Dublin players Conor McHugh and Paddy Smyth compete with Galway’s Conor Cooney for the sliotar during the Leinster SHC final at Croke Park earlier this year © Ray McManus/Sportsfile
It’s been 30 years since the GAA changed the hurling championship format, a historic adjustment that allowed beaten Leinster and Munster finalists to enter the All-Ireland race, where they would meet Galway and the Ulster champions in quarter-finals.