A glance at a packed LGFA weekend

Compiled by Jackie Cahill

COVETED final slots and promotion are the big prizes on offer that could be claimed across a pivotal weekend of Lidl National League action.

Should results go in a certain way, our finalists in Divisions 1 and 2 could be confirmed, while Louth will ensure they finish on top of the pile in Division 3 if they can win away to Roscommon.

In Division 4, meanwhile, it’s a straight shoot-out between Offaly and Longford for the remaining semi-final slot on offer.

There are games of huge consequence across the four Divisions and all four top flight ties are available to view live.

The clash between title chasers Galway and relegation-threatened Dublin is the live TG4 clash on Saturday, with the other three Division 1 fixtures on offer via live streams.

On Sunday, attention switches to the action in Divisions 2, 3 and 4, with three crucial Division 2 ties also available via live streams.

Saturday March 21st

Lidl National League Division 1

Armagh v Kerry; Silverbridge Harps, 5pm – Live Stream

HOLDERS Kerry have left themselves with too much to do in the race for a final slot.

But the Kingdom will want to finish with a flourish in their remaining two group fixtures.

Armagh’s need may be greater here as the Orchard County continue their battle to avoid the drop.

Ahead of a repeat of the last two Division 1 deciders, 2024 champions Armagh are one of three teams locked together at the bottom on four points.

The hosts have made two changes following a stalemate with Dublin last time out, with Grace Ferguson and Aimee Mackin replacing Catherine Marley and Mallaidh Loughran.

The visitors make four changes in personnel following a damaging two-point loss to Galway, with Ciara Butler replacing Mary Ellen Bolger between the sticks, while Eabha Ní Laighin, Leah Boyle and Niamh Ní Chonchúir come in for Kiera Furey, Mary O’Connell and Julia Curtin further out the field.

ARMAGH: B Mathers; M Ferguson, C McCambridge, C Towe; A Donnelly, L McConville (capt.), G Ferguson; B Mackin, C O’Reilly; L Marsden, A McCoy, E Druse; A Mackin, C O’Hanlon, K Mallon.

KERRY: C Butler; E Lynch, D Kearney, R Rahilly; E Ní Laighin, A Dillane, L Boyle; N Carmody, A Galvin; K Enright, N Ní Chonchúir, C Evans; S O’Shea, D O’Leary, R Dwyer.

Cork v Meath; MTU Cork, 5pm – Live Stream

Following promotion back to the top flight, it’s been a remarkable season for Cork.

A win here would be good enough to secure a Division 1 final on April 11, as Meath look to bounce back from their defeat to Kildare, which scuppered any slim Royal County hopes of making the final.

Cork showed real mettle to dig out a victory over Waterford at Páirc Uí Rinn last time out and the Leesiders are unchanged for this one.

The visitors have made five changes in personnel, with Aoife Farrell, Ciara Lawlor, Olivia Gore, Ciara Smyth, fresh from an historic AIG O’Connor Cup Final victory with TU Dublin, and Lauren Woods are handed starts. Dropping out of the Meath starting line-up are Órla Smith, Sinéad Murphy, Sarah Wall, Meadhbh Byrne and Orla Finnegan.

CORK: S Murphy; M Duggan, D Kiniry, S Kelly; A Corcoran, S McGoldrick, R Corkery; A Healy, A O’Mahony; R Leahy, G Murphy, E Cleary (capt.); R O’Regan, K Quirke, L Hallahan.

MEATH: R Murray; K Kealy, Á Sheridan, A Farrell; C Lawlor, O Gore, K Bermingham; O Sheehy, N Gallogly (capt.); M Farrelly, C Smyth, M Thynne; E Duggan, L Woods, R Casserly.

Galway v Dublin; Tuam Stadium, 5pm – Live on TG4

A tie with potential repercussions at both ends of the table.

Galway are chasing a final place and could secure it tomorrow if they win and Waterford drop points.

Dublin, meanwhile, have relegation matters to concern themselves with.

The Sky Blues had to be content with a share of the spoils against Armagh but they really need the win here and it won’t be easy.

This tie will bring back memories of a classic TG4 All-Ireland semi-final clash between the sides last year and Galway would love nothing more than to get one over on the TG4 All-Ireland champions.

Dublin have made three changes to the team that started against Armagh.

Decorated defender Leah Caffrey, captain Carla Rowe and Jodi Egan return are named to start, with Hannah Leahy, Michelle Davoren and Annabelle Timothy dropping out.

Galway have opted for a strong starting line-up, with Nicola Ward, Ellen Power, Lynsey Noone and Olivia Divilly, who’ll captain the team, coming in for Aoife Molloy, Aisling Madden, Aoife O’Rourke and Róisín Leonard.

GALWAY: L O’Halloran; R Quinn, S Ní Loingsigh, B Quinn; H Noone, N Ward, E Power; N Divilly, S Divilly; L Noone, K Slevin, K Thompson; A Trill, L Coen, O Divilly (capt.).

DUBLIN: A Shiels; N Crowley, L Caffrey, C Almeida; S McIntyre, H McGinnis, N Donlon; R Hartnett, O Nolan; E Gribbin, L Grendon, C Rowe (capt.); J Egan, N Hetherton, K Sullivan.

Waterford v Kildare; Cappoquin Logistics Fraher Field, Dungarvan, 5pm – Live Stream

Another huge game as Kildare manager Pat Sullivan comes up against his former charges.

Kildare stunned Meath last time out to register their first win of the season and give themselves a chance of avoiding the drop.

But they’ll need all of Sullivan’s insider knowledge to get the better of a Waterford side still in the hunt for a top two finish and a place in the final.

Waterford have stuttered lately, though, losing successive games against Meath and Cork to drop to third.

A win here though would set up a mouthwatering clash with Galway in the final round of fixtures, with Kildare due to play Kerry at home.

There’s just one change to the Kildare team that prevailed against Meath, with Amy Mahon coming in for Aoife Murnane.

Waterford have made two changes to the side that lost out narrowly to Cork, with Clare Walsh and Lauren McGregor in for Ruby Browne and Maeve Daly.

WATERFORD: K Gardiner; L Cusack, L Mulcahy, R Casey; Á O’Neill, K McGrath, C Murray; E Power, E Murray (capt.); K Murray, K Hogan, B McMaugh; C Fennell, C Walsh, L McGregor.

KILDARE: C Nallen; A Mernagh, M Doherty, A Mahon; H McLoughlin, R Sargent, L Lenehan (capt.); N Murphy, G Wheeler; L Shaw, C Wheeler, M Aspell; A Rattigan, M Doyle, A Prizeman.

Sunday March 22nd

Lidl National League Division 2

Monaghan v Wexford; Grattan Park, Inniskeen, 2pm

Monaghan showed enough in defeat to Cavan last time out to suggest that they could still get out of trouble.

They’re currently outside of the relegation slots, occupied by Westmeath and Wexford, ahead of a crucial home clash with the struggling Slaneysiders.

Relegation for Wexford will be confirmed if they lose this one and it’s a must win tie for the visitors.

MONAGHAN: O Kelly; A Loughman, A McQuaid, M Monaghan; D Cawley, R Courtney (capt.), A Gilliland; J Duffy, N Flanagan; A Jo Kierans, A Garland, C Treanor; C McBride, M Atkinson, L Maguire.

WEXFORD: S Cloake; J Dempsey, A Tormey, K English; O Kehoe, A Halligan (capt.), K Dempsey; B McDonald, A Furlong; O Byrne, A Gilroy, R Hughes; C Roban, C Banville, S Hamilton.

Tyrone v Cavan; Galbally Pearses, 2pm – Live Stream

A massive game in the race for promotion.

Cavan, currently on top of the table, host Tyrone, three points further back in third place.

A win for Cavan here and they’ll be playing top flight football next season but a Tyrone victory will leave everything up for grabs ahead of the final round of games.

TYRONE: L Kane; J Lyons, C McCallion, E Quinn; C Canavan, M Corrigan, C Campbell; M Mallon, A McHugh (capt.); E McNamee, A Horisk, E Jane Gervin; N O Neill, S Gormley, C McNamee.

CAVAN: E Baugh; Z Fay, S Kelly, L Crowe; E McIntyre, C Charters, D Lynch; M Fitzpatrick, K McCormack; N Keenaghan, E Sheridan, C Dolan; C Lynch, A Sheridan (capt.), K Mai Reilly.

Daly’s Donegal relishing promotion push

Westmeath v Mayo; Athlone GAA, 2pm – Live Stream

Mayo are not mathematically done in the race for promotion but they need an awful lot to go their way in the final two rounds.

The green and red are in fourth – and four points behind second placed Donegal at the start of play.

Mayo will look to concentrate on their own job first and foremost and rely on an unlikely set of results elsewhere going their way.

Westmeath, second from bottom on three points, have big relegation worries to contend with.

WESTMEATH: A Temple; H Keenan, T Dillon, L McCartan; C Kelly Gonoud, F Coyle (capt.), S McWade; A Jones, A Ruane; V Carr, C Kilmurray, N Mullarkey; K Kilmurray, S Dillon, L McCartan.

MAYO: L Brennan; E Ronayne, D Caldwell, L Wallace; C Needham, L Hanley, A Geraghty; E Murray, A Kennedy; A Staunton, S Walsh (capt.), K Doherty; S Delaney, L Cafferky, S Cafferky.

Tipperary v Donegal; Clonmel Sportsfield, 1pm – Live Stream

Tipperary look safe for another season in Division 2 – as Donegal target promotion.

This will be an interesting tie in Clonmel, with Tipp looking to finish strongly against a Donegal side that will clinch Division 1 football if they win and Cavan beat Tyrone.

It may yet boil down to the final day in the race for top flight football as Ulster sides Cavan, Donegal and Tyrone battle it out.

TIPPERARY: L Fitzpatrick; T Hoare, M Curley, E Cronin; Niamh Martin, Nora Martin, S English; L Morrissey, Á O Dwyer; A McGuigan, A.R. Kennedy, H Spillane; L Cunningham, L Maher, E Morrissey.

DONEGAL: C Friel; N Carr, E McGinley, S Mc Feely; T Hegarty, F McManamon, A Caulfield; C Brennan, R Rodgers (capt.); B Mc Laughlin, K Dowds, N Boyle; S White, E Gallagher, C McGarvey.

Lidl National League Division 3

Antrim v Laois; Antrim GAA Centre of Excellence, Dunsilly, 2pm

Antrim know they can take a big step towards a second successive promotion here.

A county on the rise again, the Saffrons are second behind Louth and level with Down on ten points, who they meet in the final round.

Laois sit second from bottom ahead of throw in and are in desperate need of points.

ANTRIM: A Devlin; H Donaghy, M Blaney, M Mulholland; L Agnew, C Brown, E Louise McAreavey; A Mulholland, A Tubridy; T Mellon, O Dahunsi, C McKenna; B Devlin (capt.), M O Neill, D Coleman.

LAOIS: E Barry; S Farrelly, F McEvoy, M Cotter; A Gorman, A Saunders, A Moran (capt.); F Dooley, A Healy; S Havill, E Galvin, C Crowley; E Lacey, K Donoghue, K O’Neil.

Down v Limerick; Liatroim Fontenoys, 1pm

A win for Down here will keep them in the hunt for promotion ahead of the final round of fixtures.

A situation could yet arise when the dust settles in the group stages where Louth, Antrim and Down are all locked together on 13 points.

Down will look to get the job done first against Limerick on Sunday and defeat for the visiting Shannonsiders would relegate them.

DOWN: C Bradley; N Loudon, E Sands, A Greene; N Edgar, C McCreanor, N McClory; M Doherty, K Howlett; N King, E Fitzpatrick, L Duffy (capt.); E Quinn, E Hicks, A Laverty.

LIMERICK: S Hennessy; S Hickey, A Ryan, R Fitzgibbon; E Crowe, L Ryan (capt.), M MacNamara; O Ryan, E Hickey; C McNamara, L O’Brien, K Heelan; L Brown, T Geoghegan, C McGrath.

Fermanagh v Clare; Kinawley Brian Boru, 2pm

This is a crucial clash in the battle to avoid the drop.

Fermanagh and Clare start this game both knowing that a win will secure Division 3 football again next year.

A defeat isn’t the end of the road for either side but Sunday’s opponents will be keen to avoid any last day nerves.

FERMANAGH: A Haren; A Keenan, S McCarville, S McQuade (capt.); A O’Brien, C Bogue, B Bannon; A McCarney, H Murphy; S Barrett, N McManus, C Breen; C McGarrigle, E Smyth, B Smyth.

CLARE: R Sexton; H Doyle, R Doohan, S Melican; R Considine, J Doohan (capt.), E Burke; C Cahill, A Slattery; S Considine, C Harvey, A Sexton; E O Driscoll, C Moloney, E Hanrahan.

Roscommon v Louth; King & Moffatt Dr. Hyde Park, 2pm

Roscommon are not out of the running for a top two finish and promotion just yet.

A win for the Rossies against table-toppers Louth would put the cat among the pigeons.

Louth know, however, that a win here will seal the deal and secure Division 2 football for next season.

ROSCOMMON: H Cummins (capt.); A McGrath, A Connaughton, R Brady; A Curran, S Wynne, M McKeon; E Irwin, R Cox; N Watson, A Feely, L Shanagher; A Hanly, R Lennon, C Lennon.

LOUTH: R Lambe Fagan; S Matthews, E Hand, H Lambe Sally; A Murray, S McLaughlin, L Byrne; A Halligan, A Breen (capt.); L White, C Nolan, Z Sweeney; E Byrne, L Lynch, C Woods.

Lidl National League Division 4

Offaly v Longford; Cappincur GAA, 2pm

It all boils down to this! With Carlow, Leitrim and Sligo already through to the Lidl NFL Division 4 semi-finals, there’s one slot left to play for.

Leitrim will play Sligo next Sunday, with Carlow awaiting Offaly or Longford in the last four.

Offaly and Longford start the day locked together on nine points. A win for either will guarantee progress but if the game ends in a draw, the team progressing will be the team that registers the highest number of points, i.e. scores converted over the bar, in Sunday’s game.

If they still can’t be separated at that point, score difference will come into play and Offaly have a significant edge in this regard, as they’re on +44 compared to Longford’s -8.

OFFALY: L Dunne; S McGuinness, F Dempsey, N Buckley; M Rouse, E Maher, A Grehan; R Ennis, R Mealiff; F McDermott, M Byrne, E Hand; C Lynam, S Doyle, M Mann (capt.).

LONGFORD: A Cooney; G Kenny, L Keegan, R McGrath; R Fallon, E Farrell, E Doris; M Farrell, S Hagan; A Nolan, K Crawford (capt.), A Brady; E Sheehy, K Burke, A Darcy.