The some times invisible line between the summit and the basement of affairs in Division 2 was summed up at the end of this entertaining tussle of many twists before Laois finally turned for home with two precious points in their safe-keeping.

Three of the final four scores secured the Munster PPS Senior B Hurling Championship title for Cashel Community School this Saturday afternoon.

Champions Dundalk opened their season with a victory for the first time in three seasons as Dane Massey popped up with a 79th-minute winner to break Derry City hearts at Oriel Park.

Just as everything came right for Clare as they recovered from an 0-8 to 0-6 deficit early in the second half to hit five out of the last seven points for victory, it went horribly wrong for Kildare

Clare dug deep to claim their first win of the National League campaign with a deserved one-point success over 14-man Kildare in Ennis.

Reigning champions Cork proved too strong for Tipperary in their Lidl National Football League Division 1 clash at Ardfinnan with goals in each half from Áine O’Sullivan the difference between the sides.

Promotion or relegation matters are never decided on the first weekend in February, but at the same time a sneak preview of the way things might pan out over the course of the seven-match campaign can loom very large.

Making 23 substitutions throughout an entertaining and at times tense O'Byrne Cup semi-final encounter, the Dessie Farrell era ultimately got off to a losing start for Dublin.

In a game that saw the sides level five times, Limerick came out on top with three of the last four points against a Clare side that had to wait until the second half for their first score from play.

It was a dour struggle in many respects as befitting the time of the year, but cometh the hour some brilliance burned brightly in the low-lying West Clare sun as the Kennedys swooped to conquer for a mightily relieved Clonmel Commercials side.

Clonmel Commercials’ bid for a second Munster title is very much on track after a late, late show advanced them to another provincial day out against Nemo Rangers for a repeat of the 2015 decider that the Premier County kingpins won with virtually the last kick of the ball.

John Fallon picks his League of Ireland team of the season.

Alan Mannus: Not a save to make until the 38th minute as Rovers enjoyed the majority of the ball. But dealt ably with Gartland’s downward header to push it out for a corner. Saved well from Cleary in the shootout. 7

Memories of Castlehaven’s 1994 Cork SFC county final win over arch rivals O’Donovan Rossa are still fresh in the participants’ minds.

Two women have been found guilty of assault after a row allegedly sparked on the dancefloor of a nightclub when one defendant began dancing with the boyfriend of the other defendant.

Dundalk’s treble dream is still on although the champions needed Michael Duffy’s 89th-minute winner to break Sligo Rovers’ resolve in yesterday’s Extra.ie FAI Cup semi-final at The Showgrounds.

Dundalk remain four points clear at the top of the Premier Division following a comfortable 3-0 win over UCD in Belfield last night.

Two goals inside the opening 33 minutes from Rafael Ratão and Aleksandar Čavrić killed the game as a contest and while the Lilywhites never gave up, even briefly threatening a mini-revival when Michael Duffy pulled one back midway through the second half, this ultimately proved a challenge too far.

Dundalk head coach Vinny Perth has called on Irish football fans to support his side as their Europa League qualifying campaign continues in Tallaght Stadium on Tuesday, after seeing his side progress to the second round of the FAI Cup with a 1-0 victory over Cobh Ramblers.

A 40-year-old Co. Limerick man has appeared in court concerning an allegation that he asked an elderly lady for a "blow-job" over the phone.

Dundalk will have to score in Latvia next Wednesday to keep their Champions League dreams alive after a frustrating stalemate with Riga FC at Oriel Park tonight.

Vinny Perth might be taking charge of his first Champions League match when Dundalk take on Riga FC at Oriel Park tonight but the experience built up in recent years means he won’t be taking the Latvians lightly.

Former All-Ireland winners John Cleary and Tony Davis believe Cork have nothing to lose heading into this year’s Super 8s on the back of a comprehensive victory over Laois.

They were clinging on by their fingertips at the finish in Portlaoise but Meath are through to the Super 8s for the first time after edging an epic Round 4 qualifier.

Dundalk made it eight league wins in a row to cement their eight-point lead at the top of the SSE Airtricity League table with a comfortable victory over Waterford FC at Oriel Park last night.

For the fourth year in a row Clare followed their Munster Championship exit to Kerry with victory in their opening qualifier game of the summer, but the challenge for Colm Collins’ side is to to put

Clare fended off a strong Leitrim resurgence in the second-half as Colm Collins’s side worked their way into Round 3 of the qualifiers with a convincing win over Leinster at Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada.

Fr Michael Cleary didn’t have to cope with loneliness or celibacy, having fathered a family, writes Terry Prone

There has been no wielding of the axe by the Clare management in the wake of last weekend’s 13-point hammering at the hands of Tipperary, with the team named for tomorrow’s game against Limerick showing just one change in personnel.

Kerry made hard work of seeing off Clare in heavy conditions to book a Munster final spot against Cork in three weeks’ time.

Eoin Cleary admits the Clare footballers must improve their shot-selection if they are to shock Kerry in Saturday’s Munster SFC semi-final.

James Rogers SSE Airtricity League

Cork City suffered their first defeat under interim manager John Cotter as Premier Division leaders Dundalk took the points at Turner’s Cross.

Clare secured safe passage to a fifth Munster semi-final meeting with Kerry in six years, but what they produced in this desperately poor provincial quarter-final fixture won’t be anywhere near sufficient to even remotely trouble Kerry.

UCC emerged from round 2 of the Cork SFC Colleges/Divisions section with a six-point win at Ballinlough today.

A bus driver who collected dozens of schoolchildren each day had 49 defects on his vehicle — seven of which were classed as dangerous.

The tallest office building so far developed in Cork City, Penrose Dock next to Kent Rail Station at up to nine storeys, is setting an even more impressive record: its first core and lift shaft is up to full height, less than a year after the €125m project on the city’s north quays first applied for planning permission.

Cork City retailers need to tweak their offering to capitalise on the arrival of thousands of new workers, according to one of the developers leading the multimillion-euro regeneration of the docklands.

One of Cork’s most prolific developers has said the city will be a “very vibrant place” within the next 12-18 months.

Developers JCD have made an off-market multi-million euro swoop on the Cork city Albert Quay site occupied for the past 50 years by family-owned Carey Tools, including the Sextant bar which was subsequently acquired by the Carey family.

Galway’s six-time All-Ireland minor hurling manager Mattie Murphy believes Croke Park have to take their share of the blame for the financial controversy that has rocked the county.

Dundalk 1 St Patrick’s Athletic 1

Limerick 0 Dundalk 1