Mark Carroll's spectacular return to form, just weeks before the world championships, was the highlight of a good weekend for Irish athletics in the TNT national championships at Santry Stadium.

Just two hours after grinding out an unhurried 5,000 metres win, Carroll returned to the track to take the lead role in one of most thrilling 1,500 races seen in Dublin in years.

In the end, the assistance of the photo finish equipment was necessary to separate the Corkman from Niall Bruton in a time of 3 mins 54.34 secs. And that said it was a fascinating struggle in which four athletes, Carroll, Bruton, Daniel Caulfield and Brian Treacy all held winning chances with 200 metres to go.

It was Bruton, running wide, who looked to have made the decisive move when he opened up a gap of two metres down the back straight. But Carroll refused to be beaten and closing with every stride, got up in the last metre to complete the double.

"After a bad run in Cork, I desperately needed those wins," he said. "The 1,500 metres was a typical championship race in which athletes had to fight for their places throughout.

"But I always thought I had the equipment to win, even when Niall hit the front but still, I have to admit, it was a little too close for comfort".

If Carroll stole the headlines in a meeting which produced three national records, it was Gareth Turnbull, a name which scarcely entered into the pre-race calculations, who emerged as the new champion in the 800 metres.

Taking full advantage of James Nolan's absence from the final, Turnbull produced the best track performance of his career to hold off the challenge of David Matthews to win in 1 min 48.57 secs.

Turnbull, better known for his cross country exploits, is at 20 the youngest winner of the title, compelling testimony to the talent of the Belfast athlete who is currently studying at Loughborough University.

Undeniably, the final lost at least some of its appeal when Noan pulled out with a muscular injury, sustained when powering to a new championship record of 1 min 46.68 secs in Saturday's semi-final.

The quality of that run suggested that the remainder would be running for second in the final and in the new, revised situation, all the attention was on the other member of the formidable UCD duo, Matthews.

In the event, those predictions were proved to be widely misplaced when Turnbull bolted like a startled hare to open up a lead of 10 metres at the bell. Matthews, caught unprepared, was unable to cover the break and while he closed to a couple of metres at the entrance to the finishing straight, he couldn't make any more headway.

"I like to think that this win proved that I'm not just a cross country runner - that I do have a bit of speed in my legs," he said. "After a slow opening quarter, I realised that my best chance was to go early and, thankfully, it worked for me."

If Turnbull's success grabbed the headlines for its sheer unpredictability, the names of Gary Ryan, Peter Coghlan, Karen Shinkins and a back to form Mark Carroll also figured high on the list of the day's outstanding performers.

Gary Ryan set the benchmark in the sprints by edging out his arch rival, Peter Brizzell, in a breathtaking finish to Saturday's 200 metres.

No such uncertainty surrounded Ryan's 100 metres victory yesterday when, after three false starts, he took control of the race at the halfway stage and, keeping the momentum going, swept to a new national record of 10.45 secs.

Almost certainly, Peter Coghlan's win in 13.51 secs in the 100 metres hurdles, another championship best, represented the class act of the day. This was his fastest run on home soil and the measure of his superiority is that he had no less than two and a half seconds to spare over Paul Conroy who finished second. Karen Shinkins, who has become a world class athlete in the space of a couple of eventful months, illustrated her new rating with a superbly judged 400 metres run which saw her win by almost 15 metres. It was a big day also for high jumper Brendan Reilly, who recently switched allegiance from Britain to Ireland, Reilly setting a national record of 2.28 metres.

Watched by his mother Flora, who is confined to a wheelchair, the 25-year-old Yorkshireman achieved the record without touching the lathe and was unlucky with at least one of his subsequent attempts at 2.30.

His winning figures were precisely the same as those of Steve Smith in the British championships on Saturday and Reilly seized on the coincidence to dismiss the theory that he had chosen the easy option by declaring for Ireland. "I hope this puts that myth to rest," he said. "I declared for Ireland because my mother, who is from Portlaoise, wants to see me compete in a major championship in a green singlet.

"As usual, she was directly behind me, giving my all the vocal encouragement I needed and now she plans to travel to Seville to watch me in the world championships."

On a weekend when many had reason to rue their bad fortune, none could feel more hard done by than Wexford long jumper Ciaran McDonagh. Nudging at selection for the world championships, he appeared to have achieved his great ambition when he broke the sand at 8.04 metres.

It represented a career best performance by some way, comfortably beating the "B" qualifying standard for Seville and only a centimetre outside the "A" mark which would have guaranteed him automatic selection.

But the euphoria of the first eight metres plus jump by an Irishman turned to bitter disappointment when the windmeter registered figures of 2.17 secs, just fractionally above the permitted limit.

It means that it cannot be validated for the purpose of world championship selection and it fits the pattern of heartache for a man who only just missed out on selection for the Atlanta Olympics by a just three centimetres.

Another star of the championship was Waterford's Elaine Fitzgerald who, taking her cue from fellow city woman Susan Smith in completing the hurdles double, dug deep to beat Sinead Delahunty, the favourite, in the 1,500 metres final.

It was then, a distinctly uplifting meeting for BLE and their new sponsors. And now the selectors's judgements are awaited with some interest as they prepare to name their world championship squad today.