GAELIC GAMES/All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Guinness will be marketing the 2005 All-Ireland hurling championship as The Stuff of Legend. While that could just as easily be referring to Guinness itself, the campaign is in fact inspired by hurling's place in Irish mythology, from the legends of Cu Chulainn, to stories about Fionn and Na Fianna.

The new campaign was launched in Croke Park yesterday, marking the 11th year of the sponsorship agreement with the senior All-Ireland championship.

The first 10 years of that agreement has seen Guinness spend €25 million on promotion and marketing around the hurling championship, and that sort of spending will continue until the end of the current agreement, which runs through to the All-Ireland of 2006.

The marketing campaigns have been changed on an annual basis, with the exception of the Not Men, But Giants campaign, which because of its success was run for two years. Last year Guinness announced their latest two-year agreement with the GAA, and despite some concerns at the time about drinks sponsorship, it does appear that Guinness remain every bit as committed to extend the agreement further at the end of next year.

The GAA's task force report on alcohol has subsequently played down some of the concerns about the drinks sponsorships. GAA president Seán Kelly yesterday welcomed the Guinness campaign of Diageo Ireland, which he said has "contributed hugely to the promoting and popularising of the hurling championship".

Kelly also welcomed the new format of this year's championship, which for the first time will see the eight best teams go forward to a quarter-final stage, to be played on the weekends of July 24th and July 30th.

This championship also marks the introduction of the second and third-tier championships, to be known as the Christy Ring and Nicky Rackard Cups respectively.

Nine captains from some of the leading All-Ireland contenders were also in attendance, as well as Cork's Diarmuid O'Sullivan, who was deputising on the day for Seán Óg Ó hAilpin. The defence of their All-Ireland title begins on Sunday week when they meet Waterford in Thurles, the only team to beat them in the course of last year's championship.

Although they endured another disappointing league, O'Sullivan was more than a little confident about their chances this year. The fact that everybody else will be out to beat them didn't seem to bother him. "It's no different from last year," reckoned O'Sullivan. "It's a challenge for us, but the Munster championship comes first, and then the All-Ireland series, and we know that nothing will come easy in either of those competitions.

"But I feel that it's down to attitude and mental approach from here on in. Okay we are all-Ireland champions but that is 2004. There is a new all-Ireland championship in 2005 and so hopefully we will have our name on it at the end of it again."

Cork last won back-to-back All-Ireland titles in 1978, when they won three, and while Kilkenny will start this year's championship as marginal favourites, O'Sullivan is a lot more concerned about Waterford at the moment.

"As far we are concerned the Munster championship has always meant a lot to us, and you could see that after our one-point defeat by Waterford last year."

Galway captain Liam Donoghue was the odd one out yesterday in that he was the only one having no idea who their first-round opponents might be. "We're not out for another six weeks as well," he said, "and that's not ideal. But I think the new format will definitely suit us more than previous years.

Meanwhile, Dublin hurling manager Humphrey Kelleher has welcomed back Ronan Fallon and Stephen Perkins to the panel ahead of the championship opener against Laois on Sunday week. David Donnelly is also fit again after injury.