FERMANAGH’S magical summer came to an end at the All-Ireland quarter-final stage, but not before giving Dublin a touch of a rattle in a 2-23 to 2-15 defeat.

While the result was never in doubt after Bernard Brogan goaled in the 13th minute after sensational work out the field by Jack McCaffrey, Pete McGrath’s side did ruffle a few feathers.

With 10 minutes to go, Stephen Cluxton caught a Damien Kelly effort but was bundled over the line by Seán Quigley, and the goal was given – much to Cluxton’s annoyance and Quigley’s amusement.

Tomás Corrigan added a second goal in additional time after a bad Dublin defensive mix up as the Erne County enjoyed their day against Jim Galvin’s side, even if the result went against them.

In one of the other quarter-final at Croke Park, Kildare suffered utter humiliation as they let in seven goals against Kerry.

The Kingdom didn’t raise a green flag until the 39th minute, but the floodgates opened from there in a 7-16 to 0-10 win – a margin of 27 points.

For the record, Colm Cooper got two, the second a beautifully placed finish, as did Darran O’Sullivan, while Stephen O’Brien, Barry John Keane and Donnchadh Walsh.

The Derry minors booked an All-Ireland semi-final spot with a comeback win against Longford, the Ulster champions eventually winning 0-12 to 2-4.

The Oakleaf County had trailed by four at the break, and it could have been more, but Jack Doherty stirred them into life in the second half with Shane McGuigan and Conor Glass also impressing.

Cavan’s comeback, meanwhile, came up short as they lost out to Kildare on an 2-14 to 2-12 scoreline.

They had been behind by 10 at one stage, but goals from Thomas Edward Donohoe and James Brady got them back into it, and despite being down to 14 men following Conor Brady’s dismissal, they nearly snatched the game at the death only for David Brady’s shot to be deflected away.

AISLING Tierney was the Monaghan hero as the Oriel County claimed the Ulster title following a 2-8 to 1-6 win over Tyrone in Clones.

With the Red Hands on top but kicking wide after wide, Tierney moved back into a sweeper role and shut down the opposition to limit their chances of making up for those misses.

Therese McNally and Diane Dempsey got the goals for Monaghan with Lynette Hughes on target for Tyrone in the second half.

Down’s minor side picked up significant quarter-final win as James Colgan’s late fisted point saw them edge out Galway by the minimum.

Mark Turley’s side had lost the Ulster final to Armagh at Croke Park, but they bounced back in fine style with a 1-17 to 2-11 win in Carrick-on-Shannon.

An exciting first half saw Down lead thanks to a Marty Clarke goal and a brilliant showing from Peter Fitzpatrick, but Galway fought back to level late on. However, there was still time for the captain’s intervention to send the Mourne men through.

Success for the Ulster finalists but disappointment for the provincial winners as Armagh lost 0-10 to 1-6 to Mayo.

Pierce Hanley and Aidan Campbell caused Armagh issues from the off as Mayo took control of proceedings and despite a late goal from Colm Watters, they couldn’t save their season.

In the Qualifiers, Cavan managed only eight points as they lost out 0-11 to 0-8 to a wasteful Mayo side.

There was a sad note after the game as Tony Tighe, one of Cavan’s 1947 Polo Grounds heroes, died on his way back to the car.

A HIGH court injunction threat almost led to a red face for the GAA on the eve of one of their biggest games of theseason.

The Leinster final between Dublin and Meath was in danger of being played in front of a much lower crowd than anticipated – or even not at all – as Dublin Corporation fire officers raised issues over the evacuation policy of the new Cusack Stand.

The match at Croke Park had already sold out, but there were fears that capacity would be downgraded by over 11,000 seats due to safety fears.

However, as the game neared, the GAA came up with a new evacuation plan and the full crowd was allowed in with the Boys in Blue emerging victorious against their old enemy.

Meanwhile, the GAA drew up a list of banned substances that players could not use to enhance their performances.

The list was presented to the GAA’s Central Committee for ratification.