Former Louth manager Paddy Carr believes referee Brendan Gorman “lost control of everything towards the end” of the county’s remarkable qualifier defeat to Meath in 2002.

Galway attacker Shane Walsh reckons the huge amount of players that knocked back the opportunity to play for the county in recent seasons are regretting their decisions this week.

Eamonn Corcoran has urged Tipperary to rediscover a winning habit – or run the risk of being renowned as a team that can’t close out tight games.

Former All-Ireland winning manager Nicky English believes Tipperary should accept that they’re going to concede aerial possession to Galway’s powerful forwards and must simply concentrate on what to do next.

Kevin Walsh’s ascension to the position of Galway football manager is a foregone conclusion after Pete Warren withdrew his candidacy.

Diarmuid O’Donovan was last night appointed as administrator of the Cork County Board.

Former Tipperary hurler Eamon Corcoran will not be part of new senior team manager Eamon O’Shea’s backroom team.

There was no shortage of excitement in the third round of the Mayo senior club football championship with Crossmolina, the 2001 All-Ireland club champions, snatching a place in the quarter-finals in dramatic fashion.

WHILE admitting the focus will be on the UCC Demons versus Bord Gáis Neptune National Cup semi-final tomorrow afternoon, it would be foolish to suggest it would decide the destination of Irish basketball’s blue riband title.

OF the 132 men who have hurled 15 SHC matches or more with Tipperary, 125 have won an All-Ireland medal on the field of play.

THE silence around Kilkenny right now is golden.

WICKLOW PRO Pat Mitchel has admitted the lack of floodlights at Aughrim is a concern after their All-Ireland SFC second round qualifier replay against Armagh was fixed for 7pm this Saturday.

GALWAY football was last night battling reports of discontent in their ranks after co-captain Kieran Fitzgerald and midfielder Niall Coleman quit the panel.

Brendan Fennelly is expected to be named as the new Laois senior hurling manager following a meeting next Monday night.

ON a broader level the engrossing fare in Sunday’s Croke Park clash between Tipperary and Galway reinvigorated this season’s All-Ireland hurling championship, yet just as importantly the victory fuels the Premier men’s ambitions for the season ahead.

WITH another former Cork minor star making some serious waves across the Tasman Sea, Tomás O’Leary is out to strike another blow for the Rebel alumni in New Zealand this weekend.

KIERAN DONAGHY has stepped up his bid for a dramatic return to Kerry colours for the All-Ireland final by taking a full part in Kingdom training.

TOMORROW a new team takes on Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final, a template we’ve seen in the last two finals, when largely inexperienced sides faced the Cats.

MICHAEL WEBSTER is pushing hard for a place in Tipperary’s starting 15 for Sunday’s All-Ireland SFC semi-final against Waterford.

Former All-Ireland Ladies SFC winner Lulu Carroll passed away early on Sunday morning after losing her battle with cancer.

Kilkenny duo Henry Shefflin and James 'Cha' Fitzpatrick were in top form as Ballyhale Shamrocks beat Toomevara 2-20 to 3-14 this afternoon in an epic AIB All-Ireland club hurling semi-final.

Galway's bid to retain their Connacht SFC title has been given a boost with the news that versatile forward Joe Bergin's injury fears have been eased.

2001 All-Ireland winner Joe Bergin's bad luck with injuries could be about to continue.

ALMOST 20 years after beginning the task of putting Tipperary hurling back on the map, Babs Keating is back at the helm again.

Bustling Sligo midfielder Eamonn O'Hara looks certain to miss the Yeats county's All-Ireland SFC third round qualifier against Clare on Sunday.

Tipperary manager Ken Hogan will give corner forward Lar Corbett until the last possible moment to prove his fitness for Sunday's Munster SHC final.

Galway boss Peter Forde has named five U21 players in his line-up for Sunday's Connacht SFC semi-final clash against Leitrim at Pearse Stadium.

NIGEL CRAWFORD puts his roast beef bap down, takes off his overcoat and stretches his long legs under, in and around the tiny table in Searson’s pub on Dublin’s Baggot Street.

KILLARNEY was the talk of the town on Saturday and for all the wrong reasons.

Tipperary captain Tommy Dunne will miss Sunday's National League opener against Offaly in a serious blow to the Premier County.

If the opening weekend of the Allianz Football League provided a series of exciting games and big crowds, the second round next weekend promises to be even more dramatic, starting in Tralee on Saturday night with the televised clash between Cork and Kerry.

League and All-Ireland champions Tyrone will begin the defence of their NFL crown with an opening day clash with Dublin in the capital.

Crocked Tipperary defender Tom Costello is in line for a recall to the Tipperary hurling team against Offaly on Sunday despite picking up a rib injury last time out against Galway.

Armagh 1-15, Galway 0-15

IT has been a fairytale innings so far for highly popular Strokestown manager Pat Doory, who played full-back for Roscommon over the course of 13 successive seasons.

Alan Markham moves to full-forward for Clare's All-Ireland SHC quarter-final date with Waterford on Sunday at Croke Park.