Munster and Leinster hurling finals were worlds apart: Jamesie O'Connor reflects on Limerick and Kilkenny's provincial successes

Sunday's Munster final was special.

The atmosphere. The occasion. The crowd. The intensity. The drama. The skills. The scores.

And John Kiely must be thrilled that his Limerick team found the answers when they were needed.

Massive kudos to Limerick. They had to dig deep, go into their reserves. They withstood everything Clare threw at them, and still managed to win.

John Keenan also deserves huge praise in how he refereed the contest. Granted, he did not get every single decision right, but he allowed the game to breathe.

It was desperately physical, but it was manly, honest stuff. By and large, it was played in a great spirit. Credit to Keenan for that.

From a Clare perspective, there is immense pride in this team. They couldn't have given us anymore. This is a group playing for the jersey and playing for their manager. It's a united camp.

They have to take massive confidence and self belief into the All-Ireland series. They came closer to Limerick than any team over the past three years.

And were unlucky not to win it.

You'd wonder how those players got themselves out of bed on Monday morning, given what they put their bodies through in Thurles.

But the Banner must ground themselves quickly and focus on the upcoming All-Ireland quarter-final, which will likely be against Wexford.

The Model County will have a right cut at Clare, and are coming into June with a pep in their step after stunning Kilkenny in Nowlan Park.

After Clare expended so much energy and effort in the Munster final to ultimately come away with nothing, it will be tricky to get back up for the Wexford match.

It's an awkward fixture.

Have Clare exposed some weaknesses in Limerick?

The rest of the country watched Clare go 15 rounds with the champions. And they will take heart from that.

The Treaty weren't allowed to steamroll their opponents, like they have done so often in recent years.

I feel there might only be a finite amount of energy in the Limerick tank.

They dug into their reserves in Munster over the past few weeks. Those reserves will be needed once more at Croke Park. If they keep going to the well, will they be able to sustain their levels?

There is a lot of hurling left to be played this summer. And given the toll Sunday's Munster final took on both teams, there is no guarantee for either team that they will reach the All-Ireland final.

Leinster final struggles to inspire

I was at Croke Park on Saturday night, and the whole occasion was devoid of atmosphere and intensity.

It seemed just to be a case of Kilkenny winning a free, TJ Reid putting the ball over the bar, repeat.

There was no flow to the game. It was stop-start throughout.

The contest was crying out for a goal or a big incident to inject some life into it. But that never came.

Henry Shefflin has to be desperately disappointed that Galway didn't raise a gallop, and never asked hard questions of Kilkenny.

Other than Conor Whelan, they lacked a cutting edge up front.

In perfect conditions at Croke Park, scoring 0-17 is never going to get it done.

Brian Cody will be thrilled.

He got an honest performance from his team. Huw Lawlor looked like he is getting back up to pace, while Conor Fogarty impressed in the midfield.

They have retained their Leinster title, but you feel that their best hurling is ahead of them this summer, rather than behind them.

Granted, the Munster teams have looked a half-pace ahead of their Leinster counterparts thus far in the championship. But we've said that before and we've been proven wrong.

The Cats are back in an All-Ireland semi-final, and that's exactly where you want to be.

Cork and Wexford to get the job done

I fancy Cork and Wexford to avoid any slip-ups this weekend against Antrim and Kerry respectively.

The Rebels looked dead and buried in the championship, but seized control of their own destiny. I don't expect them to slip up in Belfast, and they will be a dangerous opponent for any team this summer.

Similarly, I don't think the Yellowbellies will undo the good work of their win over Kilkenny, and should win in Tralee.