Merrion's woes were complete as they lost their third game in 8 days as Clontarf wrapped the the title.

Clontarf sealed the league title with an emphatic 8 wicket win over Merrion as North County lost by five wickets at home to Merrion.

Railway Union beat Malahide by six wickets to relegate them and almost ensure their own safety.

The race for the Division One title took a further twist as an Eddie Richardson inspired North County beat title favourites Clontarf, while Merrion's miserable weekend was compounded by a shock loss to Railway Union.

MERRION took advantage of a waterlogged ground at The Mardyke to take over the leadership of Division One, but only after a thrilling one wicket win over North County.

I've been around cricket for well over fifty years as a player, an umpire, a writer and always as a fan of the game. I get tremendous enjoyment from watching high quality players compete.

Last Saturday in the interests of the readership of CricketEurope/Ireland I exposed myself to a display of low quality cricket in a one-sided match as Pembroke won at Railway Union, so this week I thought I would treat myself to some much higher quality cricket, batting in particular, by watching YMCA's visit to Castle Avenue to play Clontarf.

It's shaping up to be a fantastic end to the season with Clontarf, Merrion and North County all battling for the title.

The relegation battle in Division 1 is every bit as interesting as is the fight for the championship: four teams with very different attributes but not a lot between them in terms of effectiveness.

Pembroke boosted their chances of surviving the drop with a crucial 14 runs away win in Cork.

Clontarf assumed the leadership of Division One with a nervy two wicket win over fellow title contenders Merrion at Castle Avenue.

This season, Division 1 has unfolded into a battle for the winner's title between four clubs – Clontarf, Merrion, North County and YMCA – and a separate battle between the other four to avoid relegation. Just what are the differences between these two groups of clubs?

YMCA beat North County by 8 runs in close encounter to blow title race wide open.

North County stay top with narrow win at Malahide, while there are also wins for Clontarf, and YMCA.

It was a bright and breezy afternoon in Sandymount, and on this subtropical side of Park Avenue warm when the sun was out.

Kenny Carroll and Rachit Gaur starred as Railway Union beat the weather and Cork County to secure vital points in their survival quest.

Malahide may be hosting the World Twenty20 Qualifying final tomorrow – when Ireland will expect to be involved – but that seems to have gone unnoticed by Cricket Leinster.

There was a full set of fixtures in Division 1 on Saturday, only one of which, the one in Cork, fell foul of the weather.

But contrary to the prognostications of Met Éireann, as purveyed by RTÉ, and of the UK Met Office, as illustrated on BBC1, it was dry, so we could get on with an uninterrupted game of cricket between the two sides topping Division 1 of the Leinster leagues.

Dramatic collapse sees Railway Union lose to Cork County.

Andrew Poynter scores century as Clontarf beat Pembroke, Cork edge out Railway Union, YMCA beat North County and Merrion win big at Malahide.

It's late June, and only now have there been enough matches completed for meaningful statistics to be calculated.

A record unbeaten 10 th wicket partnership between JJ Cassidy and Padraic Flanagan gave defending champions YMCA a thrilling victory over Division One morning leaders Clontarf.

Last gasp wins for Malahide and YMCA - North County go top while Merrion win in Cork.

On Saturday it's back to league cricket after four cup weekends. In case you'd forgotten, in Division 1 Clontarf and North County are top with three wins out of three, Railway Union have two wins, Malahide none and everybody else one.

Merrion's John Anderson stars as they defeat Pembroke.

Clontarf go top of the table with win over Railway Union, while Merion get first league win with victory over Pembroke.

Grobler stars as Cork County earn vital first league win of the season.

This is the third time I have seen Malahide, and all I can report on positively is their fielding. I have seen flashes of good batting, and glimpses of good bowling, but nowhere near enough of either.

For the first time this season a full set of fixtures in the top two divisions was played on Saturday. In Division there are three teams with two wins from two games: Clontarf; North County; and Railway Union.

Clontarf are the leaders of Leinster League Division One after two rounds of games but more surprising is that North County and Railway Union, the only other teams with a 100% record, complete the fledgling top three.

Malahide fall short against Railway Union in match low on quality but high on drama.

After a washout on Saturday, the 2015 Division 1 season finally got under way on Monday when all four scheduled fixtures were played.

There were first wins of the season for North County, YMCA and Railway Union.

After a series of washouts, it was a pleasure to drive into Clontarf's Castle Avenue ground and see Malahide warming up at the Castle end and the home team going through their drills at the Killester end.

In the only Senior Two game to beat the elements, The Hills crushed Trinity by 154 runs.

It's very much old wine in new bottles down at Anglesea Road.

It's a return to top flight cricket for Malahide in 2015.

After a period of enforced austerity, the club has had to reorganise and refocus, and in the 2010s has achieved nowhere near as much as in the 2000s.

It wasn't the most memorable campaign for the Park Avenue side last time out, but they are optimistic of better fortunes in 2015.

The 2015 season will be a defining year for the club, with its playing resources tested and stretched to the absolute maximum.

2015 promises to be an extremely exciting and challenging season for Cork County as the Club takes its place in Leinster Division 1 following two seasons of successive promotions.

Can this be the real breakthrough season for Pembroke, when they turn youth and potential into trophies?

In 2014, after a season in Division 2, Clontarf stormed back to Division 1, finishing third in the league, runners-up in the Bob Kerr Irish Senior Cup, and winners of both the Leinster Senior Cup and the Alan Murray Twenty20 Cup.