Our five-time All-Ireland-winning columnist expects Mickey Harte’s defensive set-up to frustrate Dublin.

Offaly SFC: Reigning Offaly senior hurling and intermediate football champions Kilcormac-Killoughey caused quite a stir last week when they refused to field a team in their SFC clash with St Rynaghs on Thursday.

Some might say it was a curse. Before David Coldrick there was Kevin Walsh.

UCD’s footballers congregated under the Belfield lights on Wednesday night, the finishing touches applied ahead of today’s sojourn north.

Ireland 116 Australia 37, Ireland win series on aggregate 173-72

Colm Cooper has aimed a withering pop at Joe Brolly following the pundit’s recent comments about his leadership qualities and suitability to the centre-forward position.

Mayo 1-16 Tyrone 0-13

Former Offaly great Ciarán McManus played a leading role in Tubber’s victory over Ferbane in the crucial final round robin stage of the county senior football championship last night.

Champions Rhode survived a stern test from Gracefield in a thrilling Offaly senior football championship clash at O’Connor Park, Tullamore last night (2-16 to 3-12).

Shane Dooley showed just why Emmet McDonnell was quick to call him into the county football squad with a stellar performance for Tullamore in the Offaly SFC last night, helping his club to a 0-16 to 1-7 victory over Walsh Island.

Former Offaly footballer Ciaran McManus has warned Jim McGuinness faces tiring schedules dividing his time between Donegal and Glasgow.

Ulster 2-12 Donegal 1-12

John Doyle's 13th Senior Football Championship campaign begins this Sunday in Portlaoise as Kildare face Offaly in the last of the Leinster SFC quarter-finals.

Declan Ryan will have attacking aces Eoin Kelly, Seamus Callanan and Patrick Maher back in his selection plans for Sunday week’s Munster SHC quarter-final against Limerick but the Tipperary manager remained tight-lipped as to whether returning star Lar Corbett will be in contention for the Semple Stadium clash.

Ciaran McManus will not be coming out of inter-county retirement to line out for the Offaly footballers this summer, according to new manager Tom Coffey.

Laois edged an entertaining battle against an Offaly side, minus Ciarán McManus and Niall McNamee at the opening of the new Mountmellick GAA Clubhouse by GAA President Liam O’Neill last night.

One of the GAA’s chief selling points in this heavily-marketed age is that its stars live amongst us.

Offaly's interim football manager Tom Coffey is piecing together his panel ahead of their crunch Leinster SFC clash with Kildare on June 17.

Leinster manager Seán Boylan argues the Interprovincial Series is a valid way of helping curb the recent spats of indiscipline at inter-county level.

Outside of Kilkenny’s defeat to Wicklow last weekend, Offaly’s 12-point loss to Longford was the biggest deficit of the 15 Allianz League games.

Derrytresk and Dromid Pearses officials last night returned to Portlaoise to meet with members of the GAA’s Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC).

Ciaran McManus has hit out at Offaly GAA officials for the procedures they used which led to Gerry Cooney being installed as the new Offaly senior football manager.

OFFALY legend Ciarán McManus has criticised the procedures used by board chiefs to appoint Gerry Cooney as the county’s new football manager.

Limerick senior football manager Maurice Horan has revealed that a meeting in the aftermath of their exit from the Munster Championship got their campaign back on track.

THEIR 2011 campaign may have ground to a halt but Limerick manager Maurice Horan still viewed the season in a positive light after yesterday’s All-Ireland SFC quarter-final defeat to Kerry.

THE Offaly footballers were expecting Tom Cribbin to step down, according to stalwart Ciarán McManus.

THE oft-battered cult of the outside manager got a fillip, not a flake, in the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday. You only had to see what victory meant to Limerick football boss Maurice Horan, a Mayo native, at the final whistle.

Limerick 3-13 Offaly 0-15

MICHAEL DUIGNAN’S name isn’t mentioned once by Ciarán McManus during the course of this interview.

GRAHAM GERAGHTY has managed little more than 12 minutes of football for Meath this summer but Seamus McEnaney believes the former All-Ireland winning captain’s sensational return to the county colours will extend beyond 2011.

A MUCH-maligned Offaly side produced one of the shocks of the All-Ireland SFC qualifier weekend with a deserved victory over Division One opponents Monaghan in Tullamore.

Wexford 2-16 Offaly 0-08

The Offaly team to take on Wexford in Saturday's Leinster SFC first round encounter in Tullamore (throw-in 5pm) includes two Championship debutants.

WESTMEATH boss Pat Flanagan heaped praise on his team after they secured promotion to Allianz Football League Division Two with victory at Cusack Park, Mullingar yesterday.

Wexford claimed top spot of Allianz Football League Division 3 despite a late Cavan goal, while Westmeath, Tipperary and Limerick also registered wins in the division.

Late goals helped Offaly and Westmeath to wins in Division 3 of the Allianz Football League this afternoon, while their were also victories for Louth and Cavan.

Offaly, Tipperary and Wexford were the winners on the opening day of action in Allianz NFL Division 1, while the meeting of Louth and Westmeath was postponed.

Division Three

RESCUERS who saved the lives of 11 people from near-drowning incidents were among those honoured at the annual awards ceremony of Irish Water Safety in Dublin yesterday.

Ciaran McManus has expressed his desire to continue playing with the Offaly senior footballers, following Tom Cribbin's recent reappointment as manager.

All-Ireland SFC Round 3 qualifier

OFFALY’S quietly efficient progress through the All-Ireland qualifiers continued at home in Tullamore on Saturday yet they laboured before advancing past Waterford.

Offaly 0-15 Waterford 0-10

JOHN MISKELLA has been recalled by Cork for tomorrow’s All-Ireland second round football qualifier against Cavan in Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

Offaly manager Tom Cribbin has made three changes to his side for Saturday's All-Ireland SFC second round qualifier against Waterford in Tullamore (throw-in 5pm).

GRAEME McDOWELL could hardly have anticipated the ovation that greeted him on arrival on the first tee at Adare Manor Hotel and Golf Club at 8am yesterday for the opening round of the JP McManus Pro-Am.

Offaly 2-18 Clare 1-18, O'Connor Park, Tullamore (after extra-time)

Offaly manager Tom Cribbin has made four changes in personnel to his side for their All-Ireland SFC qualifier against Clare in Tullamore tomorrow afternoon (throw-in 2pm).

Offaly manager Tom Cribbin has made four changes to his side for their All-Ireland SFC qualifier against Clare in Tullamore on Saturday (throw-in 2pm).