Defending champions, Dublin’s Eoin Kennedy and Egin Jensen, opened their M DONNELLY Senior Doubles championship campaign in style with a 21-10, 21-4 win over David Moloney and Noel Murphy (Tipperary) in Clogh, Kilkenny on Friday last.

In the opening game, the Tipp men battled bravely, but the Dubs were in fine form and put in a powerful performance in the second game to book their semi-final spot. Jensen and Kennedy have taken All-Ireland doubles honours for the past two consecutive years and are now hot favourites to claim their third title.

The well-known Meath partnership of Walter O’Connor and Tom Sheridan were also in action on Friday where they fended off the challenge of Roscommon’s Rikki O’Gara and Damien Martin. Martin and O’Gara had a walk-over in their round of 16 and the upcoming young partnership were unable to prevent the two powerhouses controlling the game. They eventually lost out on a 21-5, 21-14 scoreline.

Sheridan and O’Connor are both out of contention for the Senior Singles honours and their focus is now set on taking another doubles title, with their most recent All-Ireland victory back in 2004. The pair will now face Mayo’s Dessie Keegan and Joe McCann in the semi-final after the Connacht men overcame Westmeath father and son duo, Robbie McCarthy Senior and Junior.

The Mayo partnership dominated most of the exchanges and eventually went on to record a 21-10, 21-4 over their Leinster counterparts. McCann and Keegan last contested an All-Ireland final in 2005 where they lost out to Kennedy and Jensen after an exciting tie-breaker finish. This quarter-final meeting with Meath’s O’Connor and Sheridan should prove an interesting battle.

The last of the quarter-finals will take place next Thursday where Wexford’s Tommy Hynes and Gavin Buggy await the winners of the clash between Vincent Moran and Campbell Brennan (Mayo) and Wicklow’s Michael Gregan and Pat Quaile. This round of 16 game between Mayo and Wicklow is fixed for next Tuesday at Mullingar, with semi-finals singles action returning the following weekend, where Eoin Kennedy and Dessie Keegan go head to head, and Ducksy Walsh looks to make his first Senior All-Ireland final since 2002 when he takes on Wicklow’s Michael Gregan.