That the Cork footballers start 2017 as a second-tier county is moot. Trust is thin on the ground and it’s a long road back to a point where Rebel supporters will back their footballers, something manager Peadar Healy accepts and understands. There are no excuses next season, he says. The answers must come from within.

EVEN a man with Éamonn Fitzmaurice’s forensic attention to detail will struggle to get an advance sense of which Cork side he’s facing today.

As a Kerryman who has been manager of Westmeath and Galway, Tomás Ó Flatharta knows all about derbies.

Laois footballer and Austin Stacks member Billy Sheehan will be among the leaders of the club’s now traditional parade to O’Moore Park on Sunday.

Of the Kerry team which began the drawn All-Ireland semi-final with Mayo, eight had played Sigerson Cup football for UCC.

Cork manager Jimmy Barry Murphy has named an unchanged side for Sunday's Munster Hurling final clash with Limerick.

Laois 1-19 Fermanagh 2-15

LEINSTER SFC QUARTER-FINAL:

Dublin came good when it mattered most as second half goals from Diarmuid Connolly and Michael Daragh Macauley paved the way for an 11-point win for the reigning All-Ireland and Leinster champions at Croke Park

Laois 0-21 Wicklow 1-11

Donegal and Monaghan retain their position of strength at the top of Division 2 of the Allianz Football League after their wins over Louth and Laois.

Armagh 2-18 Laois 1-12

Donegal moved back to the top of Division 2 this afternoon as they defeated Monaghan 2-11 to 0-10 in a repeat of last year's Ulster final in Letterkenny.

Laois 2-18 Offaly 1-15

The latest revelation, largely unreported, that hospital executives are raiding the car park and tuck shop funds to top up their rapacious salaries is of course ‘unacceptable and must be investigated’ — Howlin and Gilmore standard speak. (5c for a Mars, a penny apple).

Last Saturday, Billy Sheehan strode out of the Laois dressing room in Wexford Park, a beaming smile across his bearded face, and implored one journalist to keep writing Laois off.

Wexford 2-08 Laois 0-16

Laois 3-13 Carlow 0-12

Waterford veteran Tony Browne is hopeful of playing his first county hurling of the year in Saturday’s All-Ireland SHC qualifier clash with Westmeath in Cusack Park (5pm).

Former AFL player Conor Meredith has been handed his first Senior Championship start by Laois manager Justin McNulty.

Former Antrim player James Loughrey is a new addition to the Cork bench for Sunday’s Division 1 clash with Mayo after completing a transfer to Mallow from St Brigid’s.

I was appalled listening to the interview with Ms Fehily of the Revenue Commissioners on the Pat Kenny radio show on Thursday, Mar 7.

Westmeath 1-10 Laois 1-8

Laois 1-17 Louth 2-14

Laois 0-20 Armagh 1-10

Laois 0-20 Armagh 1-10

Dublin 1-12 Laois 0-12

The giddy reaction in the capital when Dublin’s name was paired with that of Laois last weekend was only heightened with the realisation Pat Gilroy’s side will face Mayo or Down in the semi-final should they do their jobs this evening.

Laois manager Justin McNulty has given a vote of confidence to his players by naming an unchanged team for Saturday's showdown with reigning All-Ireland champions Dublin.

Laois manager Justin McNulty has, unsurprisingly, stuck with the same 15 players who started last week’s qualifier defeat of Meath for this Saturday’s All-Ireland quarter-final against reigning champions Dublin at Croke Park.

The lasting memory of this game, and indeed Seamus McEnaney’s reign as Meath manager, will be the sight of the Corduff man scampering across the pitch to inform his players there were three minutes of additional time.

Laois head to Croke Park next weekend for their clash with Dublin full of confidence and with a real pep in their step – I was going to say “momentum” – but it has now officially become the most overused word in the GAA lexicon during the qualifiers.

Not since the days of Mick O’Dwyer have Laois enjoyed such a fruitful summer.

Leitrim 1-11 Laois 1-13

Tyrone’s hopes of claiming a win in Killarney this weekend have been handed a considerable boost with the news that Stephen O’Neill has been passed fit for the third round All-Ireland qualifier against Kerry.

Laois manager Justin McNulty has selected an unchanged team to face Leitrim in Saturday's All-Ireland SFC third round qualifier at Carrick-on-Shannon (throw-in 7pm).

Armagh captain Ciarán McKeever has had his fair share of run-ins with referees over the years, so much so that he feels like a marked man even before a ball has been kicked in anger.

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.

Kerry manager Jack O'Connor had positives and negatives to take out of his side's 0-20 to 1-13 win over Laois yesterday, which secured their qualification for the Division 1 semi-finals.

Kerry 0-20 Laois 1-13

Laois 1-15 Armagh 1-10

Meath, Kildare and DCU advanced to the Bord na Mona O'Byrne Cup semi-finals this afternoon, while in the Shield competition Laois, DIT and Wicklow all claimed victories.