Compiled by Declan Bogue, Stephen Barry, and Fintan O’Toole.
*****
1. Premier hurling champions dethroned
The Dan Breen Cup will be changing hands after Loughmore-Castleiney fell in a heavyweight clash on Saturday. The back-to-back Tipperary SHC champions came out the wrong side of an eight-goal scorefest against Holycross-Ballycahill.
Holycross, the up-and-coming force of Premier hurling, actually came into this preliminary quarter-final not just as favourites, but as outright favourites for the county title. That status was reinforced with a coming-of-age performance to win by 4-25 to 4-18, avenging their 2025 county semi-final and 2026 Mid final defeats.
John McGrath (2-8, 2-2 from play) and Liam McGrath (2-1) each had two goals, but Holycross had the greater spread of high scorers, led by Darragh Woods (1-8, 1-3 from play), Joe Caesar, and Tipp U20 Robbie Ryan (1-4 each).
Bryan O’Mara was a force of nature at centre-back, scoring 0-2, while full-back Cathal Barrett got the other, fortuitous, goal before picking up an injury towards the end. Their age profile and underage record have marked them out as leading contenders, but the field of challengers remains wide open.
A resurgent Thurles Sarsfields, who beat Holycross in the group stage, and Moycarkey-Borris are perhaps next in line. Last year’s runners-up Nenagh Éire Óg have been hampered by an injury to Jake Morris.
Loughmore’s legacy is secure, with 10 county titles evenly split between hurling and football across the past two decades. They’re not done yet. After a rare weekend off, they return to big-ball action at the quarter-final stage.
An unusual scenario played out in Pomeroy on Saturday as defending champions Loughmacrory put their title on the line against Dungannon Clarkes in the Tyrone championship.
Loughmacrory are under the current Derry manager Ciaran Meenagh, while Derry U20 Damian McErlain is in charge of Dungannon.
McErlain came on board in late July when a series of results left the 2020 county champions in grave danger of relegation, and James Slater resigned after three seasons in charge.
A mini-revival extracted them from the dropzone, but they looked to be on their way out of the championship, trailing 1-9 to 0-4 at the break.
Two goals in a minute brought the Clarkes level with six minutes remaining, Matthew Quinn and Leo Hughes netting. Loughmacrory stormed back with three points, Patrick McKearney cancelling that out with his side’s third goal.
Again the current champions Loughmacrory to go ahead by three once more. Then in the final play of the game, Dungannon worked a short ‘45’ to Dalaigh Jones, who planted a stunning strike to the top corner to force a replay, as it finished 1-19 to 4-10.
A weekend tale of Kerry stars stamping their authority on the club game with late winners. One came from a predictable source. Of the 16 points David Clifford kicked at the Dr Crokes grounds in Killarney yesterday, the most valuable kick came at the end of the game when he swung over the shot with his right boot that settled a Kerry IFC semi-final in Fossa’s favour by 2-25 to 2-24. The brand of genius at inter-county level is unstoppable in the club game, and allied to brother Paudie’s contribution of five points, Fossa are through to a third intermediate decider in four seasons.
The other notable Kerry match-winner arrived on Saturday night, at another venue on the Lewis Road. Paul Murphy may be a recognised defender, but his attacking instincts have regularly been displayed, explaining why he surged forward from his centre-back berth late in Rathmore’s senior semi-final against Austin Stacks at Fitzgerald Stadium.
Murphy’s run into a pocket of space on the right wing was picked out and he swiftly swung over a buzzer-beater shot. The 1-14 to 0-16 victory propels Rathmore towards a semi-final date next weekend.
Milltown/Castlemaine v Rathmore, Direen (Legion GAA), 4pm.
Sunday 13 September
Na Gaeil v Dr Crokes, Castleisland Desmonds GAA, 1pm.
Kerry intermediate final
Sunday 13 September
Fossa v Beaufort, Fitzgerald Stadium, 3.30pm.
*****
4. Scotstown inflict a landslide on Corduff in Monaghan
It was quite the win for Ulster champions Scotstown in the group stages of the Monaghan championship at the weekend when they beat Corduff 5-26 to 1-3, a margin of 36 points.
Last year at the same Corduff venue, the home side secured a win. That loss, along with a draw to Clontibret, left Scotstown in a sticky position to progress. Forewarned by that experience, they have been on high alert this season to make a good start.
At half-time the signs were ominous as the champions led 1-18 to 1-1.
Without Donegal midfielder Jason McGee and Keith McEnaney, Corduff, managed by Rory Gallagher and assisted by former Tyrone player and coach Peter Donnelly, had come into this game having narrowly lost to Carrickmacross.
With the result beyond question with plenty of time left, Scotstown ran their bench and also took a further two players off, Tommy Mallen and Mark McCaffrey, and finished the game with just 13 players on the pitch.
*****
5. Mayo and Dublin reach last eight stage
The conclusion of group stage action paves the way for the knockout games to ramp up in Dublin and Mayo football. The identity of the quarter-finalists marks game over for 2026 for certain teams. Titleholders Ballina had already exited in Mayo after losing their opening two games, while on Saturday in Parnell Park, last year’s Dublin finalists Na Fianna bowed out. The Mobhi Road outfit only lost by a point to Skerries Harps, but coupled with a two-point loss in their opening encounter against Thomas Davis, they wound up third in their group. Fine margins.
There’s still marquee names left in action in Dublin. The reigning Leinster champions Ballyboden St-Enda’s play Clontarf in one quarter-final, the 2025 All-Ireland club victors Cuala meet Skerries Harps in another. Over in Mayo the interest is heightened after the epochal scenes in Croke Park in late July. Breaffy will take on Westport in a game populated by players of profile, but the standout fixture will carry the Kobe factor, the returning St Kilda star lining out for a Crossmolina team taking on a Garrymore side that had a flawless record in the group stages.
Kobe McDonald is mobbed by fans after Crossmolina's game yesterday. Bryan Keane
Bryan Keane
Mayo SFC quarter-finals
Saturday 19 September
4.30pm – Aghamore v Castlebar Mitchels – Aghamore.
7.30pm – Garrymore v Crossmolina – Garrymore.
Sunday 20 September
1pm – Breaffy v Westport – Breaffy.
3.30pm – Claremorris v Belmullet – Claremorris.
Related Reads
John McGrath hits 2-8 but Tipp champions Loughmore-Castleiney knocked out by Holycross-Ballycahill
Dublin SFC quarter-finals
Saturday 19 September – Parnell Park
3.30pm – Kilmacud Crokes v Castleknock.
5.30pm – Ballyboden St-Enda’s v Clontarf.
Sunday 20 September – Parnell Park
2pm – Cuala v Skerries Harps.
4pm – Thomas Davis v Ballymun Kickhams.
*****
6. Kanturk knockout city giants Blackrock in Cork
Kanturk were the sensation of the Cork Premier SHC weekend as they burned off record champions Blackrock to secure their quarter-final berth.
The team is anchored by six players from the Walsh family, including inter-county footballer Tommy in defence, who has shackled Patrick Horgan and Alan Connolly in the past two games, and the twin threats of Alan and Colin up top. The danger they pose under the high ball was exemplified by Colin feeding Alan to win a penalty straight from the throw-in on Sunday.
Cork hurler Alan Walsh. Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO
Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO / INPHO
The seventh Walsh, Tommy’s older brother Aidan, won an All-Ireland with An Ghaeltacht in January. The other five brothers are Tommy and Aidan’s first cousins.
It’s not all Walshs, though. Their midfield engine room is driven by prolific free-taker Brian O’Sullivan and Cork U20 Conor Noonan. Lorcan McLoughlin remains an important figure in the half-backs.
The transformation from last year has been impressive. Kanturk’s attack were the third-lowest scorers in the grade in 2025. This term, from the group of death, they are the highest scorers across all 60 teams in the top five tiers of Cork hurling. Ultimately, it was their score difference (+22) which saw them top the group ahead of Glen Rovers (+6) and Blackrock (0).
Another North Cork side, Charleville, edged out Sarsfields to top their group. That means Kanturk must now face the defending champions. Last year’s runners-up Midleton squeaked past Bride Rovers to take the semi-final bye.
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Tipp champions dethroned, late drama in Tyrone, Kerry match-winning stars
Compiled by Declan Bogue, Stephen Barry, and Fintan O’Toole.
*****
1. Premier hurling champions dethroned
The Dan Breen Cup will be changing hands after Loughmore-Castleiney fell in a heavyweight clash on Saturday. The back-to-back Tipperary SHC champions came out the wrong side of an eight-goal scorefest against Holycross-Ballycahill.
Holycross, the up-and-coming force of Premier hurling, actually came into this preliminary quarter-final not just as favourites, but as outright favourites for the county title. That status was reinforced with a coming-of-age performance to win by 4-25 to 4-18, avenging their 2025 county semi-final and 2026 Mid final defeats.
John McGrath (2-8, 2-2 from play) and Liam McGrath (2-1) each had two goals, but Holycross had the greater spread of high scorers, led by Darragh Woods (1-8, 1-3 from play), Joe Caesar, and Tipp U20 Robbie Ryan (1-4 each).
Bryan O’Mara was a force of nature at centre-back, scoring 0-2, while full-back Cathal Barrett got the other, fortuitous, goal before picking up an injury towards the end. Their age profile and underage record have marked them out as leading contenders, but the field of challengers remains wide open.
A resurgent Thurles Sarsfields, who beat Holycross in the group stage, and Moycarkey-Borris are perhaps next in line. Last year’s runners-up Nenagh Éire Óg have been hampered by an injury to Jake Morris.
Loughmore’s legacy is secure, with 10 county titles evenly split between hurling and football across the past two decades. They’re not done yet. After a rare weekend off, they return to big-ball action at the quarter-final stage.
Tipperary SHC quarter-finals
Saturday 12 September – Thurles
Sunday 13 September – Thurles
*****
2. Dungannon’s powers of recovery in Tyrone
An unusual scenario played out in Pomeroy on Saturday as defending champions Loughmacrory put their title on the line against Dungannon Clarkes in the Tyrone championship.
Loughmacrory are under the current Derry manager Ciaran Meenagh, while Derry U20 Damian McErlain is in charge of Dungannon.
McErlain came on board in late July when a series of results left the 2020 county champions in grave danger of relegation, and James Slater resigned after three seasons in charge.
A mini-revival extracted them from the dropzone, but they looked to be on their way out of the championship, trailing 1-9 to 0-4 at the break.
Two goals in a minute brought the Clarkes level with six minutes remaining, Matthew Quinn and Leo Hughes netting. Loughmacrory stormed back with three points, Patrick McKearney cancelling that out with his side’s third goal.
Again the current champions Loughmacrory to go ahead by three once more. Then in the final play of the game, Dungannon worked a short ‘45’ to Dalaigh Jones, who planted a stunning strike to the top corner to force a replay, as it finished 1-19 to 4-10.
*****
3. Kerry seniors prove the match-winners
A weekend tale of Kerry stars stamping their authority on the club game with late winners. One came from a predictable source. Of the 16 points David Clifford kicked at the Dr Crokes grounds in Killarney yesterday, the most valuable kick came at the end of the game when he swung over the shot with his right boot that settled a Kerry IFC semi-final in Fossa’s favour by 2-25 to 2-24. The brand of genius at inter-county level is unstoppable in the club game, and allied to brother Paudie’s contribution of five points, Fossa are through to a third intermediate decider in four seasons.
The other notable Kerry match-winner arrived on Saturday night, at another venue on the Lewis Road. Paul Murphy may be a recognised defender, but his attacking instincts have regularly been displayed, explaining why he surged forward from his centre-back berth late in Rathmore’s senior semi-final against Austin Stacks at Fitzgerald Stadium.
Murphy’s run into a pocket of space on the right wing was picked out and he swiftly swung over a buzzer-beater shot. The 1-14 to 0-16 victory propels Rathmore towards a semi-final date next weekend.
Kerry senior club semi-finals
Saturday 12 September
Sunday 13 September
Kerry intermediate final
Sunday 13 September
*****
4. Scotstown inflict a landslide on Corduff in Monaghan
It was quite the win for Ulster champions Scotstown in the group stages of the Monaghan championship at the weekend when they beat Corduff 5-26 to 1-3, a margin of 36 points.
Last year at the same Corduff venue, the home side secured a win. That loss, along with a draw to Clontibret, left Scotstown in a sticky position to progress. Forewarned by that experience, they have been on high alert this season to make a good start.
At half-time the signs were ominous as the champions led 1-18 to 1-1.
Without Donegal midfielder Jason McGee and Keith McEnaney, Corduff, managed by Rory Gallagher and assisted by former Tyrone player and coach Peter Donnelly, had come into this game having narrowly lost to Carrickmacross.
With the result beyond question with plenty of time left, Scotstown ran their bench and also took a further two players off, Tommy Mallen and Mark McCaffrey, and finished the game with just 13 players on the pitch.
*****
5. Mayo and Dublin reach last eight stage
The conclusion of group stage action paves the way for the knockout games to ramp up in Dublin and Mayo football. The identity of the quarter-finalists marks game over for 2026 for certain teams. Titleholders Ballina had already exited in Mayo after losing their opening two games, while on Saturday in Parnell Park, last year’s Dublin finalists Na Fianna bowed out. The Mobhi Road outfit only lost by a point to Skerries Harps, but coupled with a two-point loss in their opening encounter against Thomas Davis, they wound up third in their group. Fine margins.
There’s still marquee names left in action in Dublin. The reigning Leinster champions Ballyboden St-Enda’s play Clontarf in one quarter-final, the 2025 All-Ireland club victors Cuala meet Skerries Harps in another. Over in Mayo the interest is heightened after the epochal scenes in Croke Park in late July. Breaffy will take on Westport in a game populated by players of profile, but the standout fixture will carry the Kobe factor, the returning St Kilda star lining out for a Crossmolina team taking on a Garrymore side that had a flawless record in the group stages.
Mayo SFC quarter-finals
Saturday 19 September
Sunday 20 September
Dublin SFC quarter-finals
Saturday 19 September – Parnell Park
Sunday 20 September – Parnell Park
*****
6. Kanturk knockout city giants Blackrock in Cork
Kanturk were the sensation of the Cork Premier SHC weekend as they burned off record champions Blackrock to secure their quarter-final berth.
The team is anchored by six players from the Walsh family, including inter-county footballer Tommy in defence, who has shackled Patrick Horgan and Alan Connolly in the past two games, and the twin threats of Alan and Colin up top. The danger they pose under the high ball was exemplified by Colin feeding Alan to win a penalty straight from the throw-in on Sunday.
The seventh Walsh, Tommy’s older brother Aidan, won an All-Ireland with An Ghaeltacht in January. The other five brothers are Tommy and Aidan’s first cousins.
It’s not all Walshs, though. Their midfield engine room is driven by prolific free-taker Brian O’Sullivan and Cork U20 Conor Noonan. Lorcan McLoughlin remains an important figure in the half-backs.
The transformation from last year has been impressive. Kanturk’s attack were the third-lowest scorers in the grade in 2025. This term, from the group of death, they are the highest scorers across all 60 teams in the top five tiers of Cork hurling. Ultimately, it was their score difference (+22) which saw them top the group ahead of Glen Rovers (+6) and Blackrock (0).
Another North Cork side, Charleville, edged out Sarsfields to top their group. That means Kanturk must now face the defending champions. Last year’s runners-up Midleton squeaked past Bride Rovers to take the semi-final bye.
Cork Premier SHC quarter-finals
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