Sunday was a brilliant afternoon. At Parnell Park, the sun was beating down and played its part in what was a great atmosphere. The crowd was mostly Dublin. It was very apparent that there weren’t too many Kilkenny supporters, which also told a tale.The home crowd struck me as very nervous about whether they would be able to get behind the team, given their history in these types of matches – waiting if you like for a sign that this time, Dublin would give them a performance.Midway through the first half they got their answer. The match was evenly balanced at that stage but Dónal Burke and Paddy Doyle got in flying blocks to disrupt Kilkenny. They were just incidents from the play, but there was an energy and application which symbolised that Dublin were there to play and that their confidence was building. [ Dublin withstand the heavy hand of history to dump Kilkenny out of the championshipOpens in new window ]In tandem, the belief of the supporters also grew because they realised that this wasn’t the normal challenge. The play and commitment were supercharged.To me it was clear by this stage that Dublin were the better team. On this occasion they proved it by sustaining the performance. It was an impressive demonstration that they are now finding consistency both in matches and from match to match.It must be the first time since they last won Leinster that they had two big championship wins, after beating Galway last time out.Dublin's Donal Burke and Paddy Deegan of Kilkenny at Parnell Park on Sunday. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho Their forwards played their part and it has been noticeable how much improved they are on last year with Dónal Burke fit and injury-free. His free taking is excellent and a great reassurance for a team, and from play he landed 0-5. He is a top-class player and showed what injury had cost Dublin last year.Brian Hayes is another class performer, playing sweeper one minute and tearing forward the next. He caused terrible trouble for Kilkenny and when his brother Ronan came on up front, they combined well.Yet what made this day for Dublin was the defensive performance, a remarkable improvement from conceding four goals to Offaly in the first match – although Offaly have shown themselves to be the real deal this season and it’s great to see them in the All-Ireland quarter-finals.In Parnell Park this weekend, Paddy Smyth ruled the roost at full back in a totally dominant display. I’d also make the point that this weekend for the first time this year we had real hurling weather, conditions that are ideal for play. And it was also the end of the road for five counties.Last July, Tipperary and Kilkenny played out a great All-Ireland hurling semi-final, which went all the way to the wire and either of them could have won. Tipp went forward and won the title. Kilkenny were only a little adrift of them in that semi-final.Limerick's Aidan O'Connor shoots past Bryan O'Mara of Tipperary to score his side's fourth goal of the match at the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho Now, both are gone and will play no further part in this year’s championship and have experienced historic lows in their provincial campaigns. Kilkenny found out that you can’t defy gravity. Derek Lyng is a thoroughly decent fella but his hand of cards has been weakening since he took over and there is a big challenge there for the county in the future. Maybe not qualifying from Leinster will concentrate minds in the county but they were second-best on Sunday.Making Dublin’s performance all the more creditable was that they lost Eoghan O’Donnell and Liam Rushe before the match. Rushe, who had brought such composure to Dublin’s defence since his return, flagged that he was in trouble during the warm-up. Niall Ó Ceallacháin simply applied the ‘next man up’ criterion and John Bellew had a fine match.That cohesiveness is a big part of how Dublin have gone about their business. They have the scalps of both Galway and Kilkenny, which is the first time a county has beaten both since the round-robin format began.They face Galway again in the final and have shown over the years that they aren’t intimidated by those opponents.If anything sums up the change in weather, look at Clare. They were powerful in Thurles, demolishing Tipperary on an evening that actually featured hailstones.Cork's Seán O'Donoghue with Peter Duggan of Clare at Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Sunday. Photograph: Tom O'Hanlon/Inpho Facing Cork in Páirc Uí Caoimh on a fast track is a different matter. They were weakened by injury and missing Mark Rodgers and Ryan Taylor, their most explosive ball carrier, but this was a sobering demonstration of their vulnerability to pace. Brian Lohan will also be concerned about the ongoing struggle for top form of Tony Kelly and Shane O’Donnell.[ Cork outclass Clare to set-up another Munster decider against LimerickOpens in new window ]In truth the match was a hard watch and in keeping with a Munster championship that has been underwhelming this season. Cork and Limerick, big winners in uncompetitive matches, will meet in the provincial final for the second year running.Cork are unbeaten and Limerick have been closer to their best this year. You’d have to say that they look the two best teams out there but neither looks unbeatable, either.