A fitting end to the Cork Premier 1 U-21 hurling championship at the 4G pitch in Páirc Uí Chaoimh yesterday, with Sarsfields and Midleton serving up a thrilling end to the season.

Age is but a number, says 38-year-old Sarsfields full-forward Emer Fennell as she bids to extend what has been a fairytale season.

This Cork senior hurling championship round 1 game didn’t survive to half-time as a contest, with a vastly experienced Sarsfields side putting away Kanturk with a devastating first-half scoring burst.

Two goals in the opening quarter were decisive as Nenagh Éire Óg ended the SHC challenge of Loughmore-Castleiney with a 2-17 to 0-18 win at Dolla yesterday.

Borris-Ileigh 0-11 Thurles Sarsfields 1-24: It’s no accident that Thurles Sarsfields collected a fourth Tipperary SHC title in a row yesterday in Semple Stadium.

Thurles Sarsfields (Tipperary) 0-17 Ballygunner (Waterford) 0-16: Yesterday’s Munster Club SHC quarter-final came down to one play in injury time, when Thurles Sarsfields’ free-taker, Pa Bourke, stood over a 65 that would nudge his side one ahead against Waterford champions Ballygunner.

Sarsfields 4-15 Erin’s Own 1-14: Sarsfields’ remarkable level of consistency in the Cork senior hurling championship continued at Páirc Uí Rinn on Saturday when the Riverstown club reached an incredible seventh final in eight seasons.

Sarsfields 0-16 Erins Own 1-13: What should have been the championship’s marquee fixture, one to give Cork hurling an esteem boost, instead turned out to be a mediocre affair with holders Sarsfields just about hanging onto their title – at least for another six days.

Cratloe (Clare) 1-18 Thurles Sarsfields (Tipperary) 0-14

TIPPERARY SHC FINAL:

Last week, as this final drew near, questions exercised the minds of both sets of supporters. Sarsfields’ fans wondered if they could continue the winning pattern established since 2008 of a championship victory every second year, writes Donal O'Grady.

This is Pat Ryan’s second year as Sarsfields senior hurling manager and he’s on course for a 100% strike-rate.

Cork SHC quarter-final: Sarsfields 3-20 St Finbarr’s 1-16

Sarsfields 0-14 Carrigdhoun 0-11

Sarsfields 2-25 Bride Rovers 0-15

Wexford’s Eoin Quigley believes it is more difficult to gain enjoyment from inter-county hurling given how “pressurised” the game has become.

Usually in a game as tight as this, there is one significant moment that decides victory.

Sarsfields 0-25 Ballymartle 1-12

Even in winter you can hazard a guess as to what spring has in store.

Ballymun Kickhams (Dublin) 1-08 Sarsfields (Kildare) 0-05

This showpiece of Cork senior hurling struggled to come to life as a contest in Páirc Uí Chaoimh yesterday.

Sarsfields prevailed in a closely-fought Cork Club SHC final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh this afternoon, beating Bishopstown 1-15 to 1-13 to take the title for the third time in five years.

Sarsfields illustrated why they are regarded as one of the front-runners for this year’s Cork SHC after carving out a deserved, but hard-fought victory over Cloyne in their opening bout on Saturday evening.

IT MIGHT not have been the prize they targeted at the beginning of the season, but winning the Cork County Red FM senior hurling league (Denis Conroy Cup) at Páirc Uí Rinn on Saturday gives Sarsfields plenty of optimism for next year.

Newtownshandrum 1-14 Sarsfields 0-14

WHAT a difference two weeks makes. A couple of Sundays ago, in the semi-final, the Tipperary champions put their bodies on the line, gave everything possible to get the win over Kilmallock, in Kilmallock.

IN Thurles Sarsfields’ march to Sunday’s Munster club SHC final against De La Salle (Waterford), one player has been ultra-consistent — midfielder Michael Gleeson, lately added to the Tipperary hurling panel.

TWO goals in the opening half set up Sarsfields for a hard-fought win over Midleton in the replay of the East Cork U21AHC final at Ballynoe yesterday.

DE LA SALLE by a point.

BARELY had Sars captain Alan Kennedy lowered the Sean Óg Murphy cup from over his head in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday afternoon, but he was already thinking ahead to November 14 and the Munster club championship date with whoever is crowned champions of Waterford.

GLEN ROVERS selector Liam Martin has vowed his side will “rise again” after the heartbreak of yesterday’s Cork SHC final defeat to Sarsfields.

SARSFIELDS are county champions for the second time in three seasons because they had a bit more scoring potential up front than Glen Rovers.

SO many pre-match player interviews these days are all about the banal, the predictable, the oh-so-stale. Oh so refreshing then to speak to Sars’ captain Alan Kennedy in advance of tomorrow’s Cork county senior hurling final against Glen Rovers.

THEIR story should be the stuff of fairytale, a celebration of everything we have always held dear about the underdog since the time Goliath took one in the forehead from a lad with a slingshot.

Cloyne 6-9 Sarsfields 0-8

Thurles Sarsfields 3-17 Éire Óg, Nenagh 2-18