Keith Duggan finds a strong belief in lovers of Limerick hurlingthat the recent row over Eamonn Cregan's role may have left the county team more united - and more dangerous.

Clare get blown out by Limerick last Sunday and, by nightfall, the doomsayers deliver grave and predictable pronouncements on the demise of the Banner men.

Their theme is of an irreversible retreat towards insignificance, that pale land Clare swore they'd never visit again. Early this week, two of their most illustrious craftsmen, James O'Connor and Seánie McMahon, found themselves dismissing the loose talk that rancour had affected the squad. Their admission, though, that Clare "could go either way now" told of at least a realisation that the most iron-willed of teams from a tough generation would have to search within themselves as never before.

How strange it all was, in the stony underworld of Semple Stadium on Sunday that while Clare manager Cyril Lyons understandably made haste for a few hours solitude it fell to Limerick's Eamonn Cregan to warn of the perils of attaching portent to Clare's implosion. And how warm and harmonious the mood emanating from the Limerick dressing-room in comparison to their opponents' maudlin exit.

Hard to believe that less than a month before it was Cregan's house that had been at the centre of one of the stormiest weeks in recent GAA lore, one of those enthralling intrigues of politics and personality that occur less and less in the homogenised environment of contemporary GAA. The "Cregan episode" came from out of the blue, gripped the country for a week and was solved under cloaks before people got their breath back. The comparison was never made, but the dramatic elements were classically Clare. And going by last Sunday, it appeared to have done Limerick absolutely no harm.

"I am convinced that that bit of an old blow-out was the best thing that could have happened," said former Limerick manager Tom Ryan earlier this week.

"The air is cleared now for Eamonn and for the players and they have moved on. It needed to happen, things were just festering like a sore. That game couldn't have come at a better time. Okay, Clare were disappointing, but we have seen that from them before and they still got it right when it mattered. But I think what we saw from Limerick was the players showing their support for Eamonn on the field in the same way as they voiced it after his resignation."

Ryan was Limerick's mastermind when they last played Kilkenny in a semi-final, in 1997. That was the year of the split league, with cracking early-season games almost on the eve of the championship creating a real swell of belief in the secondary competition. Although both counties were still ruminating on respective championship defeats at the time of the late-summer semi-final, Ryan took great heart from Limerick's 1-15 to 0-10 win. He opined then that it was the finest display he had seen in his distinguished career leading Limerick.

"I honestly believe that. We were at a stage when we had reached the end of an era in 1996 and the potential of the new bunch was really glowing that day."

Six Limerick players (Joe Quaid, Stephen McDonagh, TJ Ryan, Ciarán Carey, Barry Foley and Ollie Moran) have maintained the pace from that half-decade-old encounter while Philip Larkin, incredibly, is the sole survivor in the Kilkenny line-up. That perhaps speaks volumes for the depth of talent in Kilkenny, but more truthfully, their 1997 outfit remained loyal to the nucleus of the '92-'93 vintage. The Cats too would soon embark on substantive alterations through the lines. But it seems strange, given the narrow choice of hurling's top flight, that there has been no competitive history between the counties since that 1997 date.

"Well, that wouldn't be Kilkenny's fault, to be fair," quips Mike Galligan, the ever-popular Limerick scorer who finished with 1-5 in that semi-final but has not hurled into the new millennium in green. "It was a marvellous game, coming at the end of a disappointing summer for us and we went on to win the League from there, which was important in the long run."

Opinion around the Shannon is that a similar run is desirable now. Of the four teams left in the competition, the perception is that Limerick remain the most wide eyed. The benefits of league schooling to a puppish Cork side in 1999 and to Nicky English's ruthless Tipperary last season have been lost on nobody. And why abandon a good streak?

"I think it would be terrific if they saw it through and developed the winning habit," Galligan agrees. "They really have been playing some attractive hurling and they possess that classic combination of essentially young players backboned by guys of real experience. And I think you can see the benefit of that in the recent surge of form from players like Ciarán Carey.

"You know, Limerick winning All-Irelands at under-21 level gave the entire county a boost, not just the senior squad. People were excited by Limerick hurling again. And you can see that enthusiasm among the squad."

Galligan maintains that the general consensus is that the recent "turmoil" has just tightened this Limerick side.

"Like everyone, I was amazed by what happened. Somebody called me to tell me and I just couldn't believe, kept telling the guy he had to have made a mistake. And it could have been a very awkward period but it does appear to have united the squad and the best way to put distance between now and that time is by winning."

Stunned by the abruptness of Cregan's departure, the key personalities of Limerick hurling quickly set about ensuring his restoration. Much negotiation and persuasion was stealthily executed while Ciarán Carey made impassioned pleas on the players' behalf.

"The players," says Tom Ryan, "are what the whole thing is about. They are the game and naturally their opinion matters the most. They took a stand and were rewarded for it. It was a refreshing thing to see player power overrule the opinion of a few county board officers. And of course Eamonn was touched by the measure of feeling in that support."

There was an unvoiced feeling that Cregan, fiercely private despite his public eloquence and relatively high media profile, had felt under strain prior to the blow-out because of the unresolved issues that eventually led to his resignation. But the constant pressure of delivering an All-Ireland, the absence of which has cursed the county since Cregan's own athletic pomp of 1973, is also constant. No more than Tom Ryan, he has a grá for his native county that extends light years beyond conventional managerial duties.

"He definitely has, he loves Limerick," says Ryan. "You know, I have known Eamonn a long time, have tremendous respect for him and I think that now he will be able to relax more in terms of his role as manager. I imagine he enjoyed the massive swell of support he received after his resignation and he came back on a very sure footing.

"Lots of people spoke out for him, myself included. But maybe he wasn't the best communicator in the past, that he didn't consult his management team enough and I think that this clearing of the air will help in that respect."

Limerick have a convincing gloss about them in terms of the conclusion of this league, fresh and eager and newly motivated. But are they a realistic championship shot?

"They were criticised last year in the All-Ireland quarter-final for letting it slip against Wexford," says Galligan. "Teams learn from experiences like that or else they suffer. Much has been made of Limerick's big-time losses at Croke Park before, but that's past.

"I think they have a lot going for them and the young players on the team are accustomed to winning All-Irelands. It is an exceptionally open field this year but I think we are up there."

Tom Ryan is similarly optimistic, noting that Limerick rode their luck in the earlier rounds of last year's championship before encountering the county's traditional rub with unlikely and dramatic late-summer woe.

"I feel we are a more cohesive and organised team this year, having gone through the mill last year. Funny, Limerick were probably a bit unfortunate in the Munster final. To be honest, I think the best four All-Ireland contenders are all playing in the league semi-finals. So, you know, there is reason for hope."

In the short term, Limerick will be content just to spread the feel-good factor. Winning is the tonic. Green against black and amber is a welcome and novel addition to hurling's conservative palate of colours. Kilkenny's excellence is never a surprise. Limerick are the mystery here and their headlong pursuit of an answer promises much.