There was no shortage of drama with plenty of talking points as the Leinster senior action began with wins for Trinity, Merrion, Pembroke, Clontarf, North County, Rush, Balbriggan and Malahide.
At Anglesea Road, Merrion beat North Kildare by 9 wickets
North Kildare 122 all out; 41.4 overs, Waqar Azmat 38; Anish Sidhu 3/19, Charl Malan 2/14)
Merrion 123/1 (17.2 overs; Swapnil Modgill 51*, Jack Carty 49*)
The first result of the day came at Angelsea Road as Merrion made light of the absence of John Anderson and Dom Joyce to inflict a thumping nine-wickets win against North Kildare.
The Maws side struggled as they posted just 122, with Waqar Azmat's 38 the high point of a disappointing display - three wickets for left-arm spinner Anish Sidhu and two for debutant Charl Malan.
Stephen Doheny was the only wicket to fall in the chase as another debutant, Swapnill Modgill showed he could be a shrewd acquisition as he hit 8 fours and 2 sixes in a rapid 51 not out from just 34 balls, sharing a second wicket stand of 93 with Jack Carty (49*) in the nine-wicket win.
At Sydney Parade, Pemboke beat Terenure by 55 runs
Pembroke 271 all out (50 overs; Barry McCarthy 92, Robin Kelly 52, Joe Prendergast 23, Lorcan Tucker 21, Paul Lawson 21; Aidan Doyle 5/63, Zubair Khan 2-54)
Terenure 216 all out (43.1 overs; Seamus Lynch 70, Harry Dall 48, Zubair Khan 20; Patrick Morris 3/21, Piyush Sharma 3/39, Diarmaid Tucker 2/49)
Barry McCarthy starred with the bat as Pembroke beat Terenure by 55 runs at Sydney Parade. 'BMac' hit 7 fours and 4 sixes in a top score of 92 as Pembroke totalled 271 - a half century too for Robin Kelly (52), with 20s for Joe Prendergast, Lorcan Tucker and Paul Lawson.
Aidan Doyle collected five wickets, while there were two for Zubair Khan.
Seamus Lynch hit 10 fours and a six in an almost even time 70, sharing a second wicket stand of 96 with Henry Dall (48).
However three wickets apiece for Piyush Sharma and Patrick Morris gave Pembroke the initiative as they sealed the 55-run win.
At Malahide, Malahide beat Phoenix by 1 wicket
Phoenix 160 all out (42.3 overs; Oliver Hald 49, Tyrone Kane 31, William Bennett 22; Callum Riches 4/24, Ali Frost 3/28)
Malahide 164/9 (47.1 overs (Ryan Hackney 35, Mike Frost 26*, James Newland 25; Aaron Cawley 4/30, Devender Ranolia 2/18)
Malahide edged out Phoenix in the Village, winning a thriller by one wicket. Chasing 160, four wickets from Aaron Cawley left the match in the balance at 157 for 9, but Mike Frost (26*) struck the winning boundary to seal the win. Debutant Ryan Hackney top scored with 35, while stand-in skipper James Newland made 25 in the tense win.
Earlier Danish international Oliver Hald hit 7 fours and a six in his 49 from just 43 balls - runs too for Tyrone Kane (31) and William Bennett (22). With the ball, Callum Riches tok four wickets, Alistair Frost three, and Diarmuid Burke two.
At Jack Harper Park, Balbriggan beat YMCA by two wickets
YMCA 231/8 (50 overs; Jack Tector 64, Curtis Campher 43, Rory Anders 40, Tim Tector 27; Kashif Ali 4/29, Andrew Darroch 4/51)
Balbriggan 232/8 (48.3 overs; Andrew Darroch 82*, Farooq Nasr 33, Nathan Rooney 32, Ryan Hadley 28, Dylan Lues 23; Reuben Wilson 2/21, Tom Anders 2/47, Mitchell Thompson 2/51)
Balbriggan pulled off a superb chase to stun YMCA at Jack Harper Park with Andrew Darroch the home side hero.
Balbriggan looked down and out as two wickets apiece for Reuben Wilson, Tom Anders and Mitchell Thompson reduced them to 119 for 7 chasing 232. However, Darroch hit 12 fours and 2 sixes in his unbeaten 82 from just 68 balls, adding 84 in 18 overs with Ryan Hadley (28).
When Hadley was dismissed 29 were still needed, but Darroch farmed the strike with Campbell Davies-Webb and clinched the two wickets win in the penultimate over amidst great celebration from Andre Botha's side.
Earlier the YM total of 231/8 was dominated by stands of 91 between Jack Tector (64) and Curtis Campher (43), as well as 62 between Rory Anders (40) and Tim Tector (27).
Darroch and Kashif Ali each claimed four wickets in a day to remember for the Fingal side.
At Inch, North County beat The Hills by four runs
North County 272/6 (50 overs; Eddie Richardson 116*, Andrew Sheridan 50, Malcolm Nofal 39; Tomas Rooney-Murphy 2/38, Dylan Blignaut 2/89)
The Hills 268/8 (50 overs; Mark Donegan 87, D Blignaut 48, Murray Commins 31, Andrew Kavanagh 26; Abdul Ghaffar 4/61, Malcolm Nofal 2-28, Usman Azhar 2-44)
There was a real nailbiter at Balrothery as Fingal derby rights went to North County against The Hills.
County skipper Eddie Richardson hit 6 fours and 5 sixes in an unbeaten 116 from 96 balls as his team posted 272 for 6, thanks to stands of 88 between him and Andrew Sheridan (50), while Sheridan also added 60 with professional Malcolm Nofal (39).
Dylan Blignaut (2-89) took two early wickets to have County 5 for 2 but he came in for some severe punishment thereafter, while Tomas Rooney-Murphy also took two wickets.
The Hills chase was a steady one and looked like being a successful one for much of the innings before stuttering at the end.
A stand of 101 between Mark Donegan (87) and Blignaut (50), allied with runs for Murray Commins (31) and Andrew Kavanagh (26) took The Hills to 259 for 6 with three overs left.
However they managed just nine from the last 8 balls, as Abdul Ghaffar (4-61) and Usman Azhar (2-44) held their nerves in dramatic fashion.
At Kenure, Rush beat Leinster by 8 runs
Rush 278 all out (48.1 overs; Llew Johnson 154, Jack McGee 45, Andrew Doheny 27; Mark Tonge 3/63, Joe Carroll 2/39), Bilal Azhar 2-58)
Leinster 270 all out (49 overs; Saqib Bahadur 112, Joe Carroll 39, Mark Tonge 37*, Ben Mitchell 20; Jack McGee 4/46, Asher Abbasi 2/35, Daniel Coffey 2/48)
Innings of the day came from Rush's New Zealand overseas professional debutant Llew Johnson who hit 14 sixes and 8 fours in 154 from 104 balls.
Runs too from Jack McGee (45) and Andrew Doheny (27) helped Rush to 278 - three wickets for Mark Tonge (3-63) and two apiece for Joe Carroll and skipper Bilal Azhar.
A century by Saqib Bahadur gave Leinster a real foothold in the chase as he thumped 16 furs and 2 sixes in 112 from 86 balls.
Joe Carroll (39) and Mark Tonge (37*) were also in the runs but their valiant chase fell eight runs short - four wickets for Jack McGee and two apiece for Asher Abassi and skipper Daniel Coffey.
At Castle Avenue, Clontarf beat Cork County by 9 wickets
Cork County 103 all out (33.2 overs; Alex Gasper 31; Paul Ryan 3/6, David Delany 3/21, Ruan Cronje 3/27)
Clontarf 106/1 (17.2 overs; PJ Moor 60, Andrew Vincent 36*)
It was a very one-sided contest at Castle Avenue as Clontarf beat Cork County by nine wickets.
Three wickets apiece for David Delany, Ruan Cronje and Paul Ryan saw the Munster men dismissed for just 103, with Alex Gasper's 31 the only serious batting resistance offered.
PJ Moor hit 9 fours and 3 sixes in a 45-ball 60, as he and Andrew Vincent (36*) shared a partnership of 94 in the comprehensive nine-wicket win.
At College Park, Dublin University beat Railway Union by 7 wickets
Railway Union 174 all out (49 overs; Kenny Carroll 51, Hashir Sultan 50; David Vincent 4/24, James Atkinson 2/19, Matthew Humphreys 2/26)
Dublin University 175/3 (31.4 overs; Nic Pretorious 54, Gavin Hoey 44*, David Vincent 28)
Trinity started their campaign with an emphatic seven wickets win over Railway Union. Half centuries from Kenny Carroll and Hashir Sultan saw the visitors - missing Kevin O'Brien - make 174.
Ireland Under 19 international David Vincent took four wickets and was also in the runs as he made 28 in a successful chase.
Nic Pretorius hit a quick half century and with Gavin Hoey (44) also batting fluently, the win was achieved in the 32nd over.
A very welcome 60th birthday present for Ger Siggins!