Offaly safely negotiated a potentially tricky first round qualifier tie at Bord na Móna O’Connor Park in Tullamore this afternoon, where they had the brilliance of Bernard Allen to thank for the ten-point winning margin they enjoyed against London.

Niall Carew has reinvented Sligo. The Kildare native experiences his first Connacht final tomorrow at Hyde Park, as the county renews rivalries with Mayo, three years after losing narrowly to their neighbours in the decider at the Roscommon venue.

One-sided games usually have no major talking points and that was more or less the case for the three televised hurling games this weekend.

Colin Walshe replaces Drew Wylie in the only change to the Monaghan side for Sunday’s Ulster SFC semi-final with Fermanagh in Kingspan Breffni Park (4pm). Walshe came on as a sub in the win over Cavan in the quarter-final, scoring a point.