Cats are back to scratch seven-year All-Ireland itch

After a three-year hiatus, the black and amber flags, bunting and jerseys are out in force once again across Kilkenny as the hurling superpower counts down to Sunday's All-Ireland final.

Beaten by Tipperary in 2019, the Cats last brought the Liam MacCarthy Cup back to the banks of the Nore in 2015 so that's a seven-year itch that players and supporters want to scratch out of existence by the end of the weekend.

And that gap, which in other counties wouldn't seem that long but in Kilkenny feels like a famine, relatively speaking, means enthusiasm and excitement are at high levels during these balmy summer days.

Villages, towns, city streets and avenues are decorated to a high level, none more so than in estates like The Butts and Ossory Park in the city itself.

Ossory Park resident Liam Carroll said the decision to deck their roads in the county colours dates back as far as the current manager's wildly successful stint in charge.

"This has been going on a good few years now, since Brian Cody in 1998/99, we all got together and said we'd show some support for the Kilkenny team. They're only up the road there in Nowlan Park so fair play to them, they put in a lot of time and effort so we said we'd do our bit," he explained.

"We try to get most people involved and it looks good and hopefully it's appreciated on Sunday."

As for the match: "I'd say it will be tight, it'll be 50-50, hopefully Kilkenny will come out that point or two up."

In De La Salle Place, John Delaney has followed a family tradition and also set an example for others by painting the entire front of the house in black and amber.

"It's going on years now, my father [also John] did it and I said I'd carry it on with my own kids. The last time we did it was 2010," he