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Last weekend was certainly a good one on the sporting front.

Kilkenny hurling legend DJ Carey played his first competitive hurling for a number of years with his club Young Irelands, Gowran on Tuesday night.

Kilkenny may have written themselves into the history books this year by becoming the first team to complete the clean sweep, but the men who were involved in creating history found themselves going back to grassroots last weekend as the local championships commenced. Some of the media recently complained that we didn't know how to celebrate winning and that our homecoming party was very lethargic. I'd say to hell with the begrudgers, the players know we think the world of them and also respect the fact that time moves on. The county men who soldiered so well together, also respect that while they were away on county duty, club men they grew up with have been plugging away in preparation for last weekend. There is no doubt that special bonds are formed during the intercounty season, however, once you go back and put on the club colours - friendship rightly goes out the window as teams go in search of success in their respective championships.

The shamrock leaf may be known world wide as the symbol of Ireland but when one mentions its name in Kilkenny thoughts immediately turn to the famous GAA club in Ballyhale. When Ballyhale, Knocktopher and Knockmoylan amalgamated back in 1972 to form what's now known as the Shamrocks who could envisage what lay ahead for what is a relatively small country parish? It’s phenomenal the success they have achieved since 1975 when they first set foot in Kilkenny's top grade. Twelve county, five Leinster and four All-Ireland club titles put them to the forefront of hurling’s elite.

The shamrock leaf may be known world wide as the symbol of Ireland but when one mentions its name in Kilkenny thoughts immediately turn to the famous GAA club in Ballyhale. When Ballyhale, Knocktopher and Knockmoylan amalgamated back in 1972 to form what's now known as the Shamrocks who could envisage what lay ahead for what is a relatively small country parish? It’s phenomenal the success they have achieved since 1975 when they first set foot in Kilkenny's top grade. Twelve county, five Leinster and four All-Ireland club titles put them to the forefront of hurling’s elite.

The Kilkenny club season may be drawing to a close for this year but before the curtain finally comes down, there is one more very important fixture to be played, the U21 final is down for decision between Dicksboro and the Rower Inistioge this Sunday at Nowlan Park. This grade is often referred to as the forgotten grade due mainly to the timing of the competition. The fixture’s committee find it almost impossible to fit this competition into the roster because demand on these players is at a premium during the height of the summer. This year’s competition seemed very open with a lot of teams fancying their chances. Teams like St Martin’s, Clara, Danesfort, O'Loughlin and Erin’s Own have all fallen by the wayside over the last month or so. This year’s competition also looked very lopsided with 10 teams competing in the north of the county compared to just three in the south, other snippets of note are that the Rower Inistioge have just played one game namely the southern final to get to this stage of the competition whereas Dicksboro have come through a tough campaign beating Clara, O'Loughlins and Conahy Shamrocks along the way. This is no fault of the southern champions but maybe the system needs to be addressed. I feel one or two southern outfits dropped back to the B championship in search of honours. My thinking on this situation is that a team will always gain more long-term by competing at the highest level. I've seen a few cases at various grades where teams would be capable of competing at a higher level.

Last Saturday’s bad weather put paid to a challenge match that my own club Young Irelands, had pencilled in for preparation for round three of the league, so I found a bit of spare time on hands.

The inter-county scene may have drawn to a close for this year but there is still plenty of hurling to be played at club level over the next month or six weeks.