Ronald Ross, the Scotland manager, claimed that his side lost to an Irish side that was '10 times improved' on Saturday, ending their hopes of a Marine Harvest Shinty/Hurling Series win.
The Scots had dared to dream after securing a brilliant first test victory over Michael Walshe's hurlers at Bught Park in Inverness the previous weekend.
However, they could not finish the job at Pairc an Esler in Newry on Saturday, losing 24-8 on the day and 4-3 overall, based on a points system that offered two points for a win and one per goal.
Despite the setback and disappointment, Ross was full of praise for his players in his maiden series as manager. He also admitted Ireland had been transformed in the space of seven days. "There is no doubt we have come on leaps and bounds this year. We took our biggest victory in years to Ireland and we have a good nucleus of a squad.
"However, we just couldn't get near Ireland on Saturday. Their pace was astonishing and I would say they were 10 levels up from what they were in Inverness.
"We can have no argument at all. We were beaten by a better side. While we can win the one-off games, we struggle over two legs."
In the wake of this series defeat; Scotland's fifth in a row, it is possible the Gaelic Athletic Association and Shinty's Camanachd Association will re-examine the two test format.
Since the twin-leg model was adopted in 2010, Scotland have not won the trophy and returning to a winner-takes-all approach may inject fresh impetus.
The Scots could certainly have no qualms about their defeat on Saturday. Kevin Bartlett of Lovat added to his 16 points from the first leg with all 8 of the nation's points in County Down. However, Ireland were dominant. Eoin Price of Westmeath claimed 10 points including two series-clinching goals.
There were further counters from David McInerney (2), Paul Divilly (1), Patrick Maher (1), Conor McCann (1), Connor Lehane (5), Jon McCusker (3) and Larkin McGlaughlin (1).
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