Dublin rock then roll

GAA: The sun shone out of a blue sky across the country but particularly vividly at Croke Park, where a full house saw Dublin take back-to-back Leinster titles for the first time in 11 years, the last time the championship was retained.

A big weekend for the GAA finished with the All-Ireland football championship down to the final 12, further evidence of Dublin's likely challenge plus slightly against-the-head wins for Mayo and Cork in the Connacht and Munster finals.

Offaly were the least fancied of the six provincial finalists yesterday but they gave as good as they got for most of the first three-quarters. In the end Dublin's more extensive arsenal put enough on the board for a nine-point win, the coup de grace coming through a time-honoured favourite, the Jason Sherlock goal into the Hill.

The victorious manager, Pillar Caffrey, who now has won more Leinster titles than his three predecessors combined, wasn't impressed by the slow first half though he denied the pressure of favouritism got to the team.

"No. I'd have a little bit more respect for the dressing-room than to say nerves. A lot of these fellas have (played) a lot of football. A lot of days here. Some days your shooting boots are on you and some days it takes a while to find them.

"The first half wasn't a great display of football from Dublin. Six points was a poor return for the amount of ball we had. But again, credit should be given to Offaly. We said all along they would be up for this game. They were and they tore into us."

Down in Cork the home team registered their third successive replay win over old rivals Kerry. There had been a lot of speculation that Cork had missed the boat the previous week when drawing in Killarney but yesterday they confirmed the decline of the champions with another hard-running and industrious display.

It was a triumph for Cork manager Billy Morgan, who put together the new-look team that surprised many with the intensity of their performance after widespread criticism of their semi-final display against Limerick. He accepted there were echoes of his first year as manager of the county back on his first tour of duty 19 years ago.

"Well, I suppose it's kind of similar to 1987 in a way, in that you had a young team coming and trying to make the breakthrough," he said. "But in ways this win is more satisfying because of the criticism we've got over the last year or so.

"I felt we made a lot of progress last year, but the manner of the defeat to Kerry last year, and then all the criticism after the Limerick game, makes this particularly rewarding."

Although Anthony Lynch was controversially cleared to play after an appeal to the CAC on Friday night, there was concern for the winners in the sight of their accomplished defender Graham Canty being stretchered off with a knee injury. A scan is due today but the worst is feared.

The Connacht final in Castlebar was tight and dour, and like last year there was only a point between Galway and Mayo at the end. The only variation was that this time Mayo finished on top. Despite a Matthew Clancy goal for Galway in the second half that looked likely to be a decisive score in such a close match, Mayo inched their way back into contention and, in an unbearably tense conclusion, Conor Mortimer kicked the winning point from a free, earning redemption for an easier one he had missed four years previously, also against Galway.

The champions had one shot at salvation but captain Michael Donnellan's kick drifted wide.

It was a particularly satisfying result for Mayo manager Mickey Moran, who had suffered two defeats against Galway this year. Not alone had he redressed that but yesterday was the first provincial title of his managerial career.

The team's performance in the provincial semi-final against Leitrim had been less than inspiring, but Moran stressed the importance of sticking by the players.

"A lot of people questioned us putting out the same team but if we as a management team don't have faith in the players we have we shouldn't be here.

"It probably wasn't the greatest game in the world but it was tense and competitive. The way the goal came would have killed many a team but this team responded and came back."

The draw for the final round of the All-Ireland qualifiers was made yesterday evening and pits Leinster runners-up Offaly against neighbours Laois. Fermanagh and Donegal - no strangers to each other in recent years - must meet again with Fermanagh manager Charlie Mulgrew up against his own county.

Kerry must rehabilitate against Longford, who produced one of the results of the weekend by beating Derry in Pearse Park on Saturday afternoon. Finally, Galway will face Westmeath in the remaining fixture.

Details of the matches will be announced today, the fixtures taking place in two weeks' time and home advantage to be determined by the toss of a coin - provided the county in question has a suitable venue.