“When players step in at training and in games they know exactly what's required.”

Sarsfields 0-20, Imokilly 0-16

Midleton 1-17, Douglas 0-11

“A trophy carries dust. Memories last forever”

Aidan O’Shea is right. No sooner had he completed his latest wrecking-ball display then he’d tell reporters before they’d tell him, “The reality is we’re always going to be judged on whether we get over the line.”

Mark McHugh insists Donegal’s stable of veteran stars won’t make any snap retirement decisions.

In February of last year, Kerry were chasing a late equalising point against Dublin in their opening Division 1 game in Croke Park when Aidan O’Mahony fell to the ground in the hope of persuading David Coldrick to award him a free.

Monaghan’s Darren Hughes believes that nobody walked away from last weekend’s red card flashpoint at Croke Park with their reputation enhanced.

Tyrone boss Mickey Harte last night revealed Tiernan McCann accepts he “made a mistake” after his controversial dive led to the red card dismissal of Monaghan’s Darren Hughes in Saturday’s All-Ireland quarter-final.

Malachy O’Rourke admitted he’d be disappointed if Tyrone’s Tiernan McCann feigned injury to get Darren Hughes dismissed.

Connor McAliskey believes that history is meaningless when it comes to Tyrone’s excellent record against Kerry in huge Championship games at Croke Park.

There were no grand gestures afterwards. No declarations or intimations of veterans angling towards the exit or talk of how a great team had perhaps reached the end of a long and memorable road walked together.

A penny for Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s thoughts right now as he spies Tyrone’s red and white army marching across the horizon again.

Satisfying, said Keith Higgins. Not exhilarating, not life-changing, but satisfying.

My first permanent teaching post was in St Gerald’s College, Castlebar, 20 years ago this September.

Donegal 0-11 Mayo 2-13: The perception that Donegal’s powers are on the decline will skew the prism through which this game is viewed, but Mayo’s All-Ireland quarter-final victory on Saturday evening owed as much to their own strengths as to the weaknesses of others.

Everyone recognises Malachy O’Rourke as one of the best managers in Gaelic football. Yet for all his success we still don’t seem to know Malachy O’Rourke. And we certainly don’t know his right-hand man, Leo McBride, who goes everywhere with him. Kieran Shannon knows them though, from working with the pair in 2008 as a member of the Fermanagh backroom team that reached a rare Ulster final for the county that year. Last week, the three caught up. And it was some catch-up.

No matter how you look at it, this evening’s All-Ireland quarter-final at Croke Park between Donegal and Mayo will be an era-defining game.

Andy Moran has won eight Connacht medals and there isn’t much the Mayo veteran hasn’t seen in his career but the 31-year old is enjoying the view of Aidan O’Shea’s stellar season.

Two-time All-Star defender Lee Keegan believes Mayo are in the best shape ever to end their 64-year wait for Sam Maguire.

Tyrone defender Ronan McNabb has described Monaghan manager Malachy O’Rourke’s tactical strategy as ‘perfect’.

Nine years Conor McManus has spent in the Monaghan shirt, on but one occasion was he overlooked.

Mayo may have annexed their fifth Connacht championship title in a row last month, but it was also their most low-key campaign. 

The final word, appropriately, was Sean Quigley’s.

"Why did 58,000 people turn up today, Bishop?" we wondered out loud after yesterday’s quarter-finals at Croke Park.

Many a manager has delivered the staple line about how a performance of the type just delivered would not do the next day.

There was a strange atmosphere during the opening stages of yesterdays All-Ireland quarter-final between Dublin and Fermanagh.

Look in isolation at Leinster’s Rugby Champions Cup quarter-final with Bath at the Aviva Stadium today, and it is tempting to ponder what, if anything, has changed in this tweaked version of Europe’s premier club competition.