GAA round-up: Seven days on from their historic four-in-a-row triumph at Croke Park, the denizens of Kilkenny were left rather less to celebrate at GAA headquarters this Sunday as their under-21 hurlers and camogie sides both came off second best.
In the under-21 final, the Banner’s marathon campaign finished on a memorable high as they got their hands on the silverware courtesy of a 0-15 to 0-14 win.
In a match that ebbed and flowed throughout, Clare seemed destined to leave empty handed as they trailed by two points entering the end game.
But, with a series of epic contests already under their belts, the Munster champions went to the well for one last time and outfought Kilkenny in the last 15 minutes. They garnered five scores in that period to Kilkenny’s two and held on to win by the narrowest of margins.
In the camogie decider, Kilkenny were no match for a rampant Cork who claimed back-to-back titles thanks to a 0-15 to 0-7 win.
Sharpshooter Rachel Moloney inflicted most of the damage on Kilkenny, notching 0-7 of her side’s total, all but one from the placed ball.
Having held their own in the opening skirmishes, Kilkenny lost their way midway through the opening half as the Rebels seized control.
Kilkenny went down the goal route in the second half but, despite fashioning a number of chances, were unable to find the net as Cork ran out comfortable winners.