SCOTTISH band ‘Arab Strap’ have a tune called ‘The First Big Weekend’ that heralds the arrival of summer in Glasgow and the fun and shenanigans that come with it.

While the past weekend here was very different, the splendid sunshine and arrival of the All-Ireland championship proper to Leeside gave it the feel of the first big weekend of the summer for Gaelic football fans.

Granted, no team exited the championship, but the games were hotly contested as teams looked to avoid the losers’ round and a potential early exit.

Happily, Cork have earned themselves an extra lifeline with an exciting victory over Meath (0-30 to 1-24) for the second time this year at a sun-baked Páirc Uí Rinn.

Cork are now guaranteed two more championship games, and one more win – either at the first or second time of asking – will mean a place in the All-Ireland quarter-finals. There is still much confusion in the general public about the new system, but it is really not as complicated as it might sound.

While yes, Cork’s ‘reward’ for success on Saturday evening could be an away trip to Donegal, Tyrone, Galway or any of the winners of the coming weekend’s matches, defeat will not be the end of the road.

By contrast, Kerry, Meath, Roscommon and Kildare are in last-chance saloon mode from here on out. Any further slip ups for those beaten in Round 1 will see them eliminated. It’s an imperfect system, but an improvement on the old back-door championships and the group phase that saw three teams from four qualify.

Cork GAA fans will have enjoyed the weekend’s action, and the football fraternity amongst the 8,526 attendance at Cork’s second home particularly enjoyed the second half against the Royals. No doubt, we were worried at half-time as Meath burst clear in the ten minutes before the break.

The opening quarter had been entertaining and closely contested with little to choose between the sides. Meath’s forwards were very lively, with Jamie Conlan and Ruairi Kinsella especially outstanding. Jordan Morris, Eoghan Frayne and to a lesser extent Matthew Costello all posed a threat to Cork, while for Cork, Tommy Walsh, Colm O’Callaghan and Mark Cronin were carrying the fight to the visitors.

Steven Sherlock didn’t score from play in the first half but was splitting the posts with his frees. O’Callaghan was awesome at midfield in every facet of midfield play, and we will come back to him again later in the piece.

The teams remained level until Meath upped the ante with half-time looming. Conlan, Frayne and Kinsella all scored from distance while Morris spotted wing-back Ciarán Caulfield lurking inside the Cork cover and picked him out with a peach of a pass. Caulfield finished with confidence and Meath had scorched nine points clear when Brendan Cawley blew for half-time. Kildare man Cawley was not popular with the Meath contingent near to me in the first half, but was to enrage the home fans in the second.

Nine points is a substantial lead but nothing like it used to be as games can turn so quickly in the new era of Gaelic football. It may still be imperfect, and no game is or ever will be – no, not even hurling – but slow and boring has been replaced largely by fast and exciting. My travelling companion on the day is based in London for a number of years and this was his first Cork football game in quite a while. Suffice to say he was more than satisfied with the fare being served up in front of him.

While acknowledging the propensity for games to turn quickly now, I doubt anyone watching expected what would unfold over the next 11 minutes of playing action. Cork stormed into the game, and management were proven right for keeping faith with David Buckley as he landed two fine scores, one from beyond the arc. It was then that Sherlock started to take over with two superb two-point scores, and with Mark Cronin also continuing to contribute, Cork outscored Meath 0-12 to 0-1 between the 35th and 46th minutes.

Such a turnaround without goals would have been unthinkable in years gone by, but now is becoming almost commonplace. They used to say six points was no lead in hurling, as the Limerick hurlers in 1994 would attest to, but now in Gaelic football teams can’t relax even if they’re ten points up. In one Division 7 league game this year, Carbery Rangers juniors were pegged back for a draw by Passage West having led at one stage by 13 points. Yes, a gale of wind and a glut of two-point frees were massive factors, but the point remains, there is little chance to relax on the sideline these days.

As ever with Cork football, the path to victory never runs smoothly, and the buoyant mood in the stadium was punctured when referee Cawley blew for a foul against O’Callaghan after he claimed another kick-out from Patrick Doyle. O’Callaghan had used his arm to fend off Ruairi Kinsella and had made contact to the face. The free was correct and a yellow card possibly deserved, however the red that was produced was more than a little over-zealous from the man in charge.

For a straight red card that brings a ban, a referee must be sure of intent. Whatever Cawley might think he saw, very few others at the game or watching on tv agreed with him. Unfortunately for O’Callaghan, the contact made and the trickle of blood from Kinsella’s nose might be enough to justify Cawley’s decision, and it’s a 50-50 call as to whether his appeal will be successful. A one-match ban should be the maximum punishment, meaning O’Callaghan would be back for at least one more game in championship 2026.

With 20 minutes left and Cork only a point in front after an Eoghan Frayne free, Meath looked like warm favourites to claim the spoils, even if they were playing into a decent breeze.

Cork would not lie down, and the likes of Daniel O’Mahony and Tommy Walsh thundered into the game from the back. In truth, Walsh was excellent all through and back to near his very best. O’Mahony had another big task with Jordan Morris, who had his moments, but when the chips were down, the Knocknagree man produced, including an inspirational point in the closing stages.

Ian Maguire improved at midfield and substitutes Ruairi Deane and Sean Walsh made strong impacts. Meath in the first half had been full of dash and ingenuity, however in the second half, even with an extra man, were slow and ponderous.

Cork defended with real guts and, while Maguire had a goal correctly ruled out for square ball, his club-mate in the double act could not be contained. With the game level in the closing minutes, Sherlock dummied his marker and executed an exquisite outside of the boot two-pointer to bring victory into sight.

Further outstanding defending and a breakaway score for Conor Corbett sealed the deal for Cork, and those of us in red and white went home happy in the evening sunshine.

Cork now have three weeks from last Saturday to prepare for whatever comes next, and now is a good time for everyone to take a breather in what is an intense season. We will know more about what comes next for Cork next week, but for now the squad deserve some recovery time before a tilt at the business end of the year.

We said it earlier, however one more win to make a quarter-final is a position we would have gladly accepted after Killarney. Saturday was a good start, onwards and upwards from here.