What a difference a year makes.

Tuam Stars manager Tommy Carton is confident his side have shown that All-Ireland champions Corofin are beatable after they needed Gary Sice’s late heroics to force a replay of the Galway SFC final in a cracking game at Tuam Stadium.

Two meetings tomorrow but just one this afternoon, and the opening race at Leopardstown, the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies’ Maiden, is a superb contest.

Nellie Browne may not only be one of the west of Ireland’s oldest apple growers, but she may also be one of the wisest participants in Galway 2020, the city’s European capital of culture.

Connacht Council secretary John Prenty believes the pitch invasion before the end of Sunday’s provincial final may have been prevented if a countdown clock was utilised.

Stadium clocks should stop after 35 minutes, according to Connacht Council secretary John Prenty, who believes the premature pitch invasion near the end of Sunday’s Connacht SFC final may have been prevented if supporters were not aware of how much injury-time was remaining.

The revamped hurling championship has given us many wondrous memories this last 13 months but the sight of Wexford and Kilkenny supporters jiving away together to the tune of 'Dancing at the Crossroads' may well be the most bizarre.

There is a total lack of education surrounding concussion at GAA club level, according to former Galway footballer Cormac Bane, who has been forced to hang up his boots at the age of 35 following two bangs to the face which have considerably hindered the quality of his everyday life.

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.

Maybe everyone jumped a couple of steps too far ahead. Within Kerry certainly and even beyond. Football needs somebody to give Dublin a game. And especially with Mayo gone early, Kerry were anointed, in most places, as this year’s contenders.

Last week, I spoke about the importance of a referee’s team and unfortunately it was the topic of most discussions yesterday, writes Brian Gavin.

Meet the faces of 2018 — the emerging talents who’ll soon be seen on a screen or at a venue near you. From cinema and TV to music and fashion, we profile the new names reaching for success in 2018, writes Esther McCarthy.

Due to demand, an extra Cork date has been added to 2FM LIVE with Jenny Greene and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.

The pride in Jeff Lynskey’s voice is unmistakable. 

Ken McGrath begins to feel his age as he discusses the All-Ireland final between Waterford and Galway.

In a fascinating race for the jockey’s title, reigning champ Pat Smullen has hit a rich vein of form and, following a 1,055-1 four-timer at Roscommon yesterday, is all but breathing down the neck of championship leader Colin Keane.

TV ratings from last Sunday’s All-Ireland SHC semi-final revealed an average home viewing figure of just 1,183 watched the game on Sky Sports in the Republic of Ireland. In contrast, 532,000 took in the game on RTÉ2.

In May 2016, we outlined 10 facts that damned Cork hurling. A Munster title, claimed from the first round no less, is the most compelling piece of evidence of their transformation. A review of those statements, though, underlines just how far they’ve come since then.

Tommy Barker reports on a west Waterford property that has been massively upgraded despite only being originally built in 2004

The difference between Galway 2017 and previous versions?

Stand and terrace ticket prices for the All-Ireland football quarter-finals as well as both football and hurling semi-finals have all increased by €5 — but the GAA have confirmed admission for the finals will remain frozen.

David Collins might have chosen to step aside just as Galway are now favoured to win a first All-Ireland in 29 years but he is enjoying the watching brief.

What’s it like to play in a Galway-Mayo championship match? I can only speak from a Galway point of view and more specifically my experiences of playing against the auld enemy. It’s the only game of the year you just can’t afford to lose, writes John Divilly.

“I have to be careful what I say now, don’t I?’’, are the words Aidan O’Brien reportedly muttered in the wake of his Caravaggio enjoying no more than a leisurely stroll on the way to winning the Group 1 Phoenix stakes at the Curragh last Sunday.

At Naas on Monday, following a six-furlongs handicap, the stewards were called into action after the 11-4 favourite, Captain Power, had beaten 5-1 shot, Dark Alliance, by a short head.

It’s TheTote.com Galway Hurdle day in Ballybrit and Tigris River looks the value option to land the €177,000 winner’s prize in the feature.

For the past five years, she has wowed audiences in community halls and theatres all over Co Cork — now a middle-aged, control-freak housewife from West Cork is the star of a new film.

Chairman Noel Treacy said that Galway hurlers did not raise any discontent until two of them came forward after the players’ representatives had earlier delivered a positive report on the year.

Seamus Heffernan enjoyed a welcome change of luck when doubling-up on favourites Façade and Tithonus in Dundalk last night.

Galway 50 Dublin 47: A second quarter flashpoint enlivened the AIG Fenway Hurling Classic between Dublin and Galway in Boston, the sin bin filling up after a major skirmish in front of the Dublin goal.

I doubt that Dermot Weld engaged in anything even remotely approaching a Clive Brittain-like jig, but he must have at least allowed himself a wry smile!

I’d love to have been in both dressingrooms at half-time yesterday because I can almost picture both scenarios. 

In My Pocket can take the closing race for the in-form stable of John Oxx. The three-year-old colt made his debut at Navan back in April, and stayed on well to beat Cenotaph by more than two lengths. He wasn’t seen again until last month at Cork, where he reappeared to contest a listed race.

Even Dermot Weld, at least privately, must have found it highly amusing.

Our glorious Taoiseach believes this nation’s little people would be happy for him to remain at the helm well into the 2020s, with his ‘regime’ following a path similar to that of the Kim dynasty in North Korea.

Dermot Weld was the Galway Festival’s top trainer for the 29th time in the last 30 years. He had five winners, while Willie Mullins trained eight winners and Tony Martin saddled six.

Fast horses and fashionable women are a hit at this year Galway races.

1 

They couldn’t, could they? Go all the way?