There was no shortage of drama or excitement in Castlebar as the All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers served up a thriller with Mayo doing just enough to book their place in the next round.

An old-fashioned shoot-out thrilled and enthralled a crowd of 21,192 at St Tiernach’s Park

For those who are inclined to believe the whole GAA thing is only a racket, well point in them in the direction of Armagh men this week who have played something in the region of 200 minutes this summer and still haven’t made it into the Ulster final after a draw including extra-time here.

Veteran Cian Mackey emerged as Cavan’s hero as he hit two priceless equalisers to send a thrilling Ulster SFC semi-final to a replay.

Talk all you like about defensive systems and structures and so on, but when it comes down to it, nothing beats thumping the ball into the square for a big man.

Kieran McGeeney savoured his first Ulster Championship victory in five seasons as Armagh manager as a manic quarter-final tie was settled in dramatic fashion in extra-time.

Armagh 1-14 Cork 3-9

Armagh 1-15 Tipperary 0-12

Bruce Springsteen’s Glory Days blared out over the tannoy prior to the start of this Allianz League Division 2 tie at breezy Páirc Tailteann yesterday and while that may have been a bit premature for the Royals there were some positive signs in this hard-fought victory.

Kieran McGeeney had to settle for a draw on his first return to Kildare as an opposing manager after Jimmy Hyland earned the home team a share of the spoils with the last kick of the game.

The game was played without the controversial hand-pass rule which had just hours earlier been ditched by Central Council, and Sunday’s FBD Connacht League final between Galway and Roscommon at Tuam will also be played without the ill-fated regulation.

Dr McKenna Cup semi-final Armagh 0-14 Donegal 1-10

Jamie Clarke was in sublime form as Armagh marched into next Saturday’s All-Ireland quarter-final against Dublin or Tyrone.

A Jamie Clarke goal in the 70th minute propelled Armagh into the fourth round of the qualifiers, writes Eoghan Cormican

Westmeath restored battered pride, but it was 14-man Armagh who took the spoils in a bruising Round 2B Qualifier at Cusack Park.

He would have been entitled to feel smug or wag a finger in the general direction of his detractors after a torrid 18 months, but Eamonn Burns instead used his winning platform to heap praise on his unfancied Down team after they pulled off the county’s first Ulster championship win over Armagh in 25 years.

Down scored a first Championship win over Armagh in 25 years, but they won’t be making any bold forecasts of a major breakthrough following this unconvincing success against a misfiring opponent.

Tipperary 3-8 Armagh 0-16

Kieran McGeeney hopes the returning Jamie Clarke “gives himself the best chance” to prove his class with Armagh in 2017.

Laois came out on top a real dogfight at O’Moore Park and advance to the second round of All-Ireland qualifiers, while Armagh’s disappointing season is over.

Armagh 1-18 Derry 0-15: Armagh went down, but not without a fight, and Kieran McGeeney took the positives from a difficult spring despite the team’s relegation from Division 2 for the second time in three seasons.

Tyrone 0-13 Armagh 1-10: A precious point plundered in the dying embers of a dramatic Ulster derby could prove the salvation of struggling Armagh.

Long gone are the days when Armagh and Tyrone knew that beating the other guaranteed a trophy.

Cavan 2-8 Armagh 0-11: Any lingering notion that the Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup is nothing more than a gentle preamble into the more serious business of the GAA season was emphatically kicked into touch in this turbulent, fractious encounter at Oliver Plunkett Park, Crossmaglen yesterday.

Kieran McGeeney is concerned Armagh have picked up “bad habits” in Division Three which could be exposed by Donegal in Sunday’s big Ulster SFC clash.

Armagh 0-16 Fermanagh 0-11: It may ‘only’ have been the Division Three Allianz league final, but Armagh showed enough in Croke Park on Saturday night to suggest they have the tools to become a team worth fearing again.

Allianz FL Division 3 Round 2: Wexford 1-8 Armagh 2-13: Armagh opened nervously, falling four points adrift inside the opening 15 minutes, but still beat Wexford with eight points to spare in this Division 3 NFL game at Wexford Park.

Armagh 1-7 Tyrone 3-10

Holders Tyrone will meet Cavan in a repeat of last year’s Dr McKenna Cup final, after easily beating Armagh in last night’s semi-final at the Athletic Grounds.

Imagine Brian Mullins without aggression and physicality? He’d be more suited to playing for Cork today than Dublin in the ‘70s.

Armagh 1-11 Donegal 1-12

Paddy McBrearty kicked a late winner as Donegal scraped home in an intesnse Ulster derby to reach a third All-Ireland semi-final in four years.

With 13 wins from their last 14 games against Ulster opposition for Donegal, Armagh have done well to keep their name from the list of beaten and battered teams left strewn across the northern province to date.

Congratulations to Armagh on making absolute fools of themselves. At this rate, you’d swear they were facing more than Donegal this Saturday.

Perhaps the most depressing aspect about the ban is that it’s not really a media ban anymore. It’s more of a superstition.

Former Armagh star Oisín McConville, pictured, claims the county’s behaviour has reached a ridiculous level after they pulled out of a scheduled press conference yesterday.