The Toyota Corollas will be circling alright
Looks like blood on his hands
There’s nothing more Clare than one of their backmen after absolutely cleaving a forward with no shame whatsoever, no thought given to the glare of the officials, taking them both out of the game, kneeling above him looking at the referee going “What? What did I do?”
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What have Clare got against Cork? Why won’t they play in Cork? Cork is a grand field.
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Derrick Lynch hates Charleville
They’re very superstitious about Cork.
You make that sound like a bad thing.
Clare play with emotion. They need to feel slighted somehow. A perceived slight will suffice.
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I don’t think I’ve ever been to a game in PUC that Clare were in,
When do they usually announce the fixtures for the Munster championship?
There was a great series of games in PUC between Clare and Tipp around the turn of the millennium. Iconic games really.
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And they won the majority of them 
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cork, limerick, tipp munster finals have no business deviating from the home and away arrangements they have among themselves.
When finals do not involve them well then maybe a case for rotating venues
The decision to play this years Munster final in the Gaelic Grounds was 100% practical. Clare maximised their support and sure the players are so well used to playing there anyways. I dont know why Clare get stick over it
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It’s TFK
Everybody gets stick over everything 
The only stick Clare got over it was from some of their own supporters .
Not strictly Munster but somewhere to put it.
24 for 2024: Hurling’s bright young things looking to make the breakthrough next season
Below the radar, on the horizon or above the parapet. Whatever, these tyros have the game and the gumption to make a serious dent in next year’s Hurling League and Championship. Established starters, irrespective of their age, are excluded.
EYES ON THE PRIZE: Clare’s Daithi Lohan with Ben Cunningham of Cork. Pic: ©INPHO/Ben Brady
TUE, 26 DEC, 2023 - 12:09
Cian Byrne (Wexford)
The Fethard St. Mogues clubman ticks a lot of boxes for Wexford in 2024. He is a reliable free-taker, his U20 form was sensational this season and he is already familiar with new boss Keith Rossiter having played under him at that grade.
Byrne’s 0-10 against Dublin in the Leinster U20 championship to seal a spot in the final was a particular highlight and he followed it up with 0-14, including ten frees, in the decider. Byrne was later included on a senior championship matchday panel for the decisive clash with Kilkenny.
Corey Byrne-Dunbar (Wexford)
Byrne-Dunbar first grabbed people’s attention when he posted 2-2 for Ferns St Aidan’s against St Aidan’s in a county championship group game two years ago. A season later and he was scoring totals like 2-6 against teams as his dash and spontaneity lit up his club’s attack on their way to a county title.
New Wexford manager Keith Rossiter knows all about him from his time as U20 boss and his eye for goal makes him a genuine option in 2024.
EYE FOR GOAL: Corey Byrne-Dunbar
John Conneely (Clare)
A prospect for central defence in intercounty hurling always concentrates verdicts. While Clare possess the current All-Star centre back in John Conlon, there is a view in the county that his eventual successor in that jersey will be John Conneely.
The Clooney Quin clubman hurled at full-back with Clare’s U20 side in 2023 and was part of the extended Senior panel. Already a strong commanding figure, and a natural defender, Conneely will certainly appeal to Brian Lohan’s sensibilities.
COMMANDING: Clooney-Quin’s John Conneely
Ben Cunningham (Cork)
An untimely injury 11 months ago threatened to upset the St Finbarrs man’s progress. Struck by a hamstring strain in a Munster Hurling League game in January, the then 19-year-old made an appearance for seniors in the league against Westmeath but the U20s was his primary focus. In that winning championship for Cork, he excelled, scoring 2-54 in six games. After being such an integral part of St Finbarrs’ championship-winning side last season under the management of his father, goalkeeping legend Ger, the next step is cementing a berth in the senior squad, and targeting a spot in Pat Ryan’s half forward line.
Colin Currie (Dublin)
With Dublin star Donal Burke missing Na Fianna’s entire club championship campaign through injury, Currie stepped up impressively. He took on the free-taking duties and also delivered in open play as the Glasnevin club captured a first-ever county SHC title.
In Leinster he added another 0-28 and with Burke set to ease his way back into the Dublin panel in 2024 following a serious hamstring injury, it would be no surprise to see Currie on the frees for some of the early league games at least. He played in last year’s Walsh Cup but didn’t feature in the League or Championship.
ACCOMPLISHED FREE-TAKER: Colin Currie of Na Fianna in action against John McKeon of Naas. Pic: Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile
Padraig Fitzgerald (Waterford)
The surname Fitzgerald is considered one of Old Ireland most aristocratic lineages. Waterford certainly possess a touch of young class in cousins Mark Fitzgerald (Passage) and Patrick Fitzgerald (Ballygunner). Another rising tyro, full of pace and style? Pádraig Fitzgerald. A reliable free-taker into the bargain, the Kilrossanty clubman got introduced as a sub against Cork in last summer’s Munster Championship. This canny corner forward already looks the required medicine for 2024.
Conor Heary (Kilkenny)
The wing-forward played a key role in helping O’Loughlin Gaels to regain the Kilkenny SHC at Ballyhale Shamrocks’ expense. He scored a point in the county final and was an ever-present throughout their successful Leinster campaign.
Derek Lyng is a fan of Heary’s because he gave him a couple of opportunities in the 2022 and 2023 National League campaigns, including one start against Tipperary last February. Heary’s versatility is a big asset and he could potentially fill a wing-back slot for the All-Ireland title hopefuls. In the meantime, he has an All-Ireland club campaign to conclude with O’Loughlins.
Brecon Kavanagh (Offaly)
One of the many burgeoning stars the Faithful county has produced recently. The defender is a graduate of the talented Cólaiste Naomh Cormac team and, alongside Adam Screeney, made his senior debut for Kilcormac-Killoughey last July.
Kavanagh lined out at centre back during their Leinster SHC quarter-final triumph over Naomh Éanna. His performances suggest he is well able for Joe McDonagh Cup hurling in 2024.
Tomás ‘Mossy’ Keyes (Laois)
When it came to selecting the man-of-the-match award in the Laois senior hurling final in October, there was no debate or contest. There couldn’t be when Tomas ‘Mossy’ Keyes got 3-6 from play to drive Camross to a 27th county title.
He finished the season as the Laois senior club hurler of the year. Keyes made his Laois senior debut in 2022 before he’d even played senior with Camross when getting man-of-the-match in a Walsh Cup win against Wexford.
Really impressed with IT Carlow in the Fitzgibbon Cup last year but Keyes has only sporadically played with the Laois seniors. Has still to nail down a more permanent place but Keyes should do so this year.
CLUB HONOURS: Tomás Keyes of Camross during the Laois County Senior Hurling Championship final. Pic: Ben McShane/Sportsfile
Tiernan Killeen (Galway)
Heading into Henry Shefflin’s second season, Killeen looked in line for a bright spell with the seniors. His form in the Fitzgibbon Cup as NUI Galway reached the final was sensational and he was deservedly named in the 2023 Electric Ireland Higher Education Rising Stars Team of the Year. Killeen excelled for his club Loughrea too, nailing a late clutch point to force a replay in the Galway SHC final.
Then Killeen, a son of former Galway United long-serving midfielder Ronan, suffered an injury against Kilkenny in the early rounds of the U20 championship. As a result, the defender did not play a minute of senior championship last year, although he has featured once previously, coming on as a replacement versus Westmeath in 2022.
Jack Leamy (Tipperary)
The Golden-Kilfeacle half-forward is a two-year minor and three-year U20 campaigner. Not long turned 20 and Leamy already has five seasons put down in blue and gold. The step now in front of him is by far the most difficult to take.
Leamy’s scoring returns from play with the U20s were more pronounced in 2022, by comparison with 2023, and that might be tied to the fact that he was first chair freetaker for the season just gone, whereas open fare was his only concern 12 months earlier.
Making an impression from open fare will again be his sole concern whenever Liam Cahill decides to take a look at him.
Gavin Lee (Galway)
Gavin Lee immediately got fast-tracked when Henry Shefflin took on managing the Galway Senior team for 2022. The Clarinbridge club man, although only 19 and still a Leaving Certificate student, ticked many intercounty boxes. He stands as a tall mobile young hurler, capable of competing well in the air and shifting across the ground.
His skill level is also high. Galway’s campaign in 2024 should mark the beginning of Lee as a potent forward for at least the rest of this decade.
Eoin McFerran (Antrim)
Sixteen years separate McFerran and TJ Reid but the young Dunloy Cuchulainns tyro performed admirably against the Kilkenny great in January’s All-Ireland club final. Captaining the Antrim U20s this past year, he captured an Ulster title and while he has been a midfielder for the most part, his versatility lends to him playing on either 45-metre line. His burgeoning talent is welcome in Darren Gleeson’s set-up at a time when a quarter of seasoned players have either retired or made themselves unavailable.
Craig Morgan (Tipperary)
Although he will be 25 in 2024, Craig Morgan surely counts as fresh talent for Tipperary’s cause. The Kilruane MacDonaghs clubman had begun to establish himself as an intercounty force at cornerback over summer 2022, even amidst a difficult Tipperary campaign. A serious knee injury during a club game in August 2022 halted his progress. A class operator, Morgan has the potential to become one of the game’s finest defenders.
Micheál Mullins (Cork)
Mullins captained Cork to their third All-Ireland U20 title in four years back in June as the Whitechurch man made quite the impression, rampaging forward to score goals of outstanding quality in both the Munster Final against Clare and the All-Ireland decider against Offaly.
He also came on in the 2021 final under the tutelage of Pat Ryan and his ability to operate in both the half-back line and midfield coupled with his strength, stamina and appetite for work could see his star rise even further when winter gives way to spring.
Aaron Niland (Galway)
The younger brother of Galway senior Evan will continue to feature on these who-to-watch-out-for lists until such time as he is handed his first taste of senior inter-county action - a debut that will happen sooner rather than later.
The younger Niland forward is just out of his minor bootstraps, so Henry Shefflin might adopt a hands-off approach for 2024 before bringing him in the following season to begin his senior education.
The Clarinbridge clubman does not lack for height, but still has a distance to go on his S&C journey. As for his game, it is nothing but exciting. He’s direct, confident, and fascinated with fashioning green flags. In Galway’s three minor outings in 2022, he racked up 2-39 (2-14 from play). This season, he went 4-72 from seven games.
Shane O’Brien (Limerick)
Son of highly-respected coach Adrian and nephew of former Limerick defender Paudie, O’Brien is considered the present of the Kilmallock team and quite possibly the future of the inside Limerick forward line. Some of his performances in this year’s county senior championship were special and he should be able to push on from league appearances this past season.
His outrageous point for Ard Scoil Rís in last year’s Harty Cup semi-final is still being spoken about.
Diarmaid Ó Dúlaing (Dublin)
IN Dublin’s four Leinster U20 games last year, Ó Dúlaing racked up an impressive 25 points, including nine from play. Fleet of foot and with outstanding footwork, the Commercials’ man played 35 minutes in the Walsh Cup and 19 minutes in the league last year - coming off the bench against Kilkenny - but that number should jump considerably in 2024.
Helped Coláiste Eoin to their first-ever Leinster A schools title in 2020 with victory over St Kieran’s.
David O’Reilly (Westmeath)
This year’s UL Freshers hurling team is loaded with inter-county talent, including Offaly’s Adam Screeney, and yet, the player who has caught the eye most with that side is Westmeath’s David O’Reilly. Man-of-the-match in the 2022 Westmeath senior final when scoring 0-4 from play for Castletown Geoghegan in their win against Clonkill, O’Reilly is still U20 this year.
Standing at 6’3, he’s strong in the air, has good pace, loads of skill and bags of potential. Was on the senior training panel last year but struggled to adapt to the training load. The best young prospect in the county, O’Reilly is probably one of the top six forwards in Westmeath, but his biggest challenge will be making that physical step up to senior level.
Will be part of an exciting Westmeath U20 squad next year, but O’Reilly will have more of a chance to establish himself in 2024 with Westmeath now in the Joe McDonagh Cup.
Dan Ravenhill (Offaly)
THE Ballinamere man is understood to be included in Offaly’s extended panel currently and despite his young age, there seems no stopping this talented dual player.
Leadership is not a problem having captained Offaly to the 2022 All-Ireland minor final - averaging over six points per game during the campaign - and has the accuracy to accompany it from both play and frees. Scored a penalty in this season’s U20 All-Ireland final, but it wasn’t enough as Cork prevailed.
TENDER YEARS: Dan Ravenhill
Brion Saunderson (Cork)
The Midleton number one looks primed to challenge Patrick Collins over the coming seasons. He is likely to get his chance to stake a claim in the league. A key cog in Cork’s U20 All-Ireland winning campaign, Saunderson was unlucky not to deny a Dan Ravenhill penalty in the decider after getting his hurley to it. He pulled off a fine save to deny Cormac Egan a goal the same day.
Adam Screeney (Offaly)
The 2022 Minor Hurler of the Year is a rare talent and has thrilled club and county supporters in Offaly for several years. He was the star attraction on both the Offaly minor (2022) and U-20 (2023) teams that reached All-Ireland finals, coming up short on both occasions. In October, the corner forward helped Kilcormac-Killoughey to regain the county SHC title. His movement, craft and stickwork are unparalleled in the county and it’s only a matter of time before he leads the county seniors. The UL student isn’t blessed with natural size or conditioning but has time on his side to work on that.
Keith Smyth (Clare)
We tend to be at more Munster minor and U20 championship fixtures than most and so Smyth’s been on our radar long before 2023, but the first time we said to ourselves that this young lad is future senior material - starting senior material, at that - was on the May evening of this season’s Munster U20 final.
Smyth lost nothing in defeat that Monday evening at the Gaelic Grounds. The inside forward punished each and every Cork indiscretion. He chipped in from play too. It was his superb fetch that fed Sean Rynne for the Clare goal.
His U20 years are now behind him. He will challenge for plentiful game-time under Brian Lohan in 2024.
UNIQUE HURLER: Adam Screeney of Offaly. Pic: Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile
Aidan Tallis (Kilkenny)
Kilkenny possess in Eoin Muphy one of hurling’s finest-ever goalkeepers and the current All-Star in this position. Yet Aidan Tallis is highly rated ever since he kept goal in 2019’s Minor All Ireland Final defeat to Galway.
Three years later, the Lisdowney clubman was again between the posts when the Kilkenny U20s won that All-Ireland by defeating Limerick. Now Murphy’s clear understudy, Tallis has wonderful reflexes and an accurate puckout. His time is coming.
ABLE DEPUTY: Kilkenny goalkeeper Aidan Tallis
Also keep an eye on…
Donagh Murphy (Carlow)
In the first half of the recent Freshers Hurling league final between UL and DCU, Donagh Murphy lit up the match with a handful of outrageous scores from play close to the sideline for DCU. A sublime talent with huge potential, Murphy won a Carlow senior title with Mount Leinster Rangers back in October, along with an All-Ireland Colleges medal with St Kieran’s Kilkenny in March.
Murphy scored a goal in that final against Presentation College Athenry, while he also raised a green flag in the semi-final against Cashel Community School, which was adorned by an instinctive one-handed flick.
Murphy also played in the 2022 colleges final, which Kieran’s lost to Ardscoil Rís. A relation of Tipperary’s Len Gaynor, Murphy still has to physically develop for senior championship but he’s working on it – he, his mother and two brothers are currently competing in the TV show ‘Ireland’s fittest family’.
Conn Sweeney (Tyrone)
The youngster will be taking a break after Carrickmore’s Ulster Intermediate final loss to Setanta last weekend but new Red Hand manager Stephen McGarry is very keen to get him involved in the senior setup when the time is right.
That’s understandable really. He really stood out for his club in that provincial campaign despite being surrounded by players with years of inter-county experience.
A talented footballer, his services will be sought by a number of different masters, but he seems destined to be a star hurler for the Red Hands.
Ruairí Ó Mianáin (Derry)
FOCUS has been elsewhere given Slaughtneil’s Ulster final defeat last weekend, but the youngster is set to be a big player for Derry in 2024.
Hit 1-5 from midfield in the Oakleaf’s All-Ireland U20 B final win over Roscommon earlier this year but equally as comfortable operating as an attacking half-back who has a real eye for a point.
His senior debut may be delayed due to his lengthy club commitments, but expect to see his name become a regular on Johnny McGarvey’s team-sheet. Ó Mianáin will be a key player sooner rather than later.
*Selected by John Fogarty, Christy O’Connor, Paul Keane, PM O’Sullivan, John Coleman, Maurice Brosnan, Niall McCoy, Eoghan Cormican, Anthony Daly and TJ Ryan
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Ballsy call there with Adam Screeney
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Sounds like he might be one to watch
It would have been a lot stranger if he had been omitted
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Safe to say we’d all be watching him. But to dump him in the middle of the list behind two Wexford lads 