ARAN ISLANDS CLAIMED glory in the battle of the islands in the Connacht junior football final against Achill at Tuam Stadium.
The Galway champions ran out 0-16 to 0-8 winners to claim a brilliant success. They started brightly to go ahead 0-3 to 0-1 after ten minutes and were ahead by 0-8 to 0-4 at the interval.
Mayo outfit Achill cut the deficit to three points with twenty minutes left but Aran Islands upped the ante again and were eight points clear by the final whistle.
They now advance to the All-Ireland quarter-final in Birmingham against British champions John Mitchels.
In the intermediate final at Tuam Stadium, Roscommon’s St Croan’s ran out 2-10 to 0-11 winners over Galway’s Killannin by five points.
The teams were tied at 0-6 apiece at the interval but two second-half goals enabled the Roscommon side to pull clear and run out by five points.
Elsewhere Ballinlough of Meath and Sean O’Mahony’s of Louth will contest this year’s Leinster intermediate football final while Cork’s Valley Rovers and Kerry’s Ardfert won today’s Munster intermediate football semi-finals.
In Ulster the intermediate final will be contested by Down’s Warrenpoint and Monaghan’s Inniskeen while the junior decider will feature Donegal’s Urris and Tyrone’s Rock.
Here are today’s provincial intermediate and junior football results:
CONNACHT
Intermediate football final
St Croan’s (Roscommon) 2-10 Killannin (Galway) 0-11
Junior football final
Aran Islands (Galway) 0-16 Achill (Mayo) 0-8
LEINSTER
Intermediate football semi-finals
Ballinlough (Meath) 0-12 St James (Wexford) 1-3
Sean O’Mahony’s (Louth) 0-10 Eadestown (Kildare) 1-6
MUNSTER
Intermediate football semi-finals
Valley Rovers (Cork) 1-11 Na Piarsaigh (Limerick) 1-8
Ardfert (Kerry) 1-13 Brickey Rangers (Waterford) 0-7
ULSTER
Intermediate football semi-finals
Warrenpoint (Down) 2-16 Cloughaneely (Donegal) 1-7
Inniskeen (Monaghan) 1-14 Derrylin (Fermanagh) 1-7
Junior football semi-finals
Urris (Donegal) 1-7 Keady (Armagh) 0-7
Rock (Tyrone) 0-15 Drumaness (Down) 0-11