EDITORIAL: Hurling final thriller was a joy to behold

The All-Ireland hurling final weekend has always been one of the stand out events in the Irish sporting calendar and last Sunday's thriller between Munster rivals Clare and Cork will go down as one of the best finals ever.
From start to finish, the game had absolutely everything and but for a wrong decision by referee Johnny Murphy not to award Cork a free for a jersey pull in the last seconds of the game, we would very much be looking forward to a replay back at Croke Park on Saturday week.
Most people felt it was very harsh to ask the players to play extra-time when the sides finished level after 70 minutes and surely the GAA would in hindsight rather have had another big game to look forward to, instead of deciding to try and get the game finished on Sunday.
After such a pulsating championship overall, it really must be strange for all our hurling mad counties to have to wait again until next January at the earliest to see more inter-county action.
The split-season model was initially brought in by the GAA to put more emphasis on the club scene but this could surely be done without having to play the All-Ireland finals in July. There does certainly now seem serious momentum to at least get the finals put back to August, and perhaps allow for some replays during the inter-county season.

Fresh consultation

GAA President Jarlath Burns revealed last month that a fresh consultation process with each of the provincial councils over the scheduling of the inter-county season will begin and suggested potential tweaks to the current situation.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, Burns suggested it was the 'condensed nature of the season' and the earlier All-Ireland finals that might be revised, as opposed to the split-season format itself.
“There are two things here,” Burns outlined. “There’s the split season, but there is also the condensed nature of the current season. And I think that’s what is maybe causing a bit of anxiety. The games are coming so thick and fast that there isn’t time to absorb the mesmerising nature of some of the games because you’re straight into the next game.”
And that in essence is the nub of the problem here. All of us in the media certainly feel that having games week on week is making it impossible to do proper previews of all our big inter-county games and setting the scene for these big clashes was always one of the more enjoyable parts of the job.
Jarlath Burns does seem like a President who wants to listen to the GAA community at large so it is expected that changes to the format will be put in place in time for next season.
After such an exhilarating final on Sunday, it certainly will be a very tough job for the footballers of Armagh and Galway to replicate such excitement and drama when they face-off in the football final next Sunday afternoon.

Novel pairing
But it is refreshing to see a novel pairing in the final and it is the first time in some 14 years that Kerry, Dublin or Mayo won't be featuring.
Armagh and Galway have had some really close games over the last number of seasons in the championship and there seems to be no reason why Sunday's game won't go down to the wire.
The bookmakers are finding it hard to separate the sides with Galway installed as very slight favourites at present.
Mayo fans too seem to be divided on whether or not to throw their lot behind the Tribesmen on Sunday. Many would like to see Sam Maguire coming west, especially in the weeks following the death of Connacht football legend John O'Mahony.
But it is no surprise that many Mayo fans too would find it hard to stomach watching our near neighbours winning Sam Maguire after the Green and Red having had so many near misses over the last twelve years.
There will certainly be great scenes of joy for whoever wins Sunday's final. Both counties have a strong and loyal following and the search for tickets will certainly be intense over the coming days.