WITH a squelch rather than a thud, Dublin, the reigning All Ireland champions, were deposed in rain swept Croke Park before 55,186 spectators, by the youthful challenge of old rivals Meath. It made history of sorts with Dublin losing an All Ireland in the province for the first time in 32 years.

Meath will meet Tyrone in the All Ireland semi final. Up in Ulster, 33,000 saw another piece of recent history being made as Tyrone became the first county in 20 years to retain the provincial title. A three point win over 1991 and `94 All Ireland champions Down propelled last year's All Ireland finalists back in the direction of a second chance.

With four players making a first appearance in a Leinster final, Meath showed greater bunger and appetite against subdued opposition. Although the champions were leading by two points with 10 minutes left, it was the youthful challengers who rose to the occasion to record four unanswered points for a 0-10 to 0-8 victory and a first Leinster title in five years.

Unusually for these encounters, the place kicking was of a poor standard. Charlie Redmond who has kept Dublin alive in so many matches over the years, had a miserable afternoon with frees missing four quite straightforward kicks. His Meath counterpart, Trevor Giles, started badly, but went on to kick three in the second half which, together with one from play, formed the critical individual scoring contribution of the afternoon.

It was typical of Dublin Meath games," said Meath manager Sean Boylan. The conditions made things so uncertain, with a lot of slipping and sliding. I suppose we cancelled each other out and it was always so close. But I thought our lads showed grit and determination to get the couple of breaks."

The result was a fair vindication of Boylan who came under some pressure to consider his position after last year's Leinster final.

For Dublin and manager Mickey Whelan, completing his first year in charge, it was a disappointing end to their reign. Despite being in a winning position, they were unable to summon the same commitment or coherence as Meath brought to the task. Team captain, John O'Leary, having completed his 14th Leinster final, was mindful of the dangerous precedents.

They were hungrier, more enthusiastic. This is like 1986 all over again. We tried to keep our shape for as long as we could, but Meath's youth made a difference. They pounced on the breaks."

Meanwhile, Tyrone completed their two in a row with a hard earned win. Already this year, they have defeated three of the last five All Ireland winners and must feel that a great opportunity presents itself to go one better than last year.

They held a substantial lead at various stages but were pegged back by a dogged Down performance before winning by three points, 1-9 to 0-9. Despite having what counts as one of his quieter days, Tyrone's captain Peter Canavan still managed to score the vital goal, shortly after the interval.

Joint manager Art McRory summed up another fruitful afternoon.

I saw it as a match of attrition and we were sometimes outmanoeuvred for experience in many places The script was fired out the window for us at the start of both halves when we dominated so decisively but we struggled towards the end of both halves".