PLOTTING A PATH TO AUGUST GLORY

Munster

I’M going to take a chance on Limerick coming through. If they were away to Tipperary in the first game, then I might think differently. But they will have no fear of Tipp at the Gaelic Grounds and have a good record there.

A win would generate huge confidence.

You have Na Piarsaigh’s success at club level, the success of UL and Mary I in the Fitzgibbon Cup, the Under 21 All-Irelands – there is a revolution going on.

To win Munster at senior level is the next big step.

Leinster

I GOT knocked for nearly abandoning Kilkenny and talking down their hopes of an All-Ireland but I’m going to stick with reigning champions Galway. They have a settled team, a mix of skill and physicality, and they can’t have gone that far back since last September. If the hunger is there – and with just one AllIreland in 29 years, how could it not be? – then they can come through.

All-Ireland

GALWAY have the squad to secure backto-back titles. Allianz League form suggests Tipp and Kilkenny will come their own path to make the last four. As Munster champions, Limerick complete the semi-finalists.

When it comes to the crunch, I still think Galway are a little bit ahead of everybody else.

They have to find a player or two though to keep the team fresh. Niall Burke and Jason Flynn came in last year and made a big impact in the final against Waterford and they need guys like that to step up.

Johnny Glynn being back home gives Micheál Donoghue another strong option.