Waterford Reach "Nirvana" Of 2008 All Ireland Hurling Final

Nirvana - (sanskrit) a state of being free of suffering or "to cease blowing". 

On Sunday 17 August 2008 Waterford certainly did not stop blowing but quite possibly dropped a cumbersome weight from their shoulders that had caused much suffering by finally securing a place in an All Ireland Hurling Final, the Deise County's first in a frustrating forty five years.

The style of the win over Tipperary is of little importance, the Justin McCarthy saga a distant memory (although not his contribution), and the thirst of expectation belonging to the hordes of supporters has been partially quenched but most importantly the players have justified their unquestionable talent by grafting hard and grasping the opportunity to take it to the next level for a shot at the McCarthy Cup in September. The relief is tangible in the County and a pride that had begun to falter has been restored in the white and blue dominion of Munster. This was no better demonstrated than when a young man swathed in team colours took the field at the final whistle, during jubilant scenes, swinging a hurley bigger than himself with an infectious smile that epitomised the emotion of every supporter, player and hurling aficionado who were aware of what this Waterford panel had achieved. Eoin Kelly, the young hurler's father and the instrument to the team's success that day has every right to feel exceptionally proud, as do all those who contributed to this progression that many thought would never come.

1963 was the last Deise appearance in a final, a year in which Martin Luther King had a dream, President John F Kennedy was assassinated , and a few musicians called The Beatles put together their first album. The Clash of the Ash has continued to reverberate around the likes of Ballygunner, Lismore and Dungarvan and one feels that sound will be a heard a little louder and on September 7th 2008 all of Ireland will listen, each puck of the sliotar a tribute to the thousands of pucks made in the years between two dates with history, each outstretched arm in search of a catch a salute to the efforts of those who gave so much to the Waterford cause in years gone by.

Yes, a lot of the burden of expectation has been lifted from this squad but it is far from the time to cease blowing, the Waterford wind must continue to blow for another seventy minutes, and harder than ever before if they are to land the honour of seeing their efforts engraved upon hurling's holy grail and in doing so ignite a glorious flame that can never be extinguished.