Hurling Nation: Time for Dublin to seize their chance
This weekend All-Ireland semi-finals give us one traditional pairing and one novelty.
This first is a struggle between the administrative and cultural capitals, and Cork versus Dublin is a battle of mindsets in every way.
Both managers have work to do and Pat Ryan has to kill off any sign of complacency. In Munster, Cork lost by 16 points to Limerick and then needed penalties to beat him.
Dublin beat Limerick playing with 14 men for an hour. Cork can't let their minds drift to a final. Cuir an breac san eangach sula gcuire tú sa phota é.
Niall Ó Ceallacháin has to wipe out his players' more dangerous thoughts also. It would be too easy for Dublin to say that whatever happens tomorrow, it's been a good year. It hasn't, not yet.
Dublin came third in Leinster, beating teams they should beat. They lost to a poor Galway team and played half a game against Kilkenny.
The Limerick game can either be a foundation for a Dublin hurling revival or, like most quarter-finals, it'll be forgotten.
One game is not enough, no All-Irelands since before the Second World War, that's not enough either.
Dublin need to kill the argument that they beat Limerick, therefore Limerick must have been bad.
After the Munster final, nobody wrote Limerick off and if Limerick were thinking about seeing Cork again this summer, that's the mindset trap we're talking about.
Dublin hit a new level against Limerick, hungry for the loose ball, hooking and blocking, turning possession over, confident scoring and aggressive defence. That must be the new muscle memory for Dublin hurling.
Chances like this don't come often. In 2013, Kilkenny were going for a third All-Ireland in a row. An Anthony Daly-coached Dublin beat Wexford and then defeated Kilkenny in a replay – something rarely achieved in that Cats era. The Dubs then saw off Galway in the Leinster final. That was a good year.
A sending off and a few missed chances helped turn the tide in the All-Ireland semi-final a few weeks later against Cork and Dublin haven't reached that stage since then – 12 years of waiting.
Cork will miss Séamus Harnedy, just as Dublin will miss Chris Crummey, but if the two teams get their heads right, it should be fast and furious.
Dublin have scored 18 goals this summer and have that threat in them, while Cork can be mesmerising. Neither team is perfect.
We're going for Cork this time, but hurling badly needs Dublin and no hurling person will want to see the game drift back into a tug-of-war between the big three.
So we hope it's close and we hope we won't have to wait another 12 years to see the Sky Blue hurling back at this stage again.
Dé Domhnaigh will have two royal estates continuing an old war. Both Tipp and Kilkenny are better than they were last year and both are improving incrementally.
Are either of them ready to be All-Ireland champions? Do they stand comparison with the great teams both have produced in years gone?
They’d each argue that regardless of all that, this year is a good a chance as any, and they could be right.
Kilkenny will have Eoin Cody back to full health. In a team of very good players, he's a generational talent, the sort that Kilkenny used to produce in batches.
The six-peat in Leinster deserves respect, but in reality, Kilkenny were tested just once this year in the second half against Dublin. That will be a worry for Derek Lyng as he knows that Kilkenny don't have to peak in Leinster and he must envy the road-testing Tipperary got in Munster.
Tipp duck in and out the limelight, but always seem to find excellent hurlers. The new and the old this year make a good mix.
This clash has never been one for the faint-hearted. Expect carnage and rhythm and the kind of hurling that wakes the soul.
The Premier beat the Stripy Ones in the league when four red cards were flashed. We think fewer red cards, more goals, and the same outcome in this one.
Sin é a chairde, enjoy it all. We're owed a single epic, at least with just one hurling weekend left before the GAA leadership's microwave dings to tell us the season is done.Dónal Óg Cusack was speaking on Morning Ireland.
Watch the All-Ireland Hurling Championship semi-finals with RTÉ Sport. Cork v Dublin on Saturday from 4.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player and Kilkenny v Tipperary on Sunday from 3.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow live blogs on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to commentaries on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Sunday Game at 10.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
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