Jimmy Barry-Murphy was sharp and to the point at the final whistle yesterday.

CONNACHT SFC SEMI-FINAL:

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin’s call for nothing short of a "full-bodied" judicial and independent investigation into every mother-and-baby home in Ireland effectively pre-empts the Government ‘scoping’ initiative to decide what kind of inquiry should be held into the mass burial of deceased babies.

Before we get into the madness of the last five minutes, and perhaps its overriding cause was really nothing deeper than Kilkenny’s lack of height in midfield, let us pay due tribute to Galway.

Sixteen seasons Brian Cody has been at the helm for Kilkenny, 16 seasons he has seen his side go through all kinds of highs and lows.

The Government has no plans to ask barrister Sean Guerin why he did not interview former justice minister Alan Shatter as part of his inquiry into allegations of Garda malpractice, despite Mr Shatter saying the Taoiseach might intervene.

The sounds of a live orchestra and operatic trills are not often accompanied by wolf whistles, but that is the type of excitement Il Divo create.

Laois 1-19 Fermanagh 2-15

The final whistle barely finished echoing around Páirc Uí Chaoimh when Tipperary boss Peter Creedon was trying to evaluate his side’s heartbreaking loss.

Cork 0-16 Tipperary 1-11

Galway 1-12 Waterford 0-14

Australia 16 British and Irish Lions 41

They have another jersey for the wall now. Right up there alongside the Irish one, a Sam Warburton jersey from the World Cup quarter-final in 2011 and the prized geansaí of Kiwi legend, Richie McCaw.

I was on a different continent when Ireland missed a host of chances before Thierry Henry handled in Paris.

HAS the whistle been blown on Dáil hypocrisy? Within hours of publishing new laws to protect those who shine light into the dark corners of society, Finance Minister Michael Noonan was ordering a garda inquiry to hunt down those responsible for the ‘Anglo tapes’ exploding onto the public consciousness.

The Pensions Board has singled out the construction industry as the worst offender for not paying employees’ pension contributions into their pension funds.

Three coffins; three hearses outside the church in the village of Crooke; three men who loved boats and fishing from the time they could walk.

Wicklow 1-12 Meath 1-17

I don’t often agree with Pat Spillane but he was 100% right when he said yesterday’s TV games were hard to sit through.

Martin Daly is regarded as Clare’s greatest ever forward; some would say their greatest ever footballer. But among a list of achievements the Lissycasey man clocked up for the Banner County, one stands out above the others