No romance. Kilkenny came to the All-Ireland hurling final yesterday and drained the day of most possibilities before the latecomers had found their seats. The business was settled by two goals and three points inflicted before 10 minutes had passed and before Limerick had even scored.
How to kill a game in nine quick minutes. Limerick, the underdogs, had spoken of bringing intensity and a little shock and awe to Croke Park. The wide-eyed innocence of it! Kilkenny opened the game with two quick points and the sort of physical pummelling of their opponents which precluded further debate. They followed up with two ruthlessly taken goals and another point. Fin. After that they played within themselves, winning by 2-19 to 1-15.
Thus Kilkenny retained the title and restored themselves to the top table of hurling, equalling Cork's record of 30 wins. It was a performance of clinical efficiency. All the sentimentality came at the end.
Henry Shefflin, Kilkenny's totemic captain who had been forced to retire from the game with a serious knee injury at half-time accepted the Liam MacCarthy Cup and hoisted it jointly with James and Darragh McGarry. James McGarry, Kilkenny's reserve goalkeeper, lost his wife Vanessa in a car crash on July 20th. Both he and his young son Darragh stood high on the Hogan Stand yesterday with tears streaming down their faces as the celebrations unfolded around them. Henry Shefflin dedicated Kilkenny's win to Vanessa McGarry and spoke warmly of James McGarry's contribution.
"This celebration comes with a lot of sadness. James McGarry and Darragh McGarry lost Vanessa McGarry tragically in a road accident recently. I just want to say to James that the reason we are here today with this Liam MacCarthy Cup is because of you and you only."
Apart from the tears and the grief amid the babel of song and chanting there was little else memorable about the day. Kilkenny lost their full back Noel Hickey and centre forward Shefflin through injury but still managed to look unruffled.
Kilkenny played like a team who had cornered the market on motivation. Richie Bennis, the Limerick manager, noted forlornly afterwards that Kilkenny had "taken the start that we in Limerick had wanted. The very least we had hoped for was that they wouldn't start like that".
Limerick stuck to their game for the last hour, but many in the attendance of 82,125 were sidling towards the exits long before the end.
Kilkenny's second successive title was their fifth of this decade and sets them up next year for a tilt at the three-in-a-row, a feat not achieved since their great rivals Cork pulled it off in the 1970s.