All-Ireland and Allianz National Football League champions Cork have been recognised for their outstanding year by having 11 of the team that started in Sunday's victory over Down nominated for the 2010 GAA Football All-Stars. This year's All-Star nominees are drawn from 12 counties, representing all four provinces. Defeated All-Ireland finalists Down have seven nominees, with semi-finalists Kildare receiving five and Dublin and Tyrone with four. Cork have one fewer nominee than their predecessors as All-Ireland kingpins, Kerry, had 12 months ago. Only ten of the 45 players nominated are previous All-Stars, with Kerry duo Colm Cooper and Tomás Ó Sé the most decorated nominees, with five All-Stars each.

An estimated crowd of between 30,000 and 40,000 welcomed an absent friend back to Leeside on Monday night. ‘Sam’ kept his fans waiting, as the Cork team bus was over an hour late pulling into the South Mall, where hordes of red-clad supporters had lined the city’s streets and waited patiently since the early evening to catch a glimpse of the star of the show. And just after 8.35pm, Cork captain Graham Canty emerged on the specially-erected stage clutching the Holy Grail of Gaelic Football. Typically, the squad and the Rebels’ backroom team were first out on stage, before Bantry man Canty’s entrance was greeted with a roar not heard in Cork in 20 years, when Sam Maguire last spent the year by the Lee.

Daniel Goulding struck nine points as Cork beat Down by 0-16 to 0-15 in an epic contest at Croke Park. Between them, Goulding and Donnacha O'Connor contributed all but one of the Rebel County's scores as Conor Counihan's men utilised their squad to good effect to finish strongest. James McCartan will be wondering how this one slipped away as Down looked like the better team for long periods but they had no answer to the twin threat of Cork's two most dangerous attackers. The losers bossed the first half, while Cork failed to score from play in the opening half-hour. However, a late rally from the Rebels brought them within touching distance at the turnaround, somehow trailing by just three points, 0-5 to 0-8.

Tyrone survived a storming Cork comeback to win a dramatic ESB All-Ireland MFC decider by 1-13 to 1-12 at Croke Park. In drizzly conditions, the winners dominated the first 20 minutes to lead by eight points. The Rebels finally roused and registered five successive points to trail by just four at the break, 1-6 to 0-5. Richard Donnelly clipped a Tyrone 45 marginally wide in the second minute and Cork full forward Tom Hegarty also failed to find the target before wing back Niall Sludden fired the Ulster champions ahead with a beautiful point in the fourth minute.

Eoin Cadogan and Graham Canty have been named in the Cork team for Sunday's All-Ireland final against Down. Dual star Cadogan, who only rejoined the squad following the Cork hurlers' All-Ireland semi-final loss to Kilkenny and was introduced at half-time against Dublin in place of the injured Canty, comes in at right corner back with Ray Carey switching to the opposite corner in place of John Miskella. Canty, meanwhile, has been passed fit to lead the team out, taking his place at centre half back after recovering from the hamstring injury he sustained in the All-Ireland quarter-final win over Roscommon and which forced his withdrawal against Dublin. The Bantry Blues clubman took a full part in training on Tuesday night, having sat out an internal practice match last weekend.

Cork boss Brian Cuthbert has made four changes to his team for Sunday's ESB All-Ireland minor football final against Tyrone. Cuthbert, who is bidding to become the first man to win All-Ireland minor titles as a player and as a manager, has drafted defenders Kevin Fulignati and Conor O'Sullivan and forwards Dan MacEoin and Tom Hegarty into his starting 15. All four came off the bench in the Rebels' remarkable semi-final comeback win over Galway and have been rewarded for their efforts. James Goggin, Darren Murphy, Diarmuid Lester and Daniel Fitzgerald are the players to make way.

Cork came good right at the end to edge out Dublin and claim a place in the All-Ireland senior football final with a one-point win in the semi-final clash at Croke Park. The Rebels staged second half revival to turn a five points deficit into a narrow one point win. Bernard Brogan rocked Cork with a goal after just a minute, and it looked as if that early score was to be the platform for a day of glory for the boys in blue. But Donncha O'Connor netted a 54th minute penalty, and hit the three late frees which sealed the Rebels' place in the decider against either Kildare or Down.

It wasn't pretty on the eye, but that won't bother Galway as they edged past Cork in their Gala All-Ireland Senior Camogie semi-final replay at Semple Stadium and in the process, dashed Cork's three-in-a-row ambitions. In stark contrast to last week's cracking encounter, which yielded 32 scores and was brimful of outstanding passages of play, this game was dour with only seven of the 19 points coming from play. There was never any flow or pattern to a match that was very stop-start in nature, due to injuries and a plethora of frees, and with neither side giving an inch, space was at an absolute premium.

Tyrone blew the race for the TG4 All-Ireland Ladies senior football championship wide open at Banagher on Saturday as they claimed a famous quarter-final victory against All-Ireland champions Cork. The Red Hands ran out 3-11 to 0-13 winners against the Leesiders, who had claimed the last five TG4 All-Ireland Ladies SFC titles. This was a truly seismic result at the Offaly venue as Cork's dreams of a sixth successive crown were dashed in sensational style at the finish.

The Cats produced another exhibition of hurling at Croke Park today, thumping Cork by 3-22 to 0-19. The Black & Amber brigade remain on course for their fifth successive All-Ireland title, progressing to the final with an emphatic dismantling of their fierce rivals in this one-sided encounter. Kilkenny totally bossed the first half to take a 13-point lead into the break, 2-12 to 0-5. Aidan Fogarty and Eddie Brennan supplied the first-half goals within a scorching five-minute spell (with Richie Power netting in the second period) and the brilliant reigning champions had eight different first-half scorers from play, including all six starting forwards and sub Martin Comerford. In contrast, none of Cork's forwards scored from play before the interval.