London nearly pulled off another giant-killing act in Connacht, the Dubs hold Kilkenny to a dramatic draw in Leinster while Donegal footballers and Cork hurlers reach provincial deciders.
London calling as Leitrim salvage draw
Fresh from their giant-killing act over Sligo, London took a one-point lead into the break with a goal courtesy of Lorcan Mulvey who was a constant thorn in the Leitrim side and looked good to cause another surprise. Leitrim recovered from the loss of star man Emlyn Mulligan to injury to compose themselves at the death and grab the all-important final score and saw them fight for another day with a final scoreline of 2-07 to 0-13 at Carrick-on-Shannon. Both sides will be happy for another run-out before the daunting task of taking on Mayo in the provincial decider.
Dubs nearly upset the Cats
The Dublin hurlers nearly created a similar shock in the hurling championship as they too held their more illustrious opponents to a draw with a late TJ Reid point helping Kilkenny to salvage a draw on a scoreline of 1-14 to 0-17. The Dubs managed a second draw already in this year’s championship but matched the Cats throughout. A goal from Walter Walsh looked to have given the All-Ireland champs the spark they needed to drive on, but Anthony Daly’s did not wilt under the pressure as Kilkenny failed to beat the men from the capital in the championship for the first time since 1958. The GAA the big winners here. 
Walter Walsh and Ryan O’Dwyer getting to grips with each other
Donegal reign supreme in Ulster
In Ulster Donegal continued their quest for three Ulster titles in a row with a three point win over Down at Breffni Park. The Mourne men put up a brave battle, but never looked likely to move ahead at any stage with Colm McFadden and Michael Murphy showing their class when it was most needed, scoring 10 of their sides 12 points. Down scored just four times from play but will take heart from a spirited performance that should stand them well in the qualifiers. 
Declan Walsh happy at the full-time whistle
Cork crush the Banner challenge
In Munster, Cork got their Munster campaign off to a winning start with at a blustery Gaelic Grounds in Limerick today. Jimmy Barry Murphy’s side will now face Limerick afters seeing off the challenge of Clare on a scoreline of 0-23 to 0-15 after a second half of total domination. 
Clare’s Nicky O’Connell chasing Cork’s William Egan With a strong wind at their backs for the second half, the Rebels outscored their opponents 15 points to four and Davy Fitzgerald has plenty to work on for the qualifiers as Cork reach their first Munster Final in three years.
