THE previously mentioned
existentialist question.With an All-Ireland quarter-
final in mind, is it better
to lose one’s provincial
decider narrowly or lose it
convincingly?Such was the margin of
their defeat at the LIT Gaelic
Grounds that Tipperary would
have ended up questioning
everything about themselves –
not a pleasant task, yet better
to have to undergo it then than
after an All-Ireland semi-final.No such dark night of the soul
awaited Kilkenny after their
visit here on June 30th.They narrowly lost a match that
they might equally have won
narrowly (and probably would
have done had they scored the
first goal).But is it better to lose
narrowly, adopt an as-you-
were attitude and go again,
with no guarantee of a better
outcome, or lose heavily,
reboot - because naturally
you can’t return to the table
with the same hand - and
trust that the systems
change will yield a substantial
improvement?Deep, maaan.AFTER all of which, we’ll......FINISH more or less
where we started.“YOU can’t buy that kind of
inspiration,” Cheddar Plunkett
declared of last Sunday’s
O’Moore Park triumph.“If we even only get 20
families in Laois involved in
hurling as a result of this,
that’s gold dust.”Quite.Barring the shock of the
century, Laois’s 2019 will end
around 5.30pm today. Their
2020?That will begin half an hour or
so later.7
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TIPPERARY BAINISTEOIR
LIAM SHEEDY REFLECTS ON HIS
TEAMS’ DEFEAT TO LIMERICK
ON JUNE 30