Killarney was the place to be for yesterday's shrieking climax to the Allianz National League divisional campaign. With three Division One A teams, Tyrone, Mayo and Kerry, finishing level on points and within three points of each other's scoring difference, advice was needed.
This was after a firework display in the Kerry-Tyrone match, which tricked the attendance into thinking the semi-final places were going one way, then another and even then another. Finally a free by Tyrone's Mark Harte in injury time made it a six-point win for Kerry, leaving the scoring differences: Tyrone 20, Mayo 17, Kerry 17.
Fortunately, both the president of the GAA, Seán Kelly, and the chair of his Games Administration Committee, Tony O'Keeffe, are Kerrymen and were on hand to give the doleful news to locals that by virtue of having scored more over the whole league, Mayo would advance to the semi-finals.
From Conor Moran's 15th-minute goal in Castlebar it was clear Mayo were going to pulverise Westmeath and so they did by 14 points, 3-16 to 1-8. Few would begrudge the Connacht champions given the harrowing events of last September, and the NFL campaign their manager, John Maughan, started hoping for a few quick points to avoid relegation has turned into a redemptive exercise.
Westmeath's demolition confirmed their relegation and they join Donegal, who ended on a high note by beating Cork by 10 points.
In Division One B the top two teams went up but not without excitement. Doomed Limerick fought an experimental Armagh all the way but Joe Kernan's men ended the day in Crossmaglen topping the table. Wexford joined them in the semi-finals, a first for the county footballers since the 1950s. Pat Roe's team finished in Wexford Park with three late points to see off Laois 2-12 to 0-15.
Along with Limerick, Sligo slid out of the top flight smarting from a good thrashing in Kildare. Coming up next year will be Fermanagh, late but decisive winners over Carlow, and Monaghan, whose draw against promotion rivals Longford, was sufficient to take them into the Division Two semi-finals from Two A.
In the other section Derry are top after an almost traumatic victory over Tipperary (1-25 to 0-2), while Meath won the second-place shootout with Cavan.
As for whether Croke Park will be used for the Division One semi-finals, Seán Kelly said they would consider it in the coming days. Stadium director Peter McKenna has said pitch improvements will be complete.
"We'll have to see," said Kelly. "There'd be no point in risking the surface by using it again too soon."
