Champions UCC left it late but Mark Coleman fired the winning point from a 65th minute sideline cut to set up a Fitzgibbon Cup final with IT Carlow on Wednesday next and deny hosts DCU.

John Fogarty and Eoghan Cormican preview the weekend's GAA fixtures.

A long day’s journey into night on Saturday, with Cork and Tipperary serving up an entertaining tussle that felt for a while as though it might never end.

Cork just edged out All-Ireland champions Tipperary in this NHL 1A game, the 9,821 in attendance seeing an entertaining, end-to-end game.

Few counties have as many players involved in the Fitzgibbon Cup as Cork and the tight turnaround this week is a fair test of those involved and a clear indication of what exactly fixture congestion means to those most affected by it, writes Michael Moynihan.

UCC’s defence of the Fitzgibbon Cup stayed on track as they booked a home quarter-final with victory over Cork IT at the Mardyke on Sunday.

It was as good a game of hurling as you're likely to see this December and you can watch all the scores here.

Tipperary’s Willlie Maher and Kilkenny’s Conor Phelan will manage the senior side bidding to prevent a Scottish five-in-a-row of series wins.

John Fogarty Outnumbered they might have been but Tipperary supporters were not outshouted at last month’s All-Ireland semi-final.

Harper Lee’s classic To Kill a Mockingbird has always acted as a sounding board for my thoughts on management and life in general.

When the GAA redrew and reshaped the fixtures calendar last year, I was raging with the plan because I felt it would strangle hurling’s profile. The early part of the season was a boom but it still felt like an early season tournament to clear the runway for a football take-off.

Resilience is a word that is often used in relation to Kilkenny under Brian Cody.

The injury is set to rule the Lorrha man out for the rest of the season.

At last, the long wait is over. As soon as last year’s championship ended, the pining for the electricity and excitement which super-charged all hurling people, and genuine sports lovers everywhere, had almost begun again. This season seemed like a lifetime away last August but now that the winter and spring and the tedious wait has passed, the championship has almost arrived in a blink.

A UCC or a Kerry double, that is the question as Shane Conway and Seán O’Shea have been honoured as the best Electric Ireland Fitzgibbon and Sigerson Cup players.

Mattie Kenny's Dubin side have booked themselves a Division One league semi-final spot with a richly-deserved victory over Tipperary in Thurles this evening.

A storming first-half helped UCC secure a home quarter-final in the Fitzgibbon Cup, following their seven-point victory over NUIG at the 4G pitch in Páirc Uí Chaoimh yesterday afternoon. Unbeaten after three games, they topped Group A.

A crowd of 3,224 is not what you expect for a first-round Munster SHL fixture on a cold and, at times, wet evening in mid-December. Then again, this wasn’t your run-of-the-mill pre-season blowout.

Just when you thought this hurling summer could spoil us no more, the youngsters from Tipperary and Cork go and produce a most incredible finish to the last ever All-Ireland U21 final.

Having scored four points in a row, Tipp were given a great opportunity to forge further clear as Robert Byrne’s clearance broke for Mark Kehoe, who did well to claim possession despite being outnumbered by Cork defenders.

First off, Tipperary won’t be as deficient as they were in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Similarly, Cork’s collective output won’t be at the same untouchable level that it was at on July 4. What you’ll find materialising will be somewhere in the middle.

Tipperary U21 hurling manager Liam Cahill says he has given no consideration to the vacant senior position, questioning whether he would even be ready for the role, if approached.

Mark Kehoe knows the onus is on him and his Tipperary U21 teammates to lift the mood of the county after a depressing summer.

Stephen Barry picks out three takeaways after Tipperary snatched a draw against Cork in Thurles.

Stephen Barry picks out three takeaways after Tipperary snatched a draw against Cork in Thurles.

With Kilkenny not exactly lighting up Cusack Park on Wednesday evening, it was left to Limerick to fire the first warning signal in the race for All-Ireland U21 glory.

Limerick fired an early warning shot that they are one of the leading contenders for All-Ireland U21 glory with this comprehensive 12-point Munster quarter-final dismissal of Tipperary.

Tipperary 1-21, Limerick 0-17: Of course it was unfair to expect Tipperary to click for a third consecutive game.

Tipperary 7-12 Galway 2-12

Do a Wikipedia search for ‘Joe Schmidt’ and you won’t be hit with a bio and pic of Ireland’s current rugby union coach, writes Brendan O’Brien.

CBS HS Clonmel (Tipperary) 1-10 St Francis College, Rochestown (Cork) 0-7: Football in Clonmel is enjoying something of a golden age, and the prospect of a dream-like spring remains a reality after Saturday’s Corn Uí Mhuirí semi-final in Fermoy.

Corn Uí Mhuirí (Munster PPS U18½ AFC) semi-finals

CBC Cork 0-16 CBS HS Clonmel 0-8: Eight unanswered points in the final 20 minutes were the key as Cork’s CBC won on their return to the Dr Harty Cup in Clashmore yesterday.

THE man who developed disability tandem cycling in Ireland to Paralympic level was yesterday named Cork Person of the Month for August.

THERE were mixed emotions for the Irish after the opening weekend of the Paralympic Games in Athens.