Galway for the first time since 1987. Galway won on that occasion; however, in 1993 they were lagging behind Kilkenny for much of the game. They went a point ahead coming into the last quarter; however, Kilkenny won the match by five points. 1994 to 1998 – The underdogs topple the top dogs For five years in the middle of the nineties the so-called ‘weaker counties’ emerged and made hay while the traditional powers found it difficult to retain their status. The Liam MacCarthy Cup traveled to six different counties throughout the nineties, more counties than any other previous decade. Cork, Kilkenny and Tipperary took a back seat as Offaly, Clare, Limerick and Wexford all made their mark. 1994 — Offaly triumph in the five-minute final In 1994 the revolution began with Limerick claiming the Munster title while Offaly emerged as the top dogs in Leinster. Both sides subsequently qualified for the All-Ireland final. The match was a rather unremarkable affair, save for an explosive final five minutes. Offaly trailed by five points with as many minutes left when they were awarded a close-in free. Johnny Dooley was given the signal from the management team to go for a point; however, he decided to ‘do something different’. The sliotar ended up in the Limerick net, thus opening the floodgates for a remarkable finish. Seconds later the sliotar flew into the Limerick net again, courtesy of Pat O'Connor. Limerick failed to counter as Offaly tacked on some more points to win by 3–16 to 2-13. The ‘five-minute final’ resulted in mixed emotions for Éamonn Cregan, as the Offaly manager was a native of Limerick. 1995 — Clare's first in 81 years 1995 saw the championship embark on a modern departure, when Guinness took over as sponsors of the competition. The championship saw more advancement by the underdogs as the All-Ireland final was contested by Clare and Offaly. The omens pointed towards Offaly retaining their title, particularly since Clare made history by bridging a sixty-three-year gap to even reach the final. At half-time Offaly were in the lead, courtesy of a dropping shot by Michael Duignan which goalkeeper Davy Fitzgerald dropped over his own goal line. Éamonn Taaffe entered the game almost unnoticed in the second-half; however, it was his goal that lifted Clare and eventually resulted in the collapse of the Offaly defence. At the full-time whistle the mould cracked as