DJ seals it for Young Irelands

Young Irelands 0-17 James Stephens 0-16

Fitting, too, perhaps, that, having suffered an accidental but heavy and dangerous head-high tackle that necessitated his temporary substitution, it was DJ Carey who came out on top in those shooting stakes.

Into the second minute of three minutes of injury time, with the score at 0-16 apiece, Joe Murray stood over a free, with every chance of seeing James Stephens through to the final. In fairness, however, it was far from an easy offering right-side striker shooting from wide left on the 20m line and as the hitherto accurate Murray's effort flew across the face of the uprights and out wide, to the dismay of the James Stephens followers in the huge (10,000-plus) crowd, this one looked to be headed the way of the earlier semi-final, replay-land next Saturday. The drama wasn't quite over, however.