Emmet Moloney writes for the 'The Irish Farmers Journal' and is a former sports columnist with 'The Kerryman'.

As hurling days go this was one to remember. The team of the ages being beaten by twelve points in a national final? What the hell happened? asks Emmet Moloney...

Dublin happened. At last. We have a new place setting at the top table and proof that hard work does pay off. Antrim, Carlow, Laois and a few more should be paying attention because it is not that long ago that they would have been regularly beating Dublin. Not anymore. This is good for the game on so many levels.

Dublin have been making strides for some time but it takes performances on the big day to officially announce your arrival. They did that on Sunday. It must have been a serious sense of satisfaction after the match to sit down and let that soak in – delivering the performance you always knew you had in you.

Anthony Daly has rightly received most of the credit for this breakthrough, but the size of his back-room staff alone tells you all you need to know about why Dublin have arrived. From nutritionists to physios all the way to pillow fluffers, this Dublin set-up is as professional as they come. It’s like most walks of life – if you remove as many barriers to success as you can, eventually that will pay off. With the right people, with the right attitude. That’s where Daly’s main strengths are – with attitude and with people. He was a perfect fit for the Dubs and all have benefited.

I have been to Dublin training sessions and I am fully aware of the effort Dalyo puts in, going up and down from Clare. He deserves this success. Those lonely late-night drives will pass a bit faster now.

Fair play to Kilkenny; they have been on the scene of all hurling’s massive moments over the past decade and for a change on Sunday they were nearly bystanders. What happened there?

First and foremost: the bleeding obvious. They’ll be knocking down the dressing room walls in Nowlan Park over the next few weeks just waiting to get back out there. As wounded animals go, this one couldn’t be more dangerous. Wexford will probably feel the wrath of the Cats – not for the first time.

There is a danger here to read far too much into their collapse. But Brian Cody might be a victim of his own philosophy of trying always to win every game. Were this Tipp, Galway or Cork that collapsed, or Ger Loughnane’s Clare, we’d all be laughing and saying this was only the league. Recent history is littered with league winners and losers suffering alternative championships.

Back in 1998 Cork won a national hurling title and hammered All-Ireland champions Clare in the semi-final by 11 points. About a month later the same Clare team brushed the Rebels aside in Munster.

Back in 2004 Waterford looked very flat in losing a league final to Galway in the Gaelic Grounds. The following Sunday they came out and destroyed Clare on their way to a vintage Munster championship.

Galway have been perennial league finalsists and winners over the past 24 years but haven’t won an All-Ireland.

However, these rules do not apply to Brian Cody’s Kilkenny. This is a side who want to win everything and are always trying. The great names that didn’t litter Kilkenny’s team sheet on Sunday – Henry and Tommy being the two that stand out – weren’t supposed to matter. After all, Kilkenny’s subs were supposed to be the second best team in the country, were they not? Actually that myth was a media creation and was never one that Brian Cody went along with. We can see why. There is mortality in Kilkenny and the whole country saw it.

I still think that the Cats will be a force to be reckoned with this summer, but like Tiger Woods, the air of invincibility has slipped. Teams will not fear them as much as they have in the past. Certain counties in recent years were beaten before they went out on the field against the Cats – Dublin have ended that advantage. Emphatically.

Kilkenny’s indiscipline off the ball was a new departure on Sunday. Always known for their toughness on the ball, this behaviour was not a good sign for the future. There was a touch of the gurrier in it and Brian Cody will have to stamp that out his first night back training because every referee in the country will be on their case now.

Of course there will be a very small minority calling for Brian Cody’s head in Kilkenny! That’s the way of the world these days. They were calling for Anthony Daly’s following last year’s loss to Antrim. My own mantra always has been that managers get far too much credit when they win and far too much criticism when they lose. Cody and Daly might be the exceptions to these rules because for years Kilkenny played with Brian Cody’s personality: focused, driven and serious. The same is true of Anthony Daly teams: passion is instilled. These two men will feature again on these pages before the summer is out.

It’s May now and there’s a whiff of the championship in the air. Below in Birr Joe Dooley can smell it as well because his Offaly side are next for Dublin in the Leinster quarter-final on 29 May. Offaly are Offaly and they won’t fear the Dubs one iota. This is an ambush waiting to happen. Anthony Daly will see that too because he’s plotted a few ambushes in his time.

The real test now for Dublin is dealing with last Sunday’s win. That’s easier said than done. The danger is that their supporters will start looking past Offaly and at Galway and this might seep through to the players. GAA history is littered with examples of this as well and despite all the talk of “one match at a time”, it does happen; players take their eye off the ball and drop that one percent of effort as a result.
Yes, Joe Dooley is licking his lips and Brian Cody is clenching his fists. It’s only the first week in May.

Linked article: Dubs lift League with uplifting performance - AFR's ChroniclesTo catch Emmet's latest column, get 'The Irish Farmers' Journal' every Thursday...