Cork blitz Tipp, electric Clare, Galway double down on Kilkenny, Offaly revival | Michael Duignan & Michael Verney
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What insights do Michael Duignan and Michael Verney share about the opening weekend of the 2026 hurling championship?
This is an Irish independent podcast. Now, welcome. Great to have you with us. We have not done enough hurling during the league campaign. We've had a few emails, people not happy with us. We're going to put that right now that Championship is here. So happy to say Michael Deignan is going to come on board as one of our pundits this summer. Eddie Brennan was with us for a lot of last year. He's in with Kilkenny now. And Michael Verney is on the way as well. So Two Offaly men who know they're hurling. It was a very interesting weekend, obviously, in Munster yesterday. Cork, 29 points to tip 122. And Clare beat Waterford in Ennis, although Waterford very good value by all accounts. In Leinster as well, a draw between Offaly and Dublin.
A brilliant game, 422 to 228. We'll talk to the lads about that, I suspect. Two proud Offaly men. And then I guess the eye-catching one was no real response from Kilkenny. They were beaten by 18 points in the league, Pierce Stadium, and then 15 points on Saturday. Galway 3-25, Kilkenny 1-16. Wexford took care of Kildare as well in Newbridge. So lots to get into with the lads. Our GA podcast coverage is sponsored by AIB. They are proud sponsors of Club and County. AIB proudly celebrate the joy, dedication and support that lies at the heart of Gaelic games in every community and player across the nation. Without further ado, here are the two Michaels, Deignan and Vernie Tolkien-Hurley. Now the two men are here.
How many lads call Michael from Offaly does it take to analyse a hurling weekend?
Michael, Michael Verney, good to have you with us as always. Good man, Joe.
How did Cork perform against Tipperary in the championship opener?
I tell you, there's some expert planners to have the two of us on after an Offaly revival.
I just had a feeling. I just had a feeling. And a warm welcome. Michael Deignan is going to be with us across the summer, which we're very happy about. Michael, good to have you on.
Yeah, great, Joe. Great to be here.
What were the highlights of the Clare vs. Waterford match?
And yeah, looking forward to another hopefully great summer of hurling.
Well, the early omens are good, aren't they? Why don't we? I mean, we'll get to the game at Semple and we'll talk a bit about Kilkenny and Galway as well. And I'm sure a few other games. But I mean, it would be rude not to give you lads a chance at the top to mention awfully 422, Dublin 228. This was a thriller. Michael Verney, if it's OK, just so I'm not saying Michael Verney and Michael Deignan all day, I'll call you Mick.
What was Kilkenny's response to their recent defeats against Galway?
Yeah. So why don't you give us an early word on this then? A draw between Offaly and Dublin. A thriller, like I said.
It was, yeah. The first maybe 10 or 15 minutes, it didn't maybe look like it was going to turn into the classic that it did. And I suppose from an Offaly point of view, there were question marks coming into the game just on the back of the 1A campaign. Kind of a tough campaign. It's a funny one. If you're in 1B, you're winning plenty of games and getting lots of momentum and coming in maybe in a different frame of mind. Whereas if you're in 1A, you're going up against the cream of the crop. There's arguments for and against, but they hadn't won a game. And obviously, Charlie Mitchell was starting. That was his first competitive game to start for Offaly. This year, he hadn't played since if it's given in the middle of January.
Shane Rigney, the same, after a serious hamstring injury. And Ciarán Burke came in early enough, having not played league either. So there was plenty of questions that remained to be answered going into Saturday. And Jesus, awfully in fairness, answered them emphatically. And this was a real, this was a brilliant performance. So much energy, so much fight. I was in Parnell Park last year for the correspondent fixture and there were a lot of similarities. But crucially, we came away with something from this game. We could have come away with nothing, but we could have also come away with two points. But at least we've come away with something. And it's amazing. The campaign just opens up now. There's a completely different perspective looking ahead now than there would have been, you know, if you're beaten and you're on zero points, the same as maybe Kildare are.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What insights do Michael Duignan and Michael Verney share about the opening weekend of the 2026 hurling championship?
0:01–1:35
2
How did Cork perform against Tipperary in the championship opener?
1:35–1:48
3
What were the highlights of the Clare vs. Waterford match?
1:48–2:14
4
What was Kilkenny's response to their recent defeats against Galway?
2:14–6:40
5
How did Offaly and Dublin's match unfold, and what does it mean for Offaly's revival?
6:40–11:16
6
What role does the youth play in the current Offaly hurling team's performance?
11:16–11:18
7
How did the tactical approaches differ between Tipperary and Cork in their recent match?
11:18–17:03
8
What are the expectations for the upcoming matches and how will they impact the championship?
17:03–51:42
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from Indo Sport
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