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.

Seamus Clancy is unequivocal. Many of the giants in Clare football history will wear the jersey in Portlaoise tomorrow.

It was rather fitting that Gary Brennan and David Tubridy should deliver the scores which rescued Clare from relegation to Division 3.

Relegation favourites at the start of the campaign, unbeaten Fermanagh have taken another big step towards a fairytale promotion to the top flight with another low-scoring victory at Brewster Park.

Kerry 0-32 Clare 0-10: New-look Kerry and new ground broken.

Limerick 0-11 Clare 1-14: When the sides met in last year’s National Football League, Limerick pulled themselves out of a four-game losing streak to kickstart an unlikely Division Three survival with a double-scores victory. Sadly for them, history did not repeat itself yesterday as they were brushed aside far more comprehensively by Clare than the final margin of six points suggests.

McGrath Cup - Clare 0-12 Kerry 0-9: Paul Galvin will not be returning to the Kerry football set-up for the season ahead, manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice confirmed yesterday evening.

Clonmel Commercials 1-13 St Joseph’s Miltown-Malbay 0-3, Clonmel

St. Joseph’s, Miltown 0-13 Cooraclare 0-9: St. Joseph’s, Miltown bridged a 25 gap when capturing the Clare senior football championship title, defeating Cooraclare by four points at Cusack Park, Ennis yesterday.

Clare 0-15 Limerick 0-13: THERE were but fleeting mentions of Cork.

Kilmurry-Ibrickane made it through to the Clare SFC semi-finals, when beating Clondegad 2-10 to 1-11 at Cooraclare on Saturday.

Clare 2-8 Waterford 2-8

AIB ALL-IRELAND CLUB JFC FINAL:

The Munster Council has said that it will consider any requests from counties seeking to reverse the decision to reintroduce seeding for the province’s senior football championship.

Clare 1-11 Cork 1-20

Clare 1-11 Cork 1-20

Clare will field a team showing two personnel changes when they try to upset hot favourites Cork in Sunday's Munster SFC final.

Clare boss Micheal McDermott says this Sunday’s Munster SFC final is a “big, big ask”.

Clare 1-13 Limerick 0-15

Clare grabbed their fourth win in Division 4 when they had six points to spare over Leitrim in Cusack Park yesterday.

Clare recorded their second league win in Division 4 of the Allianz FL at Cusack Park, Ennis yesterday, denying Limerick a third victory in this year’s campaign.

Clare collected both points on offer in a game which saw four players sent off. The quartet — three form Waterford, one from Clare — received their marching orders for second yellow card offences.

UL are sweating on the fitness of Kerry midfielder Anthony Maher for the Sigerson Cup after he was forced off in the first quarter of this McGrath Cup tie at Doonbeg yesterday.

“IF it wasn’t for bad luck, we’d have no luck at all,” was the assessment of Clare’s County Board’s liaison officer with the footballers, Tommy Downes, the county’s ‘Mr Football’.

WE TEND to attach more significance to the smaller details on days like these.

THERE’S roughly 137 miles separating Liam McHale’s home in Ballina in north Mayo and the village of Cooraclare in the west of Clare. In the winter he embarks on that route two nights every week to the pitch which is the epicentre for the Banner county’s football preparations.

Former Kildare footballer Niall Browne will make his Munster SFC debut when he lines out for Clare against Cork at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday (throw-in 3.30pm).

London top Division 4 of the Allianz Football League after the opening round of matches. Leitrim were also victorious, while there were draws in the Carlow v Wicklow and Longford v Roscommon games.

Kerry 0-13 Clare 1-17

Clare 1-10 Waterford 0-10

CLARE claimed the spoils in this competitive McGrath Cup quarter-final at Cooraclare yesterday.

NEW Limerick hurling boss Donal O’Grady last night expressed his personal satisfaction at having avoided his native Cork in next year’s Munster championship, but warned that his side face a massive semi-final challenge against Davy Fitzgerald’s Waterford.

FOR the Clare footballers, the All-Ireland qualifiers series has proven a graveyard for their ambitions rather than a source of hope.

THE mantle of favouritism is one Waterford footballers are unaccustomed to holding entering championship clashes, but they managed to cope with that pressure effectively at a sweltering Fraher Field, Dungarvan yesterday.

IT is 56 years since Mick O’Dwyer had his first involvement with inter-county football, lining out for the Kerry minors against Cork in the Munster championship.

THE numbers of inter-county GAA players emigrating in search of work is set to spiral in the coming off-season, a leading GPA official warned yesterday.