Last Sunday’s thrilling Ulster senior football championship final between Fermanagh and Armagh emphasises the ongoing appeal of a competition that is now surely one of the jewels in the GAA crown.

A crowd of 34,591 (who mentioned the spiralling cost of petrol?), frenetic endeavour from both teams, a fairytale comeback by Fermanagh, fine sportsmanship, excellent refereeing . . . could you have asked for a better mix?

There were one or two negatives, perhaps.

The booing that occasionally accompanied the taking of free-kicks has to be condemned, the fact that some people left it quite late before making their way to the ground and the ongoing theatricals in which some players tended to indulge do nothing to enhance the image of the sport.

But, happily, the positives far outweigh the negatives and the big hope now is that it will be a case of same again for this weekend’s replay.

At one stage on Sunday, a second meeting of the teams to determine just who would reign as high kings of Ulster did not even look a remote possibility.

That was when Armagh led by 2-6 to 0-4 and to all intents and purposes appeared to have secured what would have been their seventh title in ten years.

But Fermanagh’s magnificent spirit, work-rate and inner belief carried them through that tumultuous second-half and they thoroughly deserve their second bite at the cherry.

Indeed, they will probably consider themselves slightly unlucky not to have lifted the trophy given that they missed some relatively straightforward scoring chances when the force was with them in the closing stages.

Fermanagh’s recovery stemmed from their ability to carve out second-phase possession (chiefly through Ciaran McElroy), their irresistible support play and the almost incredible number of crucial turnovers they achieved when Armagh attempted to move the ball out of defence.

The team that learned most from this drawn game will obviously be better armed for the replay and it seems reasonable to assume that Fermanagh will go into battle again suitably buoyed following their second-half exertions.

It’s unlikely, though, that Armagh will be quite as vulnerable as they were after the break when little went right for them. They face a stiff test of character, stamina and belief on Sunday next, though, that’s for sure.

Even in what was a high-intensity battle, fanned by passion and fire, sportsmanship still prevailed in abundance and referee Jimmy White was excellent.

He allowed play to flow, communicated easily with the players and only handed out yellow cards when absolutely necessary.

Mind you, without wanting to sound biased, I thought that Francie Bellew was fouled immediately prior to Fermanagh’s goal and there was a hint that Eamon Maguire was in the ‘square’ before the ball actually arrived from Martin McGrath.

Be that as it may, Fermanagh’s courage, desire and commitment were awesome - here was a team brought to concert pitch by Malachy O’Rourke who were not prepared to sacrifice their reputation nor their pride too easily.

And it was most heartening to see such a huge crowd there, too, especially as the game was televised live.

The fact that so many people were prepared to put their

hands into their pockets to actively support their teams - as opposed to settling for their armchairs - provides a telling barometer of the allure of the Championship.

The handful of mischievious souls who continue to boo when players are taking free-kicks do the sport a disservice - the sooner then refrain from this insidious practice, the better.

For their part, those players who are prepared to engage in theatricals in order to win frees thankfully found little solace on Sunday. I think we will just leave

the diving to the Olympics competitors in Beijing next month!

If the Ulster showpiece provided a feast of excitement and drama, then Dublin’s victory over Wexford in the Leinster final at Croke Park proved just another day at the office for Paul Carrfrey’s side.

They were clinically efficient and much sharper than their opponents who nonetheless have made tremendous strides this year.

But on Sunday they were rather out of their depth when the Dubs turned up the heat in the second half.

I am an admirer of several of the Dublin players including the Brogan brothers Alan and Bernard, Conal Keaney and Jason Sherlock and they underlined again their pace, flair and scoring touch.

Dublin for ‘Sam’? I’ll be diplomatic and say rule nothing out and rule nothing in.