When Munster-Leinster was bigger than Jesus

The Munster-Leinster rivalry may have receded somewhat in the public imagination but there was once a time when, like John Lennon, it was bigger than Jesus.

Gay Byrne and the Late Late Show get a great deal of credit off first year sociology students for secularising Ireland; the Magners League - for that is what it was called for those few years - gets no credit whatsoever for changing Good Friday forever.

The ban on drinking in pubs on Good Friday had been a staple of Irish life since the Intoxicating Liquor Act of 1927. Almost as venerable a tradition was the rush to stock up on cans beforehand. As a result of the law, Holy Thursday had long been a bumper day for off-licences.

Though supported with great ferocity by the religiously devout and with somewhat less ferocity by the romantically inclined nostalgics, the ban was increasingly regarded as an anachronism by the 21st century.

Matters came to a head in 2010 when the Munster-Leinster Magners League clash in Thomond Park was fixed for Friday, 2 April - Good Friday.

The rivalry between the two provinces was then at its zenith, less than 12 months after the famous Croke Park semi-final of '09, most vividly recalled for impetuous upstart Johnny Sexton hollering in ROG's face after Gordon D'Arcy's first half try.

While Munster had been in the ascendant for most of the preceding years - and made full sure to bask in triumphalism while they had the chance - the balance of power in the relationship was already in the process of shifting.

Early efforts to change the date had come to nothing. Munster had expressed a preference for Easter Saturday. Leinster - whose heartlands, after all, always delivered the biggest Yes votes in liberalising referenda - weren't inclined to agree to