Clarecastle had won three of the previous six county titles while Newmarket had been in the doldrums since 1981. And we only won successive county titles once in our history. The projections weren’t as ludicrously outlandish or ambitious after Tipp whipped Kilkenny in the 2016 All-Ireland final but they still looked on the right course in early 2017. That Tipperary team of the late 1980s and early 1990s was one of their greatest ever but even they couldn’t win back-to-back titles. Then again, maybe that savagery is just in Kilkenny, and not in everyone else, never mind Tipp.

Source: Irish Examiner June 28, 2020 22:52 UTC