Stackstown, winners of last year's Barton Cup, got off to a winning start in this year's competition when beating Craddockstown 3-2 in a preliminary round. However, the beaten finalists of a year ago, Lucan, made an early exit when going under 3-2 to Royal Tara.
Killinbeg, one of the new clubs in the Barton Cup, were surprise 4-1 winners over seasoned campaigners Greenore, while Rathsallagh were 3-2 winners over the Curragh.
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