Donal Og's Hurling Nation - Limerick under pressure while Leinster limps into life

The summer is still coming so let's start the year on a happy note and say that all right-thinking hurling people should be cheering the GAA president Jarlath Burns for suggesting that the All-Ireland finals might return to their traditional September dates. We’ll revisit this matter at a later time.

The Leinster Championship sneaks under the radar with some low-key fixtures. Kilkenny play Antrim and Galway play Carlow with the bookmakers taking no bets on the outcome of either.

There are more long-term consequences when Wexford play Dublin at Chadwick’s Wexford Park. If Leinster was a horse-race then these two would be an each-way bet for third place, depending on Sunday’s result.

Hurling Nation gives it to Wexford by a nose.

If the Leinster Championship is sneaking under the radar, parading on centre stage is Munster.

Waterford host Cork, and the whispers from Waterford are bleak. Crowds are expected to be low and expectations are lower.

Funny, it's seven years now since Waterford put 4-19 past Cork in front of 72,000 people in the All-Ireland semi-final. Back then, Waterford people complained that their manager Derek McGrath was too defensive.

They lost the All-Ireland final by the width of a goal to Galway. The previous year, Waterford hammered Galway in the All-Ireland Under-21 Final. Since then, Ballygunner have become one of the finest club teams in the country.

Waterford have had a few managers since, and each have gone away carrying the can for the county's failures. Maybe there's something deeper amiss.

Cork had a league campaign which was interesting and sometimes very good.

For this Sunday, Mark Coleman makes a welcome return to the Cork defence, and in attack, the addition of Alan Connolly to the full-forward line has