Gavin Cummiskey talks to Kilkenny's Eoin Larkin ahead of Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final against Clare

Kilkenny manager Brian Cody wouldn't have bothered to maintain the patient demeanour of his chief marksman. Eoin Larkin travelled to Dublin this week to discuss his county's prospects ahead of Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final against Clare.

Several questions focused on Galway's second-half revival, as opposed to Kilkenny's first-half blitzkrieg, in the All-Ireland quarter-final. Glass half-full or half-empty?

"I think we can take a bit of confidence from the first half. We definitely have to look at the second half. Galway came at us real hard and we weren't able to deal with it."

Was there a feeling that you could have lost the game?

"Ah, there was a feeling about 15 minutes into the second half when they started getting a run. They were walking through, getting the goals."

Was there a danger you were so far ahead you switched off a little bit?

"People can say that but a team like Galway were always going to come at us. It's hard to keep that going for 70 minutes . . . but we tired."

But what about Offaly last year, Kilkenny are normally a team that twist the knife?

"Against Offaly last year we were out to prove a point. You know, starting out. Against Galway we were out to prove a point as well but it didn't work out that way."

Cody reacted angrily to a similar line of inquiry immediately after the match in Thurles, implying his players weren't getting the credit they deserved for moving into a 19-point lead against last year's All-Ireland finalists.

The Eoin Larkin story is a good one. For the All-Ireland quarter-final against Clare two years ago he was sitting down home in the Village watching the intercounty scene like any aspiring Kilkenny youngster.

He was a substitute on the under-21 team that won the All-Ireland title so prospects of a senior breakthrough were slim. Then the club, James Stephens, made it all the way to St Patrick's Day with Larkin as the free-taker. He more than impressed as Athenry were felled in the All-Ireland club final of 2005.

It helped that Cody hails from the same club but nobody would doubt his place in the Kilkenny team on merit. Now he is established. "There is a small bit more pressure. The first year you are finding your feet. There would be an expectation to push on this year."

After what we witnessed last weekend, the players' ability to stay afloat on the Croke Park surface will be scrutinised. The experts - stadium officials, players and managers - all seem to have a different viewpoint. Is rain or sunshine the preferred option? Blades or studs? Larkin will wait until the warm-up to decide.

"Normally I would wear blades but we'll just have to see in the warm-up what suits. If you slip, especially in the backs, it can cost you the match.

"Sometimes the bounce off the surface will throw you off a small bit but you just have to react quicker. It didn't affect us in the Leinster final as there was a small bit of rain that day that seemed to help it."

The Wexford performance didn't overly hurt them either. Slippery surface or not, a repeat of the intensity from the first semi-final should keep everyone entertained.