WATERFORD’S 45-YEAR WAIT IS OVER
THE 45-year wait is over for Waterford hurlers. After experiencing so much disappointment on big days in Croke Park over the last decade they delivered in thrilling style on Sunday to beat Tipperary and qualify for the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship final for the first time since 1963.

Now, as then, Kilkenny await them in what promises to be a remarkable occasion as Kilkenny bid for the All-Ireland treble while Waterford are seeking their first All-Ireland win since 1959 and their third in all.

Remarkably, Waterford scored 6-8 in the 60-minute 1963 final but still ended up losing to a Kilkenny team that scored 4-17. Four years earlier, Waterford beat Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final replay to win the title for the second time.

There has been no drawn final since 1959 – could this be the year when these close neighbours and great rivals set up the first replay in 49 years? If so, it will be on September 28.

Kilkenny and Waterford last clashed in the championship in the 2004 All-Ireland semi-final with Kilkenny winning by three points. They have met six times in all in the championship over the years with Kilkenny winning four to Waterford’s one while there has been one draw.


TIPPERARY AND WATERFORD BATTLE FOR FINAL PLACE
So will join Kilkenny in the 2008 GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship final? Will Waterford qualify for the final for the first time since 1963 or will Tipperary reach their first final since 2001?

The answer will be provided in Croke Park on Sunday when the Munster rivals clash in the GAA Hurling All-Ireland semi-final (3.30pm). It will be their first ever clash in an All-Ireland semi-final.

Tipperary head into the semi-final as Munster champions after beating Cork and Clare while Waterford revived their All-Ireland ambitions via the qualifiers, beating Antrim and Offaly before beating Wexford in the All-Ireland quarter-final.

Tipperary and Waterford last clashed in the championship two years ago when they met in a quarter-final which Waterford won by 1-22 to 3-13.


HURLING QUARTER-FINAL DOUBLE IN THURLES
And then there were six. As Galway and Offaly join Dublin, Laois, Limerick and Antrim in the eliminated bay for the 2008 GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, the race for the Liam MacCarthy Cup is down to six.


CLARE v CORK
They meet for the fourth successive year in the championship and for the 7th time in ten years. Cork are seeking their 6th successive championship win over Clare who last beat the Rebels in the 1998 Munster semi-final. The counties have met on 45 occasions in the championship with Cork leading 31-11 while there have been three draws.  The winners will play Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final on August 10.


WATERFORD v WEXFORD
They may be close neighbours but Waterford and Wexford have met only once before in the All-Ireland hurling championship. That was in 2003 when Wexford won a qualifier tie by 1-20 to 0-18 in Nowlan Park. The counties clashed in the opening round of this year’s National League when Wexford won by a point in Walsh Park. Next Sunday’s winners will play Tipperary in the All-Ireland semi-finals on August 17.


GAA HURLING ALL IRELAND SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIERS
It’s Laois v Galway and Waterford v Antrim in Round 2 of the qualifiers next Saturday with the two winners advancing to play the winners of Cork v Dublin and Limerick v Offaly who meet on Saturday week.

Galway, who beat Antrim by 26 points last Saturday, beat Laois by 3-20 to 1-14 in last year’s qualifiers. Laois have already had one outing in the championship, losing to Offaly by 4-22 to 2-12 in the Leinster quarter-final.

Waterford, with new manager, Davy Fitzgerald at the helm, are bidding to re-launch their All-Ireland ambitions after losing heavily to Clare in the Munster quarter-final. Waterford have already beaten Antrim this year, winning by 3-29 to 3-10 in a National League tie last March.

The third round qualifier pairings on Saturday week will be as follows:
Cork v Dublin, Pairc Ui Chaoimh, 5.0pm
Limerick v Offaly, Gaelic Grounds, 7.0pm


ETIHAD TO SPONSOR ALL- IRELAND HURLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Etihad Airways continues to strengthen its ties with Ireland with the announcement that it will be a lead sponsor and official airline of the famous All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championships.

The two-year deal was announced at Croke Park stadium in Dublin, the headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA).

Etihad is joined by Guinness and the Irish television broadcaster RTE as the three exclusive sponsors of one of the most skilful and fastest field games in the world.

Mr James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive, said: “In less than a year Etihad Airways has developed a strong affinity with Ireland, with Dublin quickly establishing itself as one of our most popular routes.

“We are very proud to begin this partnership with the Gaelic Athletic Association and look forward to contributing further to the Irish market which has supported our airline so enthusiastically since we started flying to Dublin in July 2007.”

Among the highlights of the sponsorship agreement will be the display of extensive Etihad branding at all All-Ireland Hurling Championship games, including the final played at Croke Park. Etihad will also feature regularly in match day programmes and other GAA publications as well as in some consumer and corporate promotions amongst the local community in Ireland.

The All-Ireland Hurling Championship is the country’s premier hurling competition and sees 12 counties compete in a series of ‘knock-out’ games played during the summer months prior to the final in which two teams battle it out for the Liam McCarthy Cup.

The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championships is one of Ireland’s oldest sporting competitions, with the first final taking place back in 1887.

Sports sponsorship is a major element of Etihad’s marketing strategy and in 2007 the airline announced partnerships with London-based Chelsea Football Club and Harlequins Rugby Football Club.

Etihad has just announced its three-year sponsorship of the Ferrari F1 racing team and is also the title sponsor of the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which starts in 2009.

Earlier this year, Etihad Airways picked up the prestigious title of “best business class airline” at the Irish Travel Trade News Awards.

In a sign of the growing popularity of the route, Etihad will increase its flying programme to Ireland with daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Dublin from 30 March.  From the end of March 2008, Etihad will be the only carrier to fly from Ireland to the Middle East and beyond.