It’s only a matter of months since St Mullins’ chances of doing something in Carlow were being written off. From there to here has been a victory in itself and yet Niall O’Donnell wasn’t about to look at it that way.

A routine day for Ballyhale. Only the opposition was novel.

Already trailing heavily with just 10 minutes on the clock at UPMC Nowlan Park, St Martin’s midfielder Aaron Maddock found himself hurley-less, surrounded and under pressure out on the left wing.

Experienced Ballyhale Shamrocks made it a 17th senior county title in Kilkenny yesterday, throttling a game James Stephens outfit and running out easy winners in the end.

Was Ethel Gavin’s transfer actually an attempt to cover up a dangerous mistake in the prison service? asks Michael Clifford

Patrick Horgan has been shortlisted for 2019 PwC Hurler of the Year award, along with Tipperary and Kilkenny captains Séamus Callanan and TJ Reid.

A look back at the magical moments from this year.

As rain and hail drenched the first half, it wasn’t an afternoon for ‘playing through the lines’

“I would have felt at the start of the year that there were seven or eight teams capable of winning the All-Ireland final.

Scoreboard Saturday afternoon in Portlaoise was an easy one for those selecting a man of the match in the All-Ireland U20 semi-final.

Just nine days after Ballyhale Shamrocks’ All-Ireland club final win last March, Adrian Mullen was handed his Kilkenny senior debut in a challenge against Cork.

And then there were two — but how many of the Kilkenny and Tipperary teams are in the driving seat for All-Stars? John Fogarty makes his shouts

Four things we learned on Saturday

Brian Cody has never sought to overly complicate matters. Whatever about the tactical nuances he may attempt to implement or, indeed counter, the Kilkenny manager is fully aware that any game-plan must be built on the non-negotiables of spirit, honesty, character and work-rate.

Evan Shefflin’s 17th minute goal proved crucial as it helped Kilkenny to a two-point victory over a battling Wexford side in this exciting Leinster U20 HC final at Innovate Wexford Park yesterday evening.

In the NFL, the quarterback is always looking at the match-ups. He scans the backfield for a mismatch. Tom Brady, who drove the Patriots to another Super Bowl win this year, is renowned for it. The New England win back in early February was greatly influenced by two mismatches on coverage on Rob Gronkowski.

Dónal Óg Cusack had already begun changing the game with short puckouts in 2003 and 2004 but Damien Fitzhenry’s puckout masterclass against Kilkenny in the 2004 Leinster semi-final was still a keynote moment in hurling’s expanding tactical revolution.

“These were shocking incidents during which two innocent men were targeted and humiliated.”

Kilkenny are still just one victory away from being in an All-Ireland SHC semi-final despite their three-point loss to Wexford in the Leinster final last Sunday.

Rugby players in an Irish Open Pro-Am are not an unusual sight. Along with GAA stars and jockeys, they are a staple of the pre-tournament entertainment at this annual stop on the European Tour.

Luke Maguire Cycling

Edge, by definition, is a margin of superiority, a quality or factor that provides an advantage over rivals.

Re-engaging with a team recently met is one of hurling’s hardest tasks. Familiarity breeds apprehension, a mixture of knowledge and fear.

A frustrated Ryan Mullen believes his decision to push the pace on the opening lap of the Men’s Time Trial cost him a medal at the European Games in Minsk yesterday.

Ireland’s Ryan Mullen has come within a second of taking a medal in the men’s cycling time trial at the European Games in Minsk.

It was the first time that the Cats were beaten in the Championship on home soil since 1949.

An ex-military policeman who lived in dilapidated circumstances in Dublin 8 was found badly decomposed in his home, an inquest has heard.

Carlow's first home game in this year's Leinster senior hurling championship may have made for a heartwarming tale but Kilkenny have never been ones for romance or fairytales.

Rising Kilkenny star Adrian Mullen has admitted he wrote off the Greg Kennedy interception debacle last weekend as a ‘bizarre’ incident that occurred ‘in the heat of battle’.

The largest public sector trade union in the country says it has no problem with the civil service embracing technology to improve its services - provided it does not lead to job losses.

Independent Senator Rónán Mullen has called for a State inquiry into the FAI's financial situation following former CEO's John Delaney's refusal to answer questions about a €100,000 loan he gave the organisation.

They were certainly disagreeing with each other, but that wasn’t why two of the women spoke louder and with more precise diction than the norm in a half-filled railway carriage.

Police in the North have concluded that 619 people were in the queue or car park on the night of the crush at a disco in Cookstown.

Colin Fennelly has often been accused of performance-inconsistency in the past.

Ballyhale Shamrocks are AIB All-Ireland club SHC winners for a record seventh time after a power-packed Croke Park display proved far too much for an overwhelmed St Thomas'.

The Government’s proposed referendum to remove the offence of blasphemy from the Constitution is a “scandalously self-indulgent raid on the public purse”.

Latest: Pope Francis has said he hopes the World Meeting of Families will bring "renewed encouragement to families everywhere".

There was neither a needle nor an anchor on offer but just about everything else was up for grabs yesterday at the start of a strangely wonderful auction which included a stuffed grizzly bear sporting boxing gloves, 35 antique carousel horses and an aluminium caravan that shimmered like a space probe.

The country has decided by a stunning majority to repeal the controversial constitutional ban on abortion, it will be confirmed today.

Irish cyclist Ryan Mullen suffered cramp with 10km to go as he battled to 13th place in today's stage of the Giro d'Italia.

Yet another Croke Cup final beckons for St Kieran’s College of Kilkenny after they held on to narrowly defeat a game Ardscoil Rís side in this second semi-final in Clonmel.

DCU midfielder Darren Mullen said that knocking out the champions and advancing to the semi-finals of the Fitzgibbon Cup is a huge boost to hurling in the university.

The Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment fell victim to a tragic “group think” in recommending the legalising of abortion for up to 12 weeks, three rebel members railed yesterday.

The Government is to consider an Oireachtas report recommending a referendum be held to liberalise Ireland’s abortion laws and allow for terminations for pregnancies up to 12 weeks.