Ballyhale Shamrocks 1-17 O’Loughlin Gaels 2-10

JAMES STEPHENS collected the Kilkenny SHC title at a damp Nowlan Park yesterday, where 8,742 spectators saw an entertaining replay after last week’s draw disputed by two fully committed sides – sometimes too committed, as evidenced by the second-half sendings off of Jackie Tyrrell, captain of the new champions, and Ballyhale’s Colin Fennelly.

BALLYHALE Shamrocks qualified for the Kilkenny SHC final yesterday with a hugely impressive win over last year’s champions O’Loughlin Gaels.

THIS time around Carbery Rangers made certain of their place in the semi-final of the Cork SFC for the second consecutive year, with more conviction and ability in Saturday evening’s replay in Clonakilty than they had managed seven days earlier.

THE Boxing Council of the IABA selected Michael O’Reilly (Portlaoise) on the Irish team for the European Youth Championships which commence in the City West Convention Centre today.

St. Finbarr’s 0-13 Newcestown0-11

A MASSIVE second-half turnaround to this Evening Echo Cork SFC quarter-final at windy Bandon on Saturday saw Carbery Rangers turn a six points interval deficit into a 10-point victory with some swashbuckling football that simply blew Douglas away.

THOUGH there was little more than pride at stake, this clash of rivals produced an interesting spectacle at Nowlan Park yesterday.

A CRACKING match, this NHL Division One game in Nowlan Park yesterday, a fitting occasion for the unveiling of the new stand at the O’Loughlin’s end of the ground, even if the result didn’t please the home contingent in the 7,124 crowd.

LOOKS like it was a cracker, doesn’t it, 36 scores in a 60-minute game between two of the premier clubs in the game over the past several years?

Cork 1-17 Kerry 0-09

CORN UÍ MHUIRÍ specialists Coláiste Chríost Rí and former winners St Fachtna’s of Skibbereen lived to fight another day following a dramatic drawn quarter-final encounter at the CIT grounds in Cork yesterday.

EDINBURGH inflicted another dose of Murrayfield misery on Matt Williams as they kick-started their quest for the Magners League crown last night.

ALL that is good about Gaelic football was served up by these two schools in a thrilling Corn Uí Mhuirí first round at the Legion Ground, Killarney yesterday.

FIVE minutes into the second-half of the second Kilkenny SHC semi-final in yesterday’s double-header at Nowlan Park, it looked like a shock (pardon the pun) was on the cards as Carrickshock took a surprise if well-merited one-point lead.

ALL-IRELAND hurling champions Kilkenny make three changes in personnel and five positional switches from the win over Offaly for tomorrow’s Leinster hurling final with an unchanged Wexford.

Kilkenny 2-24 Offaly 0-12

ULSTER fell to their first home defeat under coach Matt Williams in an entertaining eight-try clash at Ravenhill on Saturday.

JUST a couple of weeks ago, Munster’s second string side went to Shaw’s Bridge in Belfast and crushed a weakened Ulster opposition.

Bourgoin 24 Ulster 17

TWO years ago Antrim came within two points of defeating Limerick in the All-Ireland MHC semi-final. Last year Galway were fortunate to survive against them by four points in a quarter-final.

IT WAS always going to be an enormous task, but makeshift Munster pulled out all the stops to secure a dramatic and well merited victory over Ulster at Ravenhill last night.

ULSTER’S Ireland scrum-half Isaac Boss could be sidelined for a minimum of four weeks after sustaining a shoulder injury in the opening minutes of the province’s Magners League victory over Glasgow on Saturday night.

ULSTER continue their search for the form that will take them to the knock-out stages of Europe after going down to a tense 21-15 defeat at Llanelli last night.

IS it the end of the road in Munster for New Zealand legend Christian Cullen?

ULSTER made it two wins out of two in their defence of their Celtic League title, now called the Magners League, as the a gutsy Dragons ran out of steam in a tremendous match.

CARDIFF BLUES are to deny Munster fans the potential for a big Heineken Cup show of strength at the Millennium Stadium.

KILKENNY are bidding for their third consecutive Erin Leinster Under-21 Hurling Championship title at the expense of Dublin at Nowlan Park tonight.

NATIONAL LEAGUE champions Kilkenny have made wholesale changes on their team to play Galway in the All Ireland Hurling quarter-final in Thurles on Saturday.