The aristocrats of third-level hurling face a recent power hoping to land a first title as UCC face IT Carlow in the Fitzgibbon Cup final.

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.

It's at times like these you realise hurling never needed to be recognised as a UNESCO-protected cultural activity for it to be fortified.

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.

There are six changes to the Cork side for this evening’s Allianz HL Division 1 Group A clash with Tipperary at Páirc Uí Chaoimh (7pm).

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.

UCC stuttered at times but Tom Kingston’s side got their Fitzgibbon Cup defence off to a winning start with this Group C win over NUI Galway at Dangan.

They beat Liam Cahill's Waterford in a soggy Fraher Field with 2,976 in attendance.

Youth and experience proved to be a winning combination as they gradually pulled away to see off their neighbours Kerry

Darragh Fitzgibbon has acknowledged that while there’s no question about the talent of the Cork hurlers, their “work-rate and attitude” has been a problem at key times.

Cocooned by journalists in the offices of PwC in Dublin, Pat Horgan’s mood goes from light and breezy to dark and deep.

John Meyler wouldn’t be drawn on his future as Cork manager but he is convinced the future is bright for the county’s senior hurlers.

And so, 14 years becomes 15, one short of Cork’s longest spell without the Liam MacCarthy Cup.

John Meyler’s comment afterwards was almost as telling as the scoreboard at the final whistle. Cork were here to take care of business and they had theirs done well before half-time.

A cakewalk for Cork in Mullingar as they eased themselves into an All-Ireland quarter-final against Kilkenny in Croke Park in seven days’ time.

Shane Kingston, a youngster that performed in the second half like a man hellbent on reclaiming a starting position in the team struck three wonderfully-executed points upon his introduction.

Cork attacker Robbie O’Flynn has sounded a word of warning ahead of this weekend’s Munster SHC clash with Waterford.

My first championship match as Clare manager in 2004 was my ultimate nightmare. We went into the match as hot favourites but Waterford annihilated us.

John Meyler has reacted to Cork’s defeat to Tipperary by making four changes for tomorrow’s Munster SHC Round 2 in the LIT Gaelic Grounds.

Explain Cork-Tipperary in thirty words or less? Or even 1,200 words or less?

A pair of winning points of real quality from Darragh Fitzgibbon, at the end of the second period of extra-time, finally put daylight between these two teams after a pulsating and fiercely contested Cork SHC first round at Páirc Uí Rinn on Saturday.

Cork SHC: Erin’s Own 3-7 Ballymartle 2-8

Robbie O’Flynn is in a race against time to prove his fitness for Erin’s Own ahead of their Cork SHC tie with Ballymartle on Saturday.

The warmest round of applause on Leeside ever for a Kilkenny team? Considering the context, the sincerity of the welcome was no surprise.

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.

Mallow in early January will never be mistaken for Broadway, and the chill in the north Cork evening made it a testing venture for the 2,021 spectators in attendance for Cork and Waterford in last night’s Co-Op Superstores Munster SHL clash.

Denis Ring felt Cork had the chances to put the result beyond Tipperary’s reach before Conor Stakelum popped up in the 64th minute to bundle home the game-winning goal.

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.

When Cork finally hit a rhythm and a groove in the second quarter yesterday, everybody around me was probably thinking the same as the entire hurling community. ‘Yeah, Cork have finally got it together now. They’ve weathered the storm. They’ll drive on. They’ll win this handy.’ And the Cork players certainly seemed to think the same.

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.

They are, of course, still hurting from the defeat to Limerick, but Denis Ring has been urging the senior panelists in his Cork U21 squad to use that pain to their advantage against Wexford in this afternoon’s All-Ireland semi-final against Wexford.

The lack of experience on the Cork bench is “nobody’s fault”, according to Tom Kenny, who believes an All-Ireland U21 title in the coming weeks would set up Cork perfectly for a crack at senior glory in 2019.

Two items stood out from John Meyler’s debrief.

Cork hurling selector Donal O’Mahony and John Meyler go back quite a bit.

John Meyler spoke with Eoghan Cormican ahead of the All-Ireland semi-final clash with Limerick.

Better scheduling should mean Cork’s All-Ireland semi-final preparations aren’t as upset as they were last year, believes Colm Spillane.

Cork hurling management are waiting on the fitness of Mark Ellis and Tim O’Mahony ahead of Sunday week’s Munster final.

A few of the older patrons in the South Stand in Páirc Uí Chaoimh last night may remember the old Buddy Starcher classic ‘History Repeats Itself’. And, had they also been in Thurles last Sunday, the song must surely have resonated with them as this Munster U21 hurling semi-final unfolded.

Cork lived up to their favourites’ billing to reach the Bord Gáis Energy Munster U21HC final with a win over Waterford at Páirc Uí Chaoimh last night, but they were pushed all the way.

Cork’s side for tonight’s Munster U21HC semi-final against Waterford in Páirc Uí Chaoimh (7.30pm) will feature five players who have played in this year’s provincial senior championship while none of the Déise side saw action.