All you need to know: Leinster and Munster Senior Hurling Championships

Saturday 16 April

Leinster SHC Wexford v Galway, Chadwicks Wexford Park, 4.30pm Westmeath v Kilkenny, TEG Cusack Park, 6pm Dublin v Laois, Parnell Park, 6.30pm

Sunday 17 April

Munster SHC Waterford v Tipperary, Walsh Park, 2pm Cork v Limerick, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 4pm

ONLINE

Live blog on RTÉ Sport Online and RTÉ News Now app

TV

Both Munster games will be live on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player, while there's a full highlights package on The Sunday Game (9.30pm). Wexford v Galway is live on Sky Sports Arena.

RADIO

Live commentaries on Saturday Sport and Sunday on RTÉ Radio 1 and in Irish on Raidió na Gaeltachta.

WEATHER

The early championship start means some fairly unchampionship-like weather.

The Leinster counties might just get away with it, with rain spreading east across the afternoon on Saturday, and a promise of 14 degrees.

Heavy showers, with the potential for hail, are due for the Munster participants on Sunday.

Details at Met.ie.

Hurling's Easter resurrection

Mid-April and we've a championship weekend across both provinces to look forward to. It's unusual, and it comes about as a result of the much talked about split season to facilitate a proper calendar for club players.

Whether the GAA should be rushing through its most popular competitions so quickly is sure to be a topic that's touched upon plenty of times over the next six weeks. Three Leinster participants will have played their last game until January by 21 May, and the following day the same will be true for two of the Munster counties.

Seven months is a long time to deprive supporters of top level, inter-county action but we are where we are, as a manager might tell you after a game.

With Covid now far less disruptive, we're back to the round robin series in Leinster and Munster.