Trailing by 0-11 to 0-7 at the break, Thomas’ won the second period by 1-6 to 0-3, but it wasn’t until the final 12 minutes of the half that the Thomas’ display really sparked to life.

St Thomas have won all three county finals they have played in — having only made it to their first decider in 2012 — and they will go into a repeat of last year’s Galway SHC showdown against Liam Mellows as favourites in two weeks’time to retain the title for the first time.

Ballyhale Shamrocks are AIB All-Ireland club SHC winners for a record seventh time after a power-packed Croke Park display proved far too much for an overwhelmed St Thomas'.

In a game like this, the inches all count.

Defender David Sherry was the toast of St Thomas' after popping up with a remarkable winning point five minutes into stoppage time at Parnell Park.

St Thomas’ claimed their third Galway SHC title with the largest winning margin in nine seasons as Darragh Burke inspired them to a memorable victory at Pearse Stadium.

St Thomas 1-11 Gort 0-10: St Thomas manager John Burke insisted that his side have what it takes to go all the way to All-Ireland glory for the second time, after they were deserving winners of the Galway SHC title yesterday.

Young Munster 35 Old Belvedere 36: The Ulster Bank All-Ireland League got off to the best possible start at Tom Clifford Park on Saturday, when Old Belvedere and Young Munster provided a thriller from which the visitors emerged victorious by a point (36-35).

Garryowen 8 Young Munster 14: Young Munster took a giant step towards qualifying for the semi-finals of this season’s Ulster Bank League with a hard fought 14-8 Division 1A derby victory over local rivals Garryowen at Dooradoyle last night.

Garryowen 10 Clontarf 3: Clontarf and Garryowen produced 10 tries between them when they met in the previous round of the Ulster Bank League last month on the Dublin club’s all weather pitch.

Cork Constitution 11 Garryowen 9: Another day of drama between the kings of Munster Cup rugby ended with holders Constitution taking a giant step towards retaining their crown with a two points victory over Garryowen at Temple Hill on Saturday.

Over and over again and again, Galwegians sang their club anthem ‘The Blues are we’ and danced and celebrated long into Saturday night in Galway after their nerve wracking Ulster Bank AIL victory over Garryowen at Crowley Park.

Garryowen 28 Buccaneers 20

Shannon 17 Garryowen 34

Garryowen 23 UL Bohemian 3

Division One ‘B’: Garryowen 6 Galwegians 10

Garryowen 31 Cashel 14

ULSTER BANK LEAGUE DIVISION 1B:

UL/Bohemian 6 Garryowen 11

Portumna 0-18 St Thomas’ 2-11

Portumna 0-22 St Thomas’ 1-19

St Thomas 2-19 Castlegar 0-21

Dolphin 6 Garryowen 15

St. Thomas (Galway) 0-15 Loughgiel Shamrocks (Antrim) 0-7

Young Munster 14 Garryowen 21

UL Bohemian 16 Garryowen 12

Garryowen 19 Dolphin 3

Cork Constitution 16 Garryowen 6

Garryowen captain Paul Neville paid tribute to his side’s defensive efforts after Saturday’s Bateman Cup final victory at Templeville Road.

Shannon out-half Tadg Bennett held his nerve under fierce pressure at Dooradoyle last night to land an equalising penalty from 45 metres with the last kick of the game to force a 20-20 draw with Garryowen in the Ulster Bank League.

Shannon’s need may have been greater before kick-off, but that didn’t stop Garryowen from inflicting a 12-point defeat on their Limerick rivals in this All-Ireland League Division 1A clash at Thomond Park last night.

Having emerged successfully from some testing Limerick derbies in the space of eight days, Young Munster are all set to launch an all-out assault on the Ulster Bank All-Ireland League in their closing five matches.

They don’t look like title contenders, but Garryowen picked up four crucial Ulster Bank League points with this hard-earned win over Dolphin at Dooradoyle on Saturday.

A SECOND-HALF comeback that embraced typical passion and skill helped Young Munster overcome arch rivals Garryowen on Saturday and set up an Ulster Bank League semi-final meeting with holders Cork Constitution.

GARRYOWEN swept Shannon aside in convincing fashion under the Dooradoyle lights last night to climb off the bottom of Division 1A of the Ulster Bank All-Ireland League and in the process gave their ailing season a massive boost.

MUNSTER and Ireland hooker Jerry Flannery played the first half of last night’s All-Ireland League game for Shannon against Garryowen at Thomond Park, without any recurrence of the back and calf injuries that have bedevilled his career over the past two seasons.

MUNSTER bid to maintain their winning ways in the British and Irish Cup when they face Nottingham at the Waterford Regional Sports Centre, tomorrow evening (7pm).

DOLPHIN returned to Cork last night convinced they had been the victims of sharp practice after losing 13-12 to Garryowen in a bruising AIB League encounter at Dooradoyle.

MUNSTER’S youngsters once again demonstrated at Thomond Park last night that they have the capacity to step into the illustrious shoes of their predecessors, when defeating Connacht 28-11 in an entertaining and enlightening A Interprovincial game.

MUNSTER bid for their fourth successive victory in the A Interprovincial championship when they face Connacht this evening at Thomond Park (6.30pm).

GREIG OLIVER, the former Scotland scrum-half and now director of rugby at Garryowen, and his Cork Constitution counterpart Brian Walsh believe Munster have two more outstanding number nines ready to follow in the illustrious footsteps of Peter Stringer and Tomás O’Leary.

Garryowen 12 Shannon 10

IN A TIME of necessity, you do what has to be done to survive.

MUNSTER coach Declan Kidney gets a chance to utilise some of his lesser known squad members when the A team take on Ulster A in Temple Hill today, seeking a second victory over their Northern rivals (2pm).

Munster coach Declan Kidney has named a 27-strong squad to account for the doubts over Niall Ronan and Denis Fogarty ahead of Friday night's Magners League game against Newport-Gwent Dragons at Rodney Parade.

MUNSTER coach Declan Kidney has named a 27-strong squad ahead of Friday night’s Magners League game against Newport Gwent Dragons at Rodney Parade, (6.10pm).

MUNSTER’s Development squad jetted out on a four-day camp to Biarritz last night keenly aware that the province’s unexpected Magners League crisis has propelled them into the spotlight.

Munster Under 21 21 Leinster Under 21 19

ANTHONY FOLEY, described by former Munster coach Alan Gaffney as one of the most astute brains in rugby, will lead Munster again this season.