1. Big guns bite the dust
Ballyhale Shamrocks, Portumna, Dr. Crokes. All teams you’d associate with the business end of the county championships, provincial series and beyond.
All teams sent crashing out before the county final stage in Kilkenny, Galway and Kerry respectively.
Ballyhale exited stage left against O’Loughlin Gaels, coughing up their Kilkenny, Leinster and All-Ireland crowns in the process.
In the West, Joe Canning and Portumna were sent packing by Gort in the Galway SHC quarter-final and down South, Dr. Crokes saw their dreams of Kerry SFC glory ended by Aidan O’Mahony-inspired Rathmore.
Kerry is particularly interesting now as new champions will be crowned after Crokes beat Austin Stacks in their previous outing, before being dumped out themselves.
Dingle, as club champions in the Kingdom, will hope that a divisional team can finish as county kingpins, thereby allowing them access to the Munster club campaign.
2. Controversy in Limerick
Kevin Downes was the star turn for Na Piarsaigh as they regained the Limerick SHC title with victory over Patrickswell at the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday.
But Patrickswell were left aggrieved at full-time as the stadium clock showed that the full 60 minutes had not been played.
Limerick county board chairman Oliver Mann, a Patrickswell clubman, admitted that there was some confusion surrounding the timekeeping as he presented the silverware to Na Piarsaigh but it’s unlikely that the runners-up will be following up the matter.
Journalists in the Mackey Stand press box indicated that, on their watches, a minute over the allotted 30 in the second half had been played.
Na Piarsaigh conceded four goals but still managed to claim a come-from-behind victory which sets up a repeat of the 2013 Munster club final against Sixmilebridge, this time at the quarter-final stage.
3. History in the making on Leeside
Now this was truly something. After a 16-point spanking in the 2014 decider, Glen Rovers turned the tables on Sarsfields by scoring a seven-point win in Sunday’s Cork senior hurling final.
It was a first county title for the Glen in 26 years and sparked wild scenes of celebration in northside of Cork city, captured here by talismanic forward Patrick Horgan.
Rovers will now await the winners of the Waterford decider between Ballygunner and Tallow in the AIB Munster semi-final, a fixture pencilled in for November 8.
They have time to prepare for that but the challenge for Rovers now is to kick on in the provincial campaign, as they go in search of a fourth Munster title, and first since way back in 1976.
They certainly have the personnel to make an impact. Whether they do or not depends on their approach and the question is: has Cork glory sated their hunger?
4. Class is permanent
Age is but a number, it seems. On Sunday, former Clare star Niall Gilligan rolled back the years with a stunning man of the match display in the county senior hurling final against Clonlara.
Gilligan, now 39, contributed 0-13 as the ‘Bridge claimed Banner County honours for the second time in three seasons.
Having suffered a big defeat against Na Piarsaigh in the Munster club final two years ago, Sixmilebridge now have the chance to exact revenge and it’s an opportunity they won’t want to pass up.
When the sides met in 2013, Sixmilebridge were a spent force after a gruelling run of games.
Clare’s march to All-Ireland glory delayed the conclusion of the county championship and the county’s representatives had run out of gas by the time they reached the Munster final.
5. Rochford’s Mayo credentials enhanced
Stephen Rochford is the odds-on favourite with the bookies to take over from Pat Holmes and Noel Connelly as Mayo’s new senior football team manager.
A 2001 All-Ireland club medallist with Crossmolina, Rochford tasted glory again when he guided Corofin to the Andy Merrigan cup last March.
Michael Moyles told us over the weekend that his former teammate Rochford is an ideal candidate to take over the Mayo post.
And guiding Corofin to Galway SFC glory for a third successive year can only strengthen former Mayo minor captain Rochford’s credentials.
Mayo sources have indicated that former boss James Horan will also be sounded out about a possible return but Rochford has put together a most impressive CV in recent times.
6. Who’ll emerge as All-Ireland contenders from Ulster?
The Ulster senior football championship is arguably the most fiercely-contested provincial competition on the summer calendar.
For club teams, it’s a pretty arduous route to glory too.
Next Sunday, beaten 2015 All-Ireland club finalists Slaughtneil put their Ulster crown on the line against newly-crowned Fermanagh kingpins Derrygonnelly Harps.
Having claimed yet another Armagh title, Crossmaglen Rangers will hope to progress to the business end of the Ulster championship once again.
Rangers last won the competition three years ago, a famine of sorts for a club that won six of the previous seven on offer.
To do it again, they’ll have win three matches in the Ulster series and that’s no easy task.
