Munster championship like no other opens in surreal atmosphere

NO sound, no fury. No crowds milling around Liberty Square in Thurles from early morning. No good-humoured banter among the rival supporters on the way to the ground. No flasks of tea and sandwiches eaten out of the boots of cars and vans.

No 'flags, hats or headbands', no 'anyone buying or selling a ticket?'

No meeting up with your buddy you only meet at Munster championship games each year to give him or her the ticket for the same spot in the ground.

No deafening roar as the two teams took to the pitch. No Sean Treacy Pipe Band, Moycarkey Borris playing Amhraán na bhFiann before throw-in.

No swarm of youngsters onto the pitch at full-time to greet their heroes and emulate them with the few pucks of the sliotar into the two goalmouths.

No post-mortems in the local watering holes, the nearby greyhound stadium for one.

God, what those of us fortunate enough to have been there would have given for a traffic jam heading into The Ragg, or Borrisoleigh on Sunday afternoon. (Well, maybe not too much of a tailback, mind) Never thought I would write those words.

Being present at Sunday's Munster senior hurling championship clash at Semple Stadium was a surreal experience. A privilege to be there, for sure, and I appreciate that fact, but it certainly was a Munster championship game like no other.

The absence of a crowd almost left you feeling like you had gained entry to a behind-closed-doors challenge game between two inter-county sides. You could hear every clash of the ash, the sound of leather on the hurley. It was strange in the extreme.

That's not to say that the players in any way held back, they didn't. Both sets of players gave their all. It must have been strange for them too to be playing a Munster championship game at an empty venue.

From my position in the Kinane Stand, I could hear the opposing managers urge their charges on. Limerick manager John Kiely anxious to get his side to 'reset, reset' after every score or wide, so as to be ready for the next ball that came their way. No sitting on your laurels here. No time to admire your score, you were only as good as the next possession which comes your way and not the last.

A return of 36 points was hugely impressive from Limerick. The Shannonsiders' points total is second highest in the senior hurling championship behind the 1-40 put up by Cork against Westmeath in the 2019 qualifiers.

2018 All-Ireland champions Limerick banged over six points without reply in a devastating spell just after half time. Clare did close to within a point with Ryan Taylor's goal, but Limerick had their measure.

Afterwards manager John Kiely was adamant that playing the 2020 Munster and Ireland senior hurling championship behind closed doors in the coming months is a worthwhile exercise.

“Of course it’s worth it, it’s absolutely worth it.

"I’m sure an awful lot of people at home got a lot of enjoyment out of being able to sit down of a Sunday afternoon and watch a championship match, especially the older people in the population.”