Preview: A busy weekend of LGFA action beckons

Compiled by Jackie Cahill

HOLDERS Dublin, Galway and Kerry could book spots in the 2026 TG4 All-Ireland quarter-finals on Saturday.

Victories in their respective group games would secure home ties in the knock-out phase for the provincial champions.

Dublin host Donegal, Galway are at home to Tyrone and Kerry make the trip to Kildare as they target last eight slots.

In Saturday’s other Senior tie, a crucial Munster derby lies in store as Waterford host Cork, who are in must-win territory after losing to Armagh last weekend.

In the Intermediate grade, the remaining quarter-finalists will be revealed on Sunday.

Clare, Leitrim and Westmeath have already secured home quarter-finals – and the draw for the last-eight fixtures will be conducted on Monday.

The action also continues in the TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship on Sunday.

Galway v Tyrone; Tuam Stadium, 2pm – Live on Spórt TG4 YouTube

Last year’s beaten semi-finalists Galway were hugely impressive in their opening round victory over Meath.

The Tribeswomen can guarantee themselves a home quarter-final if they secure victory against visitors Tyrone, last year’s TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate winners.

The Red Hands haven’t played since losing out to Armagh in the Ulster final and they face stiff opposition again here.

The visitors have announced three changes to their starting line-up following the provincial final loss.

Áine Strain, Emer McCanny and Maeve Maxwell are all named to start, with Chloe McCaffrey, Sorcha Gormley and Aoife Horisk dropping out. Galway are unchanged.

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

TYRONE: L Kane; E Quinn, G McKenna, J Hearty; C Canavan, M Corrigan, A Strain; M Mallon, A McHugh; E McCanny, C Campbell, C McNamee; N O Neill, M Maxwell, S McCarroll.

Dublin v Donegal; Parnell Park, 3pm – Live on Spórt TG4 YouTube

Reigning champions Dublin will be looking to make it two from two in the group stages – and seal a home quarter-final.

The Sky Blues got the better of Mayo away from home last weekend to build on a 13th successive Leinster title win.

Donegal’s last outing was against Tyrone in the group stages of the Ulster Championship in early May and they’ll need to hit the ground running here to stand a chance.

The visitors have opted for four changes to their starting team, with Clodagh Brennan, Aoife McDermott, Abbie McGranaghan and Eva Gallagher coming in for Ulitah Boyle, Roisin Rodgers, Jodie McFadden and Ciara McGarvey.

The Dublin starting team shows two changes, with Sophie McIntyre coming in for Clodagh Fox, while Kate Sullivan replaces Jodi Egan.

DUBLIN: A Shiels; N Crowley, R Hartnett, H Leahy; S McIntyre, H McGinnis, N Donlon; N Hetherton, L Magee; A Timothy, O Nolan, C O’Connor; C Rowe (capt.), L Grendon, K Sullivan.

DONEGAL: C Friel; N Carr, E McGinley (capt.), S McFeely; T Hegarty, F McManamon, S McFadden; C Brennan, A McDermott; B McLaughlin, K Dowds, N Boyle; S White, A McGranaghan, E Gallagher.

Kildare v Kerry; Cedral St Conleth’s Park, Newbridge, 3pm – Live on TG4

Fresh from landing a third successive Munster title, Kerry opened the group stages of the All-Ireland series with a big win over Tipperary.

A home quarter-final beckons for the Kingdom as they make the trip to Kildare, who lost out to Dublin in the Leinster final.

Kerry have the talent to go deep into the Championship and they’ll be anxious to remain on a winning streak.

They’re unchanged following the Tipp win, while Kildare have made just one change to the team that started the Leinster final, with Amy Mahon coming in for Aine Mernagh.

KILDARE: R Fennin; A Mahon, E Wheeler, L Shaw; H McLoughlin, R Sargent, L Lenehan (capt.); N Murphy, G Wheeler; L Curran, J Harney, M Aspel; A Rattigan, M Doyle, A Prizeman.

KERRY: M.E Bolger; R Rahilly; D Kearney, E Lynch; A O’Connell, E Costello, A Dillane; A Galvin, M O’Connell; N Carmody, N Ni Chonchuir, C Evans; J Lucey, D O’Leary, S O’Shea (capt.).

Waterford v Cork; Cappoquin Logistics Fraher Field, Dungarvan, 7.30pm – Live on TG4

Waterford got the better of Cork during the group stages of the Munster Championship – and they meet again in the All-Ireland series.

Having won the Lidl National League Division 1 title, Cork lost all three games in the round-robin series in Munster, before going down to Armagh last weekend in the All-Ireland campaign.

This is now a must-win game for the Leesiders as they look to keep their All-Ireland ambitions alive.

The Cork starting team shows two changes in personnel, with Siobhán Callanan and Abbie O’Mahony stepping in for Dara Kiniry and Kate Redmond.

Waterford are back in action for the first time since losing the Munster final to Kerry and there’s one change to their starting team, with the now departed Emma Murray being replaced by Laura Cusack.

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

CORK: S Murphy; M Duggan, S Kelly, S Callanan; A Corcoran, S McGoldrick, R Corkery; M O Callaghan, A O Mahony; R Leahy, R O Regan, E Cleary (capt.); G Murphy, K Quirke, A O’Sullivan.

Roscommon v Down; St Croan’s, 2pm

Down’s big victory over Cavan last weekend blew Group 1 wide open.

A victory on their travels to Roscommon would see Down top the group and ensure a home quarter-final.

A Roscommon win would see all three teams in the group locked together on three points – with score difference coming into play then.

Down start the day on +20, with Roscommon on -3 and Cavan -17.

Cavan will hope that Down can get the job done, which would see the Breffni County through in second place.

But a Roscommon victory would more than likely see Cavan bow out.

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

DOWN: M Deery; N Loudon, E Sands, A Greene; N Edgar, O Blaney, N McClory; M Doherty, K Howlett; A Laverty, L Duffy (capt.), N McGrath; N King, E Fitzpatrick, E Hicks.

Monaghan v Louth; St Mary’s Park, Castleblayney, 2pm – Live on LGFA Facebook and YouTube.

With Westmeath already through as table-toppers and with six points, this is a battle to see who joins the Lake County from Group 2.

In the case of a draw, the team that qualifies in second place will be the team that registers the most points (scores converted over the bar) in Sunday’s game.

If they still can’t be split after that, score difference will apply, with Louth (-3) currently in a healthier position than Monaghan (-14).

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

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

  

Wexford v Laois; Chadwicks Wexford Park, 2pm

A similar situation in Group 3, with Clare through to a home quarter-final at the head of affairs.

It’s down to Leinster rivals Wexford and Laois to battle it out for the second spot on offer.

If it comes down to a draw, Laois have the better score difference on -1, compared to Wexford’s -6.

WEXFORD: S Cloake; A Tormey, K English, O Kehoe; J Dempsey, A Halligan (capt.), R Hughes; A Furlong, C Donnelly; B McDonald, C Banville, A Cullen; C Bridges, A Fortune, K Dempsey.

LAOIS: E Barry; D Phelan, S Farrelly, M Cotter; F McEvoy, A Moran (capt.), L Culleton; S Larkin, A Healy; F Dooley, S Havill, C Crowley; M O’Hara, E Lacey, M Branagan.

Wicklow v Fermanagh; An Tóchar, Roundwood, 2pm.

Leitrim, champions two years ago, are safely through to the quarter-finals.

That leaves Wicklow and Fermanagh fighting it out for second place.

Fermanagh’s score difference is -8, with Wicklow on -14, and that could yet prove crucial if this one ends in a stalemate.

WICKLOW: E Kirwan; S O’Toole, O O’Keeffe, E Doyle; M Renaghan, S Evans, N McGillycuddy; E Bourke, A Lalor; M Healy, E Parke, M Phelan; N Caffrey, L Dunne (capt.), L Butler.

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

Longford v Derry; Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, 2pm

A big game at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park – with Derry on a real high after shocking Antrim last weekend.

Longford have one win from two games and will be looking for another good result here to remain on course for a semi-final spot – with two slots on offer from this five-team group.

LONGFORD: A Cooney; A Brady, K Leegan, A Scanlon; S Dawson, E Bleakley, E Farrell; S Gallagher (capt.), E Doris; K Kilduff, S Madden, Z Drake; A Darcy, K Burke, M Lynn.

DERRY: T Cassidy; A Mulligan, L Brewster, J Corr; A Donnelly, S Heron, S Duggan; B Donnelly (capt.), K Hargan; C Moore, C Donnelly, J Shivers; A Ni Lochlainn, J Slevin, A McAlister.

Kilkenny v Offaly; UPMC Nowlan Park, 2pm

Offaly have three points from a possible six as they make the trip to UPMC Nowlan Park.

Derry’s victory over Antrim blew this group wide open last weekend now there’s a real scrap set to develop for the two qualifying slots.

KILKENNY: E Moran; K Hennessy, E Dunphy, S Butler; C Brennan, E Royce Brennan, D Tervit-Kruger; S Smith, A Ryan; K Grace, B Lomax (capt.), C Moore; N Goddnes, R Doherty, E Brennan.

OFFALY: L Dunne; S Coleman, N Buckley, B McDermott; S McGuinness, R Ennis (capt.), J Maher; M Rouse, E Hand; F McDermott, E Maher, M Coll; M Byrne, S Doyle, C Lynam.

Limerick v London; Gerald Griffins GAA, 2pm

After losing their opening games, Limerick and London will look to get off the mark here.

And with pace-setters Sligo and Carlow in action, this is a chance for both sides to remain in contention in a four-team pool.

LIMERICK: S Hennessy; S Hickey, A Ryan, R Fitzgibbon; C Real, A Russell, M MacNamara; O Ryan, E Hickey; O Mc Carthy, L O Brien, E Crowe; M Creedon, T Geoghegan, L Browne.

LONDON: G Amos; K Boyle, A Durham, K Allenby; C Cottrell, N Crowley (capt.), S Killeen; Y Yelbasi, C Finnerty; S Munnelly, E Mohan, E Higgins; E Bartley, E Douglas, L Tierney.

Carlow v Sligo; SETU Carlow Main Campus Pitch, 2pm – Live on LGFA Facebook and YouTube.

Two teams with genuine Championship ambitions go head to head to SETU Carlow.

Carlow and Sligo both opened the group phase with victories and another win for either side here will have them on the cusp of a semi-final place.

CARLOW: N Hanley; A Carroll, A Roche, S O Neill; A Webb, N Forde, R Bermingham; R Bailey (capt.), C O Neill; E Hayden, C Ni She, A Hanley; B Nolan, S Doyle, A Kiernan.

SLIGO: E McGuire; H Gilligan, C Dunne, A Durcan; S Feeney, C Walsh, T Breheny (capt.); S Regan, S Cunney; N McDonagh, D McGrath, S Dalton; L Duffy, C Gorman, L Normanly.