10 YEARS AGO

IT was Tyrone’s day in the Ulster final as they gained redemption for a string of defeats to Donegal in previous years. In the closing minutes of a claustrophobic contest, Sean Cavanagh landed one of the all-time great Ulster final scores to draw the sides level. Peter Harte then banged over a phenomenal point with the outside of his boot before Kieran McGeary landed the insurance score. The final whistle prompted euphoric scenes of celebrate as Tyrone fans celebrated their first Ulster triumph since 2010.

In the curtain-raiser, Donegal held out in a frenetic finish to clinch the Ulster Minor Championship title at the expense of Derry on a scoreline of 2-10 to 1-11.

Elsewhere, Dublin ran amok in a Leinster final whalloping of Westmeath while Galway were full value for their Connacht final replay win over Roscommon.

20 YEARS AGO

A CHAMPIONSHIP campaign that promised much for Derry after their opening day win over Tyrone ended in disappointment with a round three qualifier defeat to underdogs Longford.

Despite a scintillating attacking display from Paddy Bradley, scorer of 2-7, Longford had enough quality down the other end to edge a dramatic tussle on a scoreline of 1-16 to 2-12.

Fermanagh, meanwhile, booked their spot in the last 12 in the race for Sam with a seven-point victory over Wexford. The Yellow Bellies had to operate without the suspended Mattie Forde, and it was a convincing enough display from the Erne Siders even though their manager Charlie Mulgrew was unhappy with their first-half display describing their play as “very lateral, very sloppy.”

30 YEARS AGO

KERRY won their first Munster final in five years with a gritty 0-14 to 0-11 victory over rivals Cork. It didn’t always make for riveting viewing but it was close throughout and a couple of late points from star performer Maurice Fitzgerald sealed victory for the Kingdom.

In Connacht, Mayo overcame Galway for the first time in a provincial final since 1969. In a nail-biting encounter, Mayo finally got the better of their Connacht rivals with a last-gasp Ray Dempsey goal against a shell-shocked Galway defence.

The Antrim hurlers clinched a dramatic victory over Down in the Ulster U21 final thanks to a point almost five minutes into stoppage-time by Johnny McIntosh.

Meanwhile, the Tyrone hurlers swept to victory over British champions Hertfordshire in the final of the All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championship at Omagh with 14 points to spare.