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

The first obstacle in UCC’s quest to retain the Sigerson Cup has been cleared and selector Paul O’Keeffe is hopeful that they can accrue momentum from here.

UCC selector Paul O’Keeffe fears the Sigerson Cup is in danger of being left at “the bottom of the pecking order” as GAA chiefs redraw the fixtures calendar.

UCC selector Dr. Paul O’Keeffe fears the Sigerson Cup is suffering as GAA chiefs redraw the fixtures calendar.

Ciaran Sheehan’s inclusion in the Cork senior footballers’ plans is “a win all day long”, according to manager Ronan McCarthy, who says the Éire Óg clubman has an “awful lot to offer”.

Having twice been shortlisted for the top individual award, six-time All-Ireland winning captain Stephen Cluxton is in the shake-up to claim his first footballer of the year as one of Dublin’s 13 PwC All-Star nominations.

In the same way that he disagreed with the assertion of Cork football being on its knees, Ronan McCarthy doesn’t now believe that a couple of notable results have made everything “rosy in the garden”.

Cork may have lost their third competitive game of the summer and exited the championship but do so with their heads held high.

After Cork’s 16-point shellacking at the hands of Tyrone in O’Moore Park 12 months ago, Ronan McCarthy stood defiantly in the tunnel and declared he knew the way forward.

James Loughrey pondered whether it was worth continuing to play football for Cork. In the days and weeks following their tame championship exit at the hands of Tyrone, last July, retirement heavily weighed on the full-back’s mind.

Cork manager Ronan McCarthy, when asked about his players’ unfamiliarity with Croke Park and whether he had any concerns over such, provided a reply straight out of left field, pulling up a Joe Brolly quote from all of 26 years ago.

Cork will spend the next two weekends in Croke Park after comfortably securing their place in the Super 8s with this emphatic 14-point dismissal of Laois.

Seán White, like many of his Cork teammates, has never played an inter-county fixture at Croke Park.

A celebrity-led GAA match involving former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp and ex-Chelsea star Gianluca Vialli has landed a publican in trouble — after visiting fans were found on his premises two hours after the bar should have been closed.

Limerick’s seven-point Munster SFC win over Tipperary last month ensured there was no possibility of Cork taking the Treaty men lightly, according to debutant Eoghan McSweeney.

Cork have handed out three championship debuts for Saturday’s Munster SFC semi-final against Limerick in Páirc Uí Rinn.

Defending champions Kilmacud Crokes began their Dublin SFC campaign on a positive note when defeating Ballymun Kickhams by 2-13 to 0-14 at Parnell Park on Saturday night.

A man who set up a sophisticated cannabis growing operation in his bedroom worth almost €10,000 after sourcing the seeds online and ordering the equipment from Amazon was trying to treat his back pain, a Court has heard.

Cork footballer Mark Collins is adamant that relegation to Division 3 will not affect Cork’s championship endeavours.

Cork SFC - Castlehaven 0-14 Clonakilty 0-13: Celebratory team photos are rare enough after first round clashes, but the Castlehaven lads had no problem posing for the one supporter who managed to meander her way through the several high-vis jackets guarding the entry to the pitch at full-time on Saturday evening.

It was a day of shocks in the Bank of Ireland Munster Junior Cup as holders Shannon are knocked out by Cashel and both Muskerry and Midleton lost to sides in a lower division.

St Francis Coll, Rochestown 1-6 Clonakilty CC 0-7: Conor Russell’s goal was the key score as last year’s defeated finalists St Francis College, Rochestown advanced to the Corn Uí Mhuirí semi-finals with victory over Clonakilty CC at Newcestown yesterday.

Kilfeacle proved too strong for St. Mary’s in the Munster Junior Clubs Challenge Cup while Douglas lost their Martin O’Sullivan Cup crown.

Pre-championship favourites Ballymun Kickhams got their Dublin SFC campaign off to a winning start as they recorded a comfortable victory over Naomh Olaf at Parnell Park last night.

Two West Cork men, who aren’t immediate neighbours but who own adjoining lands, were yesterday told by a judge “life is too short” to be at war with each other.

Hamilton High School, Bandon 2-16 St Flannan’s College 2-11

A father and son were yesterday cleared of a charge relating to having a drift net for illegal fishing.

A leaving certificate student who killed a Croom man after night out drinking a cocktail of beer and vodka has been sentenced to six years in prison for manslaughter.

A jury has been selected to hear the trial of a Limerick student charged with murdering a 59-year-old man by stabbing him to death.

A WELL-KNOWN Limerick drug dealer is suspected of murdering Thomas Moran moments after he attacked the criminal’s home in Southill after being refused a ‘fix’.

THE Limerick drug addict who was murdered on Sunday night was shot as punishment for breaking into the home of a drugs dealer in a desperate attempt to get his hands on heroin.

THE man leading the murder hunt for the killer of Croom bachelor, Liam O’Donovan, confirmed yesterday that Mr O’Donovan had been assaulted inside his house.

GARDAÍ refused to comment last night on speculation that there has been a major breakthrough in their investigation to track down the killer of Croom bachelor, Liam O’Donovan.

THE bachelor murdered early on Saturday morning in Co Limerick was attacked inside his house and not outside as was widely reported, the Irish Examiner has learned.

WORSHIPPERS at Sunday Masses in Croom, Co Limerick, were yesterday asked to co-operate with gardaí to help track down the killer of a man admired in the village by young and old alike.

THE bachelor who was murdered outside his home in Croom, Co Limerick, early Saturday morning, died from a stab wound to the chest, a post mortem carried out yesterday revealed.

BOTH Armagh and Donegal have been hit by injuries prior to their Ulster SFC final clash at Clones on Sunday.

Holder Bill Buckley Jnr of Erry, Co. Offaly, faces 80 rivals when he bids to retain the All Ireland Men's Pitch and Putt Strokeplay Championship at St. Stephen’s, Glanmire, Co. Cork tomorrow.