The minor hurlers are the last standard bearers for Tipperary in the All-Ireland championships

Tipperary’s last hope of a 2024 All-Ireland title hangs on the fate of the minors, who face off against Galway in the semi-final this Saturday at Limerick. Fresh from their exciting Munster win over Clare, we’ll hope for a further uplift from these Under 17s. Clare and a fancied Kilkenny side play the second semi.

Hope springs eternal, so when seniors fail you automatically look to the underage ranks for some minor consolation. The Under 20s had to be satisfied with a Munster title so the Under 17s will now hope to emulate the class of 2022.

Their trip through Munster wasn’t entirely smooth. An impressive opening win against Cork was followed by a less-impressive achievement against Waterford. Then came the spillage of four goals during a four-point loss to Clare at the Stadium. Pointless Limerick proved awkward too in the final bout, the Premier edging it by a mere point.

It was a sequence of games that left one with mixed impressions of the team ahead of the Munster final re-match with Clare. Actually, I left the Stadium the night of that initial defeat to Clare feeling I wouldn’t mind another shot at the Banner. Some of the goals were softly conceded and there was a healthy nineteen points on our side of the ledger. Minor adjustments could make major difference.

And so, it came to pass. The defence learned the lessons, keeping a clean sheet this time, including some stubborn defiance near the end when Clare sought to save the game. That came after quality goals from Cillian Minogue and Stefan Tobin tilted the match our way midway through the second period.

It was an impressive win by the lads, who will now hope to build on the progress. There are parallels with 2022, when we also edged Clare in that Munster final before doing likewise against Galway in the All-Ireland semi. Both games could easily have been lost but a combination of resilience and luck saw the team through to a final win. We’ll hope the parallels continue.

Galway have a most impressive record in this grade over the past quarter of a century. Since 2000 they’ve taken ten titles, including a four-in-a-row from 2017/20, something no other county has ever achieved. Mind you, the follow through to senior has been lacking, which is another debate entirely.

This year they’ve come to the semi-final through the back door. They were thrashed by Kilkenny in their round robin game and the margin was similar when the sides met at the semi-final stage; we’re talking 19 and 15-point gaps. That’s untypical of Galway. They beat Dublin by five in their group game and the metropolitans only lost to Kilkenny by four in the Leinster decider. There’s not much logic there but this age group can often toss up some very variable results.

Anyway, we’ll hope that our season extends beyond Saturday. Good luck to all involved.

Elsewhere, Tipperary watched on as interested neutrals as Limerick and Clare disputed a third provincial final on the trot. More of the same in the pairing and more of the same in the outcome. Once again Limerick had the measure of matters, this time by an enhanced margin.

Gone was the closeness of 2022 and ’23. So many cuts now at the hands of Limerick have left so much scar tissue that, I suspect, Brian Lohan and company won’t wish for another re-match for some time.

Their win over the Shannonsiders in the round robins last year now reads like an irrelevant footnote; when it’s mattered Limerick have been the masters.

A good game, perhaps, but not a great one, if I may borrow a Dunphy-ism. Too much inevitability to stir the blood as Clare came up well short of requirements. Parity or near parity against this Limerick side feels like a deficit. You need to be out front and bossing matters to have any chance when the home straight arrives.

Clare were too far off to push the issue through. Few of their players matched expectations, Peter Duggan one of that few who brought the necessary combativeness. Shane O’Donnell was isolated too often in Limerick company; Mark Rodgers delivered only in spurts; ditto with David Fitzgerald.

Limerick, it seemed, had key men targeted. John Conlon got little scope to orchestrate from the back and upfront Shane O’Donnell was regularly crowded out. When you spike key cogs in the machine, the rest splutter.

This was vintage Limerick, delivering another commanding performance. Doubts about their half back line were laid to rest, with Declan Hannon back to his pivotal role between Hayes and Byrnes. Upfront Hegarty once again was in unstoppable form and young Shane O’Brien really came of age.

The Kilmallock lad played Under 20 this year but on Sunday performed like a seasoned veteran. This was no bit part feeding off others but a central role, ball-winning, ball-passing and ball-scoring. The future potential is scary.

The physical prowess of this Limerick team is often highlighted but what’s often underplayed is the match intelligence of the group. Their spatial awareness and ability to get to the action in numbers is unmatched in the modern game. They read the game so well. Watch Hegarty’s goal, for example, and how he drifted unnoticed into that space, anticipating where the ball would arrive. Then you had the clinical execution of the score against a hesitant goalie.

On an off-day for Cian Lynch and with the likes of Peter Casey, Seamus Flanagan and Darragh Donovan not involved, they still dictated terms.

The six-in-a-row is an incredible innings. We in Tipperary know the pain of trying to produce a follow-up year after an All-Ireland win but Limerick just churn it out relentlessly with no sign of appetites abating.

Meanwhile, in Leinster Kilkenny did what Kilkenny always do. The Cats may have stumbled on the way to the final, drawing with Galway and Carlow, but when the big day came they just got back to basics and made Dublin look second rate. The more things change in the eastern province, the more they stay the same.

Nobody should underestimate Kilkenny in the remainder of this championship; they’ll be awkward opponents for anyone. Their method is more traditional than Limerick’s but they’ve shown a willingness to adapt.

Besides, a forward line with the likes of TJ Reid, Adrian Mullen and Eoin Cody is not to be taken lightly; nor is a defence backboned by Lawlor and Reid and with man-markers like Mikey Butler in their ranks.

So, what’s the likely shake-up for the rest of the championship? Cork and Wexford should account for Offaly and Laois in the preliminary quarter-finals. Then, depending on their recovery from Sunday, Clare will be fancied to take out the “Yellowbellies” in the quarters while Cork should dismiss Dublin.

That scenario sets up a semi-final line-up where Clare face Kilkenny and Cork take on Limerick. Known form would then suggest another Kilkenny/Limerick decider.

All of the above, of course, assumes no upsets, such as Wexford fumbling against Laois or Clare shocking Kilkenny. Or how about Cork doing a reprise on Limerick? Surely there will be some unforeseen outcomes along the way but either way, right now, Limerick look unbackable.

Meanwhile, back on home turf, all the Tipperary intrigue is taking place in the background. The footballers limped away bloodied and bruised after a miserable season. The manager stepped away amid the criticisms and I doubt if there’ll be a queue to replace him.

Otherwise, there’s a financial crisis, one that I signposted after last December’s Convention but few took any notice. The county is broke, our teams are banjaxed and the future looks grim. Enjoy the summer.