Tony Leen: Tipperary and Cavan give All-Ireland semi-finals a sprinkle of something special

THANK HEAVENS: Tipperary’s Colin O’Riordan gives thanks after yesterday’s dramatic Munster SFC final victory for the Premier, their first senior provincial success in 85 years. Picture Laszlo Geczo, Inpho

The coincidence of arriving at All-Ireland football semi-final stage with the same four counties the championship produced in 1920 is too rich a storyline to ignore. But yesterday’s stunning results in Ulster and Munster finals deserve greater interrogation. They must be categorised differently.

To defer to the lure of fate, hope and history is a romantic narrative for sure, but it tells nothing of the craft, graft, and performances delivered in the face of stacked odds by Cavan against favoured Donegal and Tipperary in Cork’s Páirc Uí Chaoimh.