture an All Ireland.

Clare's march to last year's title was built on a marvellous defence and a defiant self confidence. They were also the beneficiaries of meticulous planning by their selectors and an attention to detail that made the most of what they had.

While all this went on, Liam Griffin, appointed Wexford manager in 1994, watched and made his own deductions. The achievement of the county under his management has been a more spectacular story than any of its recent predecessors.

Everyone knew Offaly had remarkable talent in the county and they had won, three minor All Irelands in four years to prove it. No one foresaw Clare's success, but it was plain they were an improving team that had a couple of years of striking results behind them.

Wexford, however, was a different matter. A year ago, when Griffin had the players ensconced in a room at the Ferrycarrig Hotel, to the outside world Wexford's best bet appeared to be getting promoted out of Division Two - and even then, you wouldn't have put your house on it.

How these stories unfold baffles most of us. At the time, you might be sympathetic in a head nodding sort of way, but very rarely do you share the faith.

Griffin explains that there was nothing intrisically wrong with Wexford hurling, that the same blood ran in their veins, that all it needed was a little bit of confidence, a break, a run in the championship. While he spoke about this, a caustic backing track would play in your head as a quick glance at their first championship fixture revealed Kilkenny on June 2nd.

EVEN after beating Kilkenny, in the lead up to the provincial final, doubts persisted. `They'll never beat Kilkenny and Offaly in the one summer'. Before the Leinster final, in (an interview with captain Martin Storey, I could sense his irritation at all the questions about losing in the past and the evident disinclination to believe that the county had just been unlucky over the years (what about all those wides, all that aimless play, all that headless chickenry when useful victories beckoned?).

Look at last year. When Wexford's championship ended a season ago, Griffin was having to explain why reasons of team discipline had required him to strip Liam Dunne of the captaincy. A year later, Dunne is RTE's man of the match in an All Ireland final.

Success is the ultimate filter for hindsight. Before the match on Sunday, we knew that if Wexford won, they would have scored a significant victory in the preliminaries. Parading all around the pitch and standing straight while being introduced to the President indicated how well they were coping with nerves.

Had Limerick won, however, we presumably would have had to conclude that they were geared up for the match, not interested in the ceremonies, just dying to play and that Wexford had been enjoying the occasion too much.

Similarly a glance back over a year's preparation probably suggests no greater hardship suffered on the hill at Crusheen (where Clare subjected themselves to endurance training) than in Maguire's Field, Limerick's venue for heavy training, or indeed the dunes of Curracloe which experience suggests are grand for sitting on in July, less so for running up in March. Some teams suffer much and win little.

If there is an area where Wexford's renaissance can be explained, it must be in the whole planning and handling of the great adventure. Nothing was left to chance.

It was explained in yesterday's Irish Times that Griffin had prepared contingency plans in case a player was sent off: how Wexford would react if they lost a man and how they would react if Limerick lost a man; what difference it would make if it was a midfielder, a defender etc.

A couple of weeks ago, Griffin is supposed to have administered sleeping pills to players on a Saturday and inspected them in Wexford Park on the Sunday, just to see what the effect was on individuals and accordingly work out how best to do it the night before the All Ireland.

Every discipline that might have had a bearing on the enterprise at hand was studied. Griffin read up on sports psychology and arranged for a psychologist to talk to the players. Dieticians, physical trainers, other sports people whose experiences would be useful were all brought in to share perspectives with the Wexford hurlers.

As the All Ireland approached, further conscious decisions became evident. A superb media night was organised which allowed ample access to players and ensured they would be left in peace afterwards. In fairness to Limerick, their media relations were similarly accomplished but after their 1994 experience, they seemed a little more wary of wallowing in the limelight. Wexford, on the other hand, soaked it up.

In Wexford town on Saturday evening, the atmosphere was electric. The success of the county team brought out a huge outpouring of community spirit. Even those unaware of anything to do with hurling were caught up in it.

The road to Dublin on Sunday morning was attended by families sitting out in front of houses, wearing Wexford jerseys and children waving flags excitedly at every passing car. Happy expectation on faces as the day dawned. A team couldn't come back without the All Ireland.

And last night it didn't.