Round-up: Champions Cork just about held off a stunning second half Limerick revival to edge through to the All-Ireland semi-final with a narrow victory (Cork 0-19 Limerick 0-18) over their Munster rivals at Semple Stadium, Thurles.
Looking comfortable when sitting on a five point lead at half-time, Cork were sluggish in the second half allowing Limerick - huge underdogs coming into the tie - boss their way back into contention.
Still, though, John Allen's side rallied late in the second half to match Limerick point-for-point and hold off the challenge.
Both sides traded score for score in the opening stages and while the contest was passionate and committed, neither team particularly turned on the style
Limerick will rue their slump late in the first half. Having matched Cork up until then, they took their eye off the contest and gifted Cork their ticket to race into a comfortable half-time lead.
But Limerick's resurgence after the break was both courageous and breath-taking. With the rain falling, Mike O'Brien and Pat Tobin both excelled in reducing the deficit.
Niall Moran, too, was in fine form, so much so that Sean Óg Ó hAilpín was quickly switched onto him.
When Mark Foley pointed a long distance free a minute from time, Limerick were just a point behind. But try as they might they could never bridge the gap.
Ben O'Connor, scorer of five points, increased Cork's lead to two in injury time but Mark Keane reduced to the minimum seconds later.
Immediately, Niall McCarthy restored the two point lead before O'Brien reduced but time was ultimately against Limerick as the final whistle shrilled.
Kilkenny also secured their ticket to the semi-finals with a Jekyll and Hyde performance (2-22 to 3-14) against an out-of-sorts, but yet occasionally brilliant, Galway side.
Kilkenny raced into a commanding lead and held a 12 point advantage with just half an hour played. Both James 'Cha' Fitzpatrick and Aidan Forgarty set the tone with two first half goals.
But credit Galway who turned the game around after the break, although their cause was aided by the second-half dismissal of Kilkenny's Derek Lyng.
Goals from David Tierney, Niall Healy and Eugene Cloonan ensured a tense finish but Kilkenny had done enough damage in the first half to ensure a safety cushion.