A couple of important firsts for the Cork footballers on Saturday.

A strong third-quarter showing - during which the hosts outscored Offaly by 0-6 to 0-1 - ensured Cork made a winning start to life in Division 3 of the Allianz football league.

Ciaran Sheehan also makes his first competitive start for Cork in seven years.

St Finbarr’s made it out of Bandon yesterday with their defence of the Cork SFC still intact, but not without a stern test from Carbery Rangers.

Carbery Rangers will face champions St Finbarr’s in the Cork SFC third round following a pulsating victory over west Cork rivals Castlehaven in Skibbereen on Saturday night.

Gary Daly gained a maximum 18 points in the first day of the Mick Barry Cup at Ballincurrig to lead the race for the last spot in the 2019 Hurley’s of Midleton King of the Roads.

Cork football manager Ronan McCarthy has said it is “vital” for the development of his team that they progress to the Super 8s.

Paul Buckley and Michael Bohane will contest next Sunday’s Munster intermediate final at Baile Bhuirne after both had surprisingly comfortable semi-final wins.

Ronan McCarthy has likened the honour and spirit shown by Cork in going down to Kerry yesterday as that which Kerry themselves demonstrated in losing to Dublin in the epic 2016 All-Ireland semi-final.

Conor Counihan may have been a man for the dummy team but none of his successors — Brian Cuthbert, Peadar Healy, and Ronan McCarthy — have been known for it.

Cork have been forced into three late changes to their starting fifteen ahead of tomorrow’s Munster football final against champions Kerry (7pm).

Cork footballer Conor Dennehy’s inter-county season is as good as over, manager Ronan McCarthy has said.

Despite relegation to the league’s third division, Cork football manager Ronan McCarthy remains confident his under-fire troops can “mix it” with the top-tier counties this summer.

Declan O’Mahony won the William Wolf Cup final at Waterloo on Sunday. He beat Derry Crowley by over a bowl.

While Cork’s relegation to Division 3 — just four years after contesting a top-flight league final — might seem as bad as it gets, Ronan McCarthy has warned this may not be the end of the Rebels’ spectacular decline.

It has been a shocking decade of decline for Cork football and having started it in 2010 as Division One and All-Ireland champions, they finish it as a Division Three side after yesterday’s deserved win in Armagh failed to save them from relegation.

David Murphy beat Martin Coppinger in the last shot of a Mother Hegarty Cup tie at Lyre.

The Cork team to play Clare in the McGrath Cup Final on Saturday at 2pm, has been announced.

Thomas Mackle is bidding to become the first player to win four Hurley’s of Midleton King of the Roads titles in succession this weekend at Ballincurrig.

The line-up and draw for Hurley’s of Midleton King of the Roads 2018 were resolved on Saturday when Killian Kingston beat Colm Rafferty in the last of the Mick Barry Cup semi-final at Ballincurrig.

Conor McGuigan and Éamon Bowen clash in a fascinating All-Ireland intermediate bowling final on Sunday, in the feature score of the second All-Ireland series at Tullysaran in Armagh.

Cork are 7/2 with the bookies but I wouldn’t back them. I was never involved with Kerry in a Munster final in Páirc Ui Chaoimh where Cork were that friendless in the market. The message is clear: Being competitive and getting within two or three points of Kerry represents progress.

After such an emphatic and impressive win as they produced on Saturday night, the Cork management and players will have spoken in the dressing room afterwards about aspects of the game that can be improved upon — highlighting Tipperary’s seven-day turnaround as a disadvantage and cautioning getting carried away before a Munster final.

Before the door of Dressing Room No 3 underneath Semple Stadium’s Old Stand closed towards us, the first four of Liam Kearns’ words to his numbed Tipperary players seeped out.

Arthur McDonagh bowled impressively at Newcestown to beat Gavin Twohig by a bowl of odds in the Munster Senior Championship.

While Thomas Mackle was lighting up the northern roads with his sensational bowling, the main attraction down south was the Carbery-South West festival at Shannonvale.

Roscommon 0-17 Cork 1-11: Roscommon promoted, Cork safe. Well, as good as. Cork dropping to Division 3 can only materialise if Meath draw against Louth next weekend and Down overcome Tipp by at least 13 points. Those are two sizeable ifs.

Cork 0-12 Clare 0-14: Clare took the honours in this Division 2 clash on a bitterly cold night in Pairc Ui Rinn.

Colm O’Neill mightn’t necessarily agree but there’s often more to a masterpiece than broad brush strokes of genius.

Cork 1-16 Tipperary 3-16: That Liam Kearns wasn’t the least bit surprised by this result says plenty about the changed nature of the Cork-Tipperary relationship. In fact, the Premier boss “couldn’t understand” how pundits had tipped Cork beforehand.

Martin Coppinger beat Gary Daly by almost a bowl at Glanworth in preparation for his meeting with David Murphy in the RNLI benefit at Castletownbere.

Gary Daly bowled well at Fermoy to take the first win of the 2017 Munster senior championship at the expense of James Buckley.

One massive performance and victory against Tipp will guarantee Peadar Healy’s charges a place in the last 12 of the All-Ireland series.

Michael Harrington beat Seán Murphy by two bowls at Shannonvale to advance to the Munster Intermediate quarter-final.

Donncha O’Brien closed with three sensational bowls to snatch the Marshall Clarke Cup from Mick Hurley in the last shot at Derrinasafa.

Cork 1-10 Down 0-13