Previews: All-Ireland LGFA minor finals

Compiled by Jackie Cahill

THE 2026 ZuCar All-Ireland U-18 champions will be crowned on Saturday.

The ZuCar All-Ireland U-18 ‘A’ Final pits holders Cork against Roscommon at Glenisk O’Connor Park in Tullamore, as part of a double-header alongside the ‘B’ Final between Kerry and Tyrone. The ‘B’ Final gets underway at 2pm, followed by the ‘A’ decider at 4pm.

The ‘C’ Final, to be played at St Tiernach’s Park in Clones, will have a 2pm start and features Armagh and Longford.

All three games will be available to view via live-streams.

Saturday

2026 ZuCar All-Ireland U18 Championship Finals

‘A’ – Cork v Roscommon; Glenisk O’Connor Park, Tullamore, Co. Offaly, 4pm – Live on Spórt TG4 YouTube

In the ‘A’ grade, holders Cork are aiming for back-to-back crowns and a 14th title in all. Opponents Roscommon will contest a second All-Ireland U-18 ‘A’ Final, and a first since 1991.

Cork came through a cracking semi-final against Dublin to reach another final, as Roscommon defeated Down.

These are heady days for Roscommon, whose U-16s were crowned AirNav Ireland All-Ireland ‘B’ champions recently, while the county is also gearing up for a TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Final appearance at Croke Park on Sunday August 2.

Roscommon were All-Ireland U-18 ‘B’ champions in 2009 but they’ve never won the ‘A’ title, with their sole previous final appearance in this grade ending in defeat to Waterford.

CORK: R Duggan; A Kelleher, A Collins, M Barrett; É Walsh, A Coughlan, C O’Donnell; C Ní Mhocháin, S O’Connor; L Finnegan, L Walsh (capt.), E Connolly; A Devereaux, L O’Connor, R Ní Liatháin.

ROSCOMMON: L Finneran; E Halpin, M Finneran, A McCormack; C Trautt, L McSharry, G Gerrity; S Jane O’Connor, R Higgins; L Glennon, R Flynn, A Creevy; V Gannon, I Kenny, S McGrath (capt.).

‘B’ – Kerry v Tyrone; Glenisk O’Connor Park, Tullamore, Co. Offaly, 2pm – Live on Spórt TG4 YouTube

In the ‘B’ Final, 2023 winners Kerry are preparing for a clash with Tyrone, who were runners-up in this competition two years ago.

Kerry were ‘A’ finalists two years ago, and ‘A’ winners in 1995, 1981 and 1980.

The 2023 ‘B’ final victory over Sligo was Kerry’s only previous appearance in the final in this grade.

Tyrone were ‘A’ finalists in 2008, 2001 and 2000, the latter appearance as winners, while this is their second ‘B’ final appearance in three seasons, as they go in search of a maiden All-Ireland title at this level.

KERRY: C O’Mahony; R Daly, A Brosnan, S Ní Shéaghdha; J Lee O’Connor, E Dillane, A Doyle; L Griffin, C O’Sullivan; S Flynn, M Teahan (capt.), F Lynch; E Evans, N O’Donoghue, K Cummins.

TYRONE: R Mullin; C McCarron, E Daly, Z McAnespy; A Leonard, E Kelly, C McCanny; K Owens (capt.), I Grimes; D Coyle, H Donnelly, M Muldoon; L McDonnell, É McGinn, C McMoran.

‘C’ – Armagh v Longford, St Tiernach’s Park, Clones, Co. Monaghan, 2pm – Live on LGFA Facebook / YouTube

The ‘C’ final pits Armagh, runners-up two years ago, against Longford, who will play in their first decider in this grade.

Armagh have played twice in ‘B’ finals, winners in 2011 and runners-up in 2015, and they’ll hope to crack the code in the ‘C’ grade on Saturday.

Longford were ‘B’ runners-up in 2022, and winners in 2019. Both counties are chasing a first ‘C’ title win as they prepare for this Clones decider.

ARMAGH: L O’Neill; E Melanophy, M O’Hara, C Carnegie; A Hagan, M McGrane, A Lavery (capt.); E Hart, C Henderson; J McCreesh, L McBennett, A Brennan; C Gollogly, A O’Neill, N O’Reilly.

LONGFORD: S McDermott; A Tiernan, B Reilly, L Killian; E Kearney, O McGann, L Maguire; M Kiernan, A O’Brien; E Feeney, S Madden, Z Drake (capt.); E Dowd, M Lynn, A Mulligan.