Galway and Royal Dublin’s Barton Shield sides will provide the high quality golf in today’s AlG Cups and Shields National finals but all the excitement may well come from the minnows in the Pierce Purcell Shield semi-finals at Carton House.

All-Ireland fever grips community as local hero Jason Flynn prepares for battle with Kilkenny

Cian O’Sullivan may have been helped off the field after Dublin’s semi-final replay victory over Mayo last Sunday, but Jim Gavin was bullish yesterday about the centre-back’s prospects of facing Kerry in the All-Ireland final.

The notion Kildare have nothing to lose in tomorrow’s All- Ireland SFC quarter-final is one I’ve heard bandied about a few times this week.

Taking the well-trodden path of supporting Dermot Weld should prove fruitful once more, as the leading trainer holds very strong claims with Palmetto Dunes and Good Tradition on this evening’s card at Galway.

Whatever happens in Croke Park tomorrow, Kerry will be nourished by its western extremities for the foreseeable future. Dingle and An Ghaeltacht are fertile breeding grounds for the nascent talent coming through the system. Who’s responsible is less important than facilitating the unimpeded movement of the conveyor belt. Five-time All-Ireland winner Tommy Griffin is better-placed than most to look back and forward...

In emphatically reversing Coventry Stakes form with Buratino and giving trainer Aidan O’Brien his fourteenth success in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes, yesterday afternoon at the Curragh, Air Force Blue was promoted to clear favouritism for next season’s Newmarket 2000 Guineas.

There was no delay. Darran O’Sullivan and Gooch were still razing Kildare on Jones Road as Kerry’s medical team got to work on the James O’Donoghue rehab strategy.

Kerry 7-16 Kildare 0-10

Former Down All-Ireland winning manager Pete McGrath has revealed he once turned down an approach to manage Dublin.

In one of the many great scenes in the film On The Waterfront, Charlie played by Rod Steiger, tells his younger brother, Terry (Marlon Brando) that he needs to be getting up a bit in the world — "You’re getting on. You’re pushing 30. You know, it’s time to think about getting some ambition," says Charlie.

Rathmore 2-8 Kerins O’Rahillys 2-5: John Moynihan’s goal two minutes from time was the gamebreaker as Rathmore edged out Kerins O’Rahillys in a high-intensity Kerry SFC first-round clash at Austin Stack Park on Saturday.

Darren Norris and Tommy Lyons argue their cases...

Must the debate and exploration really stop at: Well, one is amateur and one is professional, writes Ronan O’Gara