In The hay was saved, but... readers are taken back to an era of Tipp. hurling not remembered for All Ireland senior hurling or Munster senior hurling success. Even though defeat was their lot, some of the players who played on those teams between 1974 - 1986 were among the greatest ever hurlers that represented this famous county.This story was inspired by events on a July day in 1975 in the Dr. Kinnane Stand in Semple Stadium, and was reignited on a certain evening in Tony Lowry's pub in Tipp. Town when I proposed that Christy Ring was, is and always will be the greatest hurler of all time.The resultant heated discussion produced the spark that inspired me to finally complete this book. The piking of hay is no longer fashionable in today's world and Christy Ring's exploits on the hurling field have faded with time. While hay will most probably never be piked again, I would hope that the debate regarding Christy Ring's greatness will once again come into focus... and this time will never fade.