Already the talk is of a dream final with Kerry and Dublin facing each other - but first they have to get over Derry and Monaghan respectively before they can be sure of the line-ups.
The semifinals will Dublin vs. Monaghan on Saturday, July 15 (5:30 kickoff), and Derry vs. Kerry on Sunday, July 16 (4 p.m. kickoff).
The four quarter-finals were all disappointing encounters with both Dublin and Kerry emerging victorious by 12-point margins in one-sided games against Tyrone and Mayo respectively while Derry did what they needed to do to get past a very average Cork side.
The Armagh-Monaghan game provided us with a close encounter from start to finish with the sides level on 14 occasions at the long end of extra time before it took a second penalty shootout miss by Callum Cumisky to see the Farney men advance to the penultimate stage for the second time in six years.
However while both Derry and Monaghan folk will dearly want to see their favorites get to the final, the general GAA public will be - a little previous it must be said - licking their lips at the prospect of the two strongest teams in football meeting in the final.
Dublin’s Brian Fenton wins in the air against Mayo in Sunday’s quarterfinal. Inpho/Ben Brady
Dublin will be all out for revenge for last year's semi-final defeat - a late long distance free converted by Sean O'Shea - and will feel they have much more artillery in their arsenal this season with Con O'Callaghan back from injury and Paul Mannion, Stephen Cluxton and Jack McCaffrey back out of retirement.
However, Derry have improved year on year and by winning back-to-back Ulster titles, they have shown, despite the loss of Rory Gallagher in mid-season, that they are a team on the up with the ambition and the talent to go all the way.
Monaghan will be seen as the outsiders of the four remaining counties left standing and there is no doubt for a small population area of just over 61,000 people, they are already punching way above their weight.
Vinny Corey, the Farney manager, has not only married new faces with old hands, but he has also expertly used the likes of Conor McManus from the bench, similar to the way Mickey Harte got maximum use out of Peter Canavan on Tyrone's path to victory in 2003.
Together with the Hughes brothers, Darren and Kieran, he has used their time and influence to help squeeze the best out of his young side.
While Croke Park is a home from home for Dublin, Monaghan showed on Saturday they are more than just a one-trick pony when in Clones and will also relish the fact that all the pressure will be on Dessie Farrell's squad in the run up to their game.
The experience against Kieran McGeeney's men will also stand to them and possibly spur them on to reach a first All Ireland ever since 1930 when they were beaten by Kerry 3-11 to 0-2 in their one and only final appearance.
Kerry 2-18; Tyrone 0-12
It was a case of “no contest” when the 2021 Sam Maguire winners went head to head with the 2022 winners on Saturday at Croke Park, with the reigning champions double-scoring the Red Hand outfit, who showed no enthusiasm and little energy as they bowed out tamely in front of 58,000 fans.
When the sides last met in the All Ireland semi-final of the championship two years ago, it was Tyrone’s ability to score three goals which saw them account for Kerry and go through to beat Mayo in the decider.
This time around, Kerry were always in control, particularly at the back where they offered up very few chances and really even a three-goal barrage wouldn't have been enough to win on this occasion.
Manager Jack O'Connor proved yet again that he is the man with the Midas touch as he seeks to double up yet again with titles when he is back in charge. Now on his third term as boss, the former headmaster certainly did his homework on Kerry's opponents and could even afford the luxury of sending substitutes on early in the second half such was the extent of his Kingdom's superiority.
Fears expressed about his defense and especially his midfield proved totally groundless as the front men ran up a hurling scoring with mid-man Diarmuid O'Connor scoring 1-2 and the man of the match.
It was a case of Tyrone's reputation more than their performance keeping Kerry wary of opening up too much in the first half after which they led by 0-9 to 0-6.
However, after realizing their opponents had little to offer, the champions went to town in the third quarter and outscored their opponents by nine points across the second half in total, with great goals from O'Connor and leading scorer Sean O'Shea, who ended up with 1-5 to his name.
Such was the luxury afforded the winners attack that David Clifford seldom had to move out of second gear as he scored five points while his brother Paudie got involved with his marker Conor Meyler so much that both got dispatched for an early shower on second yellows. In truth, it didn't matter as the game was long won before the sides were reduced to 14 men each.
Really the hype around the game was much more substantial than the reality of performance as the much lauded Tyrone midfield of Paddy Kennedy and Conn Kilpatrick were totally outshone by the Kingdom pair while the equally vaunted Red Hand pair of Darragh and Ruairi Canavan rose to little more than cameo roles when they were required to be be central characters.
You'd wonder about the joint managers' decision not to start Cathal McShane, who shot two points when introduced from the bench and was by far the most impressive up front in his limited time on the pitch.
Chances are that both Fergal Logan and Brian Dooher will move over to see if their successor can knock a better tune out of this current band that showed up but didn't perform on the big day.
Dublin 2-17; Mayo 0-11
Dublin had a look at what Mayo had to offer in the first half at a packed Croke Park on Sunday and once they put the foot down after the changeover, they hit 1-7 to Mayo's meager three points to ease into the semi-final on Sunday week.
So Dublin are still a serious force to be reckoned with while Mayo are precisely what we have come to expect - blowing hot one week and cold the next. They started well and if anything were the better team in the first half but once Dublin went for the jugular, the men from the West crumbled like a fawn in a lion's grip... quite simply they had nothing to offer.
Dubs on the other hand showed there is still life in the old dog yet with all the old hands from McCarthy and Fenton at midfield, to Fitzsimons and Murchan at the back and Mannion, Costello and new boy Colm Basquel, who was man of the match, teasing and tormenting the green and red rearguard all through.
And beware opponents — Dublin did all this without any real contribution from Con O'Callaghan or Ciaran Kilkenny or indeed Jack McCaffrey, who came on in the second half and looked rusty but will be all the better for the minutes in his legs after this game.
Pulling all the strings like an on-field puppeteer was the ageless Stephen Cluxton who made a great save in the second half but more importantly got his restarts away much better than his counterpart in the Mayo goal Colm Reape, who should spend the rest of the summer studying what is needed to be a top class keeper in these big matches.
And so it has come to pass that another generation of Mayo footballers like Aidan O'Shea and Cillian O'Connor has come and surely will go without ever having a Celtic Cross of their own in their hands to accompany them into retirement. Kevin McStay, the manager, also joins a long list of managers who simply cannot find the golden key to open the door to Sam Maguire-land, at least not for 2023.
I suppose they could say they were in hard luck for two goals other than Cluxton's save from Diarmuid O'Connor when referee David Gough blew for a pick up when it could be argued that the ball had not touched the ground and then inexplicably when Eoghan McLaughlin contrived to miss from two yards by smashing the ball against the post.
At the other end there was a greater facility to bag scores and Basquel was on hand twice in either half to break Mayo hearts with lethal finishing.
Dublin, it seems, have timed their run perfectly this summer and a semi-final tune up against Monaghan at Croke Park will have them at perfect pitch for the final, which they are now overwhelming favorites to make against the Farneymen.
Kevin McStay, the Mayo manager, said Dublin powered away from his charges in the second half. "In the end it's a big gap, but at half-time it felt we were absolutely where we thought it would be, one up or one down. We got ourselves into a really nice position and had our chances.
"The goal just after half-time, we gave one away that we’d be a bit unhappy with, and then at the other end we missed one. That was a big swing, but you couldn’t take anything away from Dublin. They found their championship form in a big way today and we suffered at their hands."They were incredibly accurate there for a period, I didn’t think they were going to miss no matter where they fired from in the second half. Well done to Dublin, they haven’t gone away. Up to half-time we had plenty of energy, we were flying it, and were in great form and shape at half-time. Just small things went against us in terms of the chances and then Dublin went on a really hot streak and never let up. They really executed some great scores. They’re a very fine team, no question."
As for Mayo, he said: "We got a tough lesson today but I’ve to look at this in the overall. It hasn’t been a bad season for us. We’ll take plenty of lessons from it. We had three or four young players in our backline. This will be a great day out for them when they look back at it in 10 years. They’ll learn an awful lot from it. That’s the way we have to look at it. We’re here for a longer haul than just having a crack in one single season. We’ll go back, rest, meet and see what the overall picture is."
Monaghan 0-14; Armagh 0-14
(Monaghan win 9-8 on pens)
This was a game that had little to offer by way of spectacle or top rank ability but for sheer doggedness, both sides are to be commended for going the distance of extra time and penalties before Monaghan emerged victorious at Croke Park on Saturday evening.
It looked like neither side wanted to win the darn thing and it was perhaps fitting that a penalty miss was the deciding factor at the end of the day.
Monaghan edged to a semi-final place by 9-8 on pens as former All Star goalkeeper Rory Beggan dived to his left to stop Callum Cumisky's effort and send his side back into the semi-final for the first time in six years.
Having missed his opportunity in the first set of five, Monaghan forward Gary Mohan was spot on, second time round. All it needed was for Beggan to stop Cumiskey's attempt which he did magnificently, thus proving himself his side trump card yet again.
The sides were level an incredible 14 times in total, the pulsating contest was on a knife edge throughout and would need the dreaded spot kicks to separate them in the finish.
You had to pity the Orchard men as this was the third time in a row they have lost out in penalties, having previously gone out at the same stage last year as well as the recent Ulster final spot kicks' loss to Derry.
Although the teams were level fourteen times, the drab affair jumped into life down the end straight when it looked like Rian O’Neill’s massive shot from play would see his side home.
However, Conor McManus, on as a second half sub, showed real leadership qualities to win and convert a free deep into extra time to force the shootout. He took the lead there as well, by converting the first shots on the two rounds of five he participated in, once again showing why he is arguably the greatest ever player to pull on the white and blue of Monaghan.
Derry 1-12; Cork 1-8
This was exactly the type of low-key, low-standard fare that will send Derry into their All-Ireland semi-final clash against reigning champions Kerry totally under the radar.
And that is exactly how the Oak Leaf management team under Ciaran Meenagh will want it over the next 10 days as people talk of a Dublin-Kerry final without as much as a by-or-leave about Derry or Monaghan in the same breath.
Indeed gamblers among us will get a good price on the latter duo shocking the odds and going head-to-head in the All Ireland final.
In this game Cork played like a junior team - sure, they had plenty of intercounty athletes who could run all day, but there were few genuine intercounty players in their ranks who could play football.
Whatever bit of nous and savy and understanding the game threw up invariably came from the Ulster champions who were full value for their four-point winning margin.
What is certain against Kerry is that instead of their top men like Conor Glass, Brendan Rogers, Shane McGuigan and co playing in fits and starts, they will need to have their foot to the throttle for 70 mins to stay alive against Jack O'Connor crew the weekend after next.
