It was shocking in its lack of intensity, mystifying as to its source. Just what did happen to Wexford in that ‘contest’ with Clare to decide who would gain entry to an All-Ireland semi-final?

From beginning to end they stood back, admired and absconded, duties that should have been routinely carried out ignored to an alarming degree. If this was top class hurling, our national game at the highest level, then somebody was having a laugh. There has been more intensity witnessed at the over eighties lawn bowling championships.

De Scribe wasn’t complaining though, as one born and reared in the Banner county it is always appreciated when the Saffron and Blue come away from HQ with a win to their name. Another semi-final is no mean feat for a county that spent far too long in the wilderness, failing to escape the clutches of a Munster Championship that was ferocious in its intensity and competitiveness. What would men such as Loughnane, Stack, Callinan and Guilfoyle have given to appear in just one? This will be Clare’s seventh semi-final appearance since 1995 – a veritable feast when compared with what went before.

De Scribe got the day off to a promising start when, whilst going for a Hill 16 ticket at one of the kiosks, former inter-county referee Aodán MacSuibhne approached and offered a premium level corporate ticket. Choosing not to look this particular gift horse in the mouth, De Scribe happily accepted the offer and proceeded on his way to his new vantage point.

The view was good, unimpeded, relaxed, perfect really. It was far from the days of ’95 and ’97, watching Clare on a rocking and rolling Canal End. Something has been lost from those days, the sense of adventure, the madness of it all, the boys with the bodhráns and the Clare Roar reverberating down O’Connell Street. Nowadays it seems more sedate, as if we are now too sophisticated to let ourselves go – or perhaps it has somehow all become less important, once the breakthrough came we were happy with our lot.

Still, days such as Kilkenny in 2004 and Cork last year show that the sprit still burns, and there still remains the capacity for this team and this game to touch something in us, as a county, that nothing else can.

The match – it was more akin to a training exercise than a competitive fixture. Wexford seemed unable to rouse themselves, unsure exactly of who and where they were. Where was the passion exhibited against Cork in that glorious semi-final in 2003, or the last gasp victory against Kilkenny twelve months later? It was astonishing, and a little sad, to see this once proud county ‘celebrate’ the tenth anniversary of their 1996 triumph with such an inept performance. If this were a horse race there would be strong grounds for a stewards’ enquiry.

Point after point was racked up by Clare, the opposition non existent. By half-time the conversation was turning to the Waterford/Tipperary contest, even the British Open golf. Yawns were stifled – was this really the much hyped about big match occasion in Croke Park?

The final whistle was greeted with relief by all, the second thirty-five minutes purely academic, an exercise in Clare honing their shooting skills and Wexford attempting an exercise in damage limitation. Purely pointless, it was 35 minutes of this year’s championship that will be quickly forgotten.

And so a championship season that has never really threatened to come to life witnesses another damp squib. At a time when the game of hurling is struggling to compete with a football championship that receives greater exposure, and a year in which there was wall to wall coverage of the World Cup, we have witnessed one of the most banal championships so far. The qualifier system meandered along at its own pace, in its own world of mismatches and mediocrity. Clare v Offaly in Ennis was a case in point – more akin to a league match, this was as far from the hustle and bustle of a championship occasion as one could imagine.

What is the alternative? We can only hope that the remainder of this year’s championship provides us with some drama to remind us again of how great this game can be – and do you know what, it is highly possible. Cork know that they are within touching distance of the three in a row, whilst Waterford are chomping at the bit to get to a final. This has the potential to be one of the games of the year. Clare and Kilkenny has all the ingredients that are required for an intriguing 70 minutes of hurling. Warriors in saffron and blue probably going into battle one last time, knowing that this is it, make or break. Kilkenny, hurt by a two year ‘famine’, eager to regain their position as the best team in the country.

Any true hurling follower should have these two dates booked, make their way to Croke Park by whatever means possible, and pray that some life can be breathed back into a championship that up to now has been going through rigor mortis.