The some times invisible line between the summit and the basement of affairs in Division 2 was summed up at the end of this entertaining tussle of many twists before Laois finally turned for home with two precious points in their safe-keeping.

Laois somehow managed to escape from Dr Hyde Park with a draw as late goals from Evan O’Carroll and Kieran Lillis earned Mike Quirke’s side a share of the spoils.

There was a trio of away wins in the O'Byrne Cup this afternoon, as Kildare, Laois and Offaly delivered victories, while neighbours Westmeath and Meath shared the spoils in Mullingar.

The Mike Quirke era of Laois football began with a defeat in the opening round of the O’Byrne Cup against neighbours Offaly on Saturday.

Cork will spend the next two weekends in Croke Park after comfortably securing their place in the Super 8s with this emphatic 14-point dismissal of Laois.

Laois edged out neighbours Offaly in a highly entertaining Midlands derby to seal their place in Round 4 of the All-Ireland Qualifiers.

The postponed Round 6 tie between Westmeath and Louth will take place next weekend, rather than midweek ensuring the final will not take place in Croke Park next weekend.

Down are top of Division 3 of the Allianz Football League heading into the final round of group games, while Derry continued their unbeaten run in Division 4 this afternoon.

Down have moved top of Division 3 of the Allianz Football League, while Derry guaranteed promotion from Division 4, as they continued maintained their winning ways, with an away victory over Limerick.

An idyllic summer afternoon in Croke Park, the type of day footballers dream about — getting an opportunity to showcase their skills and the fruits of all the work that goes into being an inter-county footballer. 

Laois 0-12 Carlow 0-8

John Sugrue was understandably pleased but sensibly restrained after watching his Laois side make the best of a strong start to see off neighbours Carlow and claim Division 4 honours.

Traffic aside, it’s a straightforward spin from Portlaoise to Croke Park.

Laois withstood a stubborn Wicklow fightback to claim a Round 1 All-Ireland Senior Football Qualifier win at a sunny Aughrim this evening.

Laois 1-11 Armagh 1-10: In the end, like most recounts in a general election, there was no change.

Laois came out on top a real dogfight at O’Moore Park and advance to the second round of All-Ireland qualifiers, while Armagh’s disappointing season is over.

Dublin 2-21 Laois 2-10: For a time, it didn’t appear Jim Gavin wanted to level any criticism at his team for the two goals they conceded in the second half.

As expected, for Dublin it was a comfortable first championship day away from Croke Park in 10 days but not without its faults.

Laois secured the dubious honour of a Leinster football quarter-final tie with Dublin in Kilkenny’s Nowlan Park early next month, but only with a deeply unimpressive and barely deserved win over Division Four opponents on home soil.

Kildare 3-18 Laois 1-11: Not even their own supporters held much hope of Kildare beating Laois given their injuries and a horrible league campaign but manager Jason Ryan insists he and his coaching staff retained faith in their methods despite some of the vitriol being aimed in their direction.

Kildare blitzed Laois in stunning fashion after half time to canter into a Leinster semi-final against Dublin.

Laois and Kildare couldn’t be separated and have to meet again next Saturday at O’Connor Park, Tullamore after this rip-roaring Leinster championship clash.

In one of the many great scenes in the film On The Waterfront, Charlie played by Rod Steiger, tells his younger brother, Terry (Marlon Brando) that he needs to be getting up a bit in the world — "You’re getting on. You’re pushing 30. You know, it’s time to think about getting some ambition," says Charlie.

GAA Championship: Peter McNamara analyses the live televised action on Saturday.

As a Kerryman who has been manager of Westmeath and Galway, Tomás Ó Flatharta knows all about derbies.

Laois 3-16 Carlow 0-8: It was as smooth a win as you could wish for but Laois manager Tomás Ó Flatharta learned little about his team as they steamrollered Carlow at Netwatch Cullen Park in this Leinster Championship opener on Saturday night.

Laois gained the expected upper hand in this local derby against Carlow to set up another battle for domestic bragging rights against Kildare in the Leinster quarter-final.

Down 3-12 Laois 1-15: Down’s ability to find the net helped them clinch promotion back to Division One while Laois maintained their league status despite defeat in Pairc Esler yesterday.

Galway 0-10 Laois 2-10

Meath 0-13, Laois 0-13:

Laois 2-17, Roscommon 0-16: Tomás Ó Flatharta felt that there was a good performance coming from Laois, and they certainly impressed when recording their first victory of this year’s league campaign.

Laois 2-17, Roscommon 0-16:

Allianz FL Division 2 Round 2: Laois 2-6 Cavan 0-17: Neither the absence of light in their dressing room nor the malfunctioning showers could affect the good humour amongst the Cavan contingent at O’Moore Park on Saturday night.

Laois 1-07 Maynooth 0-18: NUI Maynooth eased to a convincing eight-point win over Laois in Portarlington last night.

Dublin became the first team to qualify for the Bord na Móna O'Byrne Cup semi-finals after a hard earned victory over Offaly, with wins also for Maynooth University, Kildare, UCD, Meath, Westmeath, Wexford and DIT tonight.

Australia 56 Ireland 46

INTERNATIONAL RULES WARM-UP:

VFL Selection 27 (1-5-6) Ireland 100 (9-11-13)

Ireland manager Paul Earley has included players from 15 counties in his 25-man squad for next month’s International Rules test against Australia in Perth.

Laois 4-9 Tipperary 3-17

Tipperary 3-17 Laois 4-9

Cork manager Jimmy Barry Murphy has named an unchanged side for Sunday's Munster Hurling final clash with Limerick.

Laois 0-18 Wexford 0-17

Dublin manager Jim Gavin will have all bases covered ahead of tomorrow’s Leinster semi-final