There was a touch of serendipity for the Gaelic Athletic Association in last week's magnificent All-Ireland hurling final between Kilkenny and Tipperary. At first it didn't look that promising. Unlike last season when the hurling championship provided a catalogue of historic achievements with provincial victories for Dublin and Limerick bridging gaps of 52 and 17 years respectively and Clare winning its first All-Ireland in 16 seasons, this summer had reverted to more familiar power structures.

Last Sunday was for the fourth All-Ireland final in six years between Kilkenny and Tipperary and although a couple of these were epic contests, more recent meetings between them had proved less compelling. The potential for public weariness was evident in the return of some tickets for public sale – unprecedented for an All-Ireland final in recent decades – and the relatively subdued television audience.

Yet the match erupted into a glorious spectacle, featuring tremendous scoring and remarkable levels of performance all around the pitch. By the time the final whistle sounded after a dramatic climax, requiring the Hawk-Eye score detection system to adjudicate that John O’Dwyer’s 97-metre free had not been successful, hosannas were ringing out for what was widely acclaimed as the best hurling final in memory, if not ever.

Extraordinarily, once again the final ended in a draw – the third successive year in which this has happened; in the previous 127 years of the GAA, just five All-Ireland finals had required replays. This will enable the association to benefit from the publicity and promotion surrounding what will be an eagerly awaited re-match. There is also the consideration that the revenue of approximately €1,300,000 will in some way compensate for the loss of earnings arising from the fiasco of the cancelled Garth Brooks concerts. Aside from such material considerations the public at large will simply look forward to what everyone hopes will be another breathtaking contest.