Brian Cody's rebuke of Ger Loughnane momentarily stalled the celebrations in the Citywest hotel. Loughnane, who had no involvement in this year's AllIreland final even from a media perspective, gatecrashed the winners' party on Sunday night when presenter Michael Lyster asked the Kilkenny manager to reiterate comments he had given earlier on RTÉ radio.

Cody was disgusted by the Galway manager's insinuation in recent days that Kilkenny were a dirty team. Cody let fly in defence of his players.

After the ad break, back in the Montrose studio, Pat Spillane read a Loughnane statement intended to clarify his position: "As well as being the most skilful team, Kilkenny have become the hardest team in the past two years in this country. When they do hit you and you're not ready they hurt you.

"Every great team in every sport will indeed push the rules to the absolute limit, which indeed makes them great. I'd love to have somebody say that about a team I was training."

Basically, Loughnane was ducking for cover. Pete Finnerty, the former Galway hurler, reacted to the about-turn: "My father used to have a saying, a big mouth is good for cooling soup."

Yesterday morning we trekked to Citywest. Lots of smiling Cats.

Cody had calmed down and insisted he wasn't bothered when Loughnane had made the comments in the lead-up to Kilkenny's All-Ireland quarter-final against Galway ("What he said was untrue, but there was method in his madness"), but thought the reiteration of those claims last week was uncalled for.

"To come out again before an All-Ireland final when his team wasn't involved was no sort of sportsmanship and was completely out of order. It's blatant garbage, it's wrong and it's untruthful.

"It doesn't hurt me because he can't hurt me, but the team he is criticising is a great team and a very clean team."

Loughnane's initial comments in July had referred to "flicking, belting across the wrists" by Kilkenny players. But even Cork men supported their long-time rivals. "Before the Galway game our team doctor got a message from the Cork team doctor and he said in 30 years looking after Cork he had never had to treat a hand injury after playing Kilkenny," revealed Cody.

"Opposition players respect us and we respect them. I'm not interested in talking about him any more, but he stepped beyond lines of all sorts of decency. He sung our praises on The Sunday Game, but now he's changed his tune. But we're too happy to be concerning ourselves with that."

Loughnane was unavailable for comment yesterday. Roll on Kilkenny versus Galway in 2008.

Anyway, there were miracles to be addressed by Cody.

"PJ Ryan defied medical science in many ways. He broke his arm four weeks to the day before the final. He came back and trained with us last Saturday week and he shouldn't have done that, really.

"The job that Tadhg O'Sullivan, the surgeon, did on PJ's arm was top-class and then the work that our own doctor, Tadhg Crowley, did and all of the backroom team was the reason he was able to play.

"It wasn't until last Wednesday night that it was clear in my mind that he would play; he was a concern until then. If he couldn't play, James (McGarry) would have - as simple as that.

"When we got the results of the X-ray after the Wexford game and heard it was a broken arm, I ruled PJ out. From the moment he heard it was a break he made his mind up that he was going to make the All-Ireland final.

"He pushed himself to the limits. As soon as the operation was done he was doing things to make sure the movement was alright, probably things he shouldn't have been doing.

"As a result the wound got infected and that was a problem, but because of his sheer will and determination to play he made it. It was incredible."

The next pertinent topic was King Henry. A cruciate kneeligament injury denied Shefflin a second-half appearance on Sunday and has probably put paid to Ballyhale Shamrocks' chances of reclaiming their county, provincial and All-Ireland club titles.

"At half-time (on Sunday) it was emotional because Henry couldn't go out," said Cody. "The players took over because they knew how many games Henry had won for us.

"They wanted Henry to go up and get the cup. He stood up and said he wanted no one to win it for him - he wanted them to win it for themselves. He is the guy who has everything that a hurler has ever needed. He has the touch of a ballerina - call it what you like - and he has the physical power that's needed."

Is he the best you have seen?

"I haven't seen better. There have been terrific players; just go back to DJ (Carey). But there couldn't have been a better hurler than Henry. It's just not possible."