Armagh eye All-Ireland final spot

By Jackie Cahill

THE 2024 TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship Final line-up will be confirmed on Saturday.

Cork, Galway, Armagh and Kerry are all chasing spots at Croke Park for the Brendan Martin Cup decider on Sunday August 4 (4.15pm).

A Glenisk O’Connor Park double-header will confirm the final pairing, with Cork taking on Galway at 5pm, followed by the meeting of Armagh and Kerry at 7.15pm.

Both games are live on TG4.

Cork v Galway; Glenisk O’Connor Park, Tullamore, 5pm
For the third time this season in competitive fare, Cork and Galway will lock horns.

Both counties were relegated from Division 1 of the Lidl National League but they’ve recovered well to reach the last four of the All-Ireland series.

When the sides met in January, Cork won by 1-6 to 0-5 in the League, before they renewed acquaintances in the group stages of the All-Ireland series.

Cork were victorious again, scoring a 1-12 to 1-10 win, and Galway will hope it’s third time lucky in 2024 as they aim to reach the All-Ireland Senior Final for the first time since losing out to Dublin in the 2019 decider.

Cork, for their part, are aiming to reach their first Final since 2020, when Dublin were victorious.

Saturday’s semi-final will pit two of the country’s leading scorers in the Senior Championship against each other. Galway’s Olivia Divilly tops the Senior rankings in the All-Ireland series with 3-14 to her name, while Katie Quirke has registered 1-13 for Cork.

In the quarter-finals, Cork won an all-Munster clash against Waterford, as Galway stunned Dublin at Parnell Park.

Saturday’s semi-final opponents are two well-drilled and evenly matched sides, and it would take a brave punter to predict a winner.

Cork are unchanged following victory over Waterford, as Galway make one change in personnel up front, with Ailish Morrissey coming in for Emma Reaney.

Cork: S Murphy; M Duggan, S Kelly, S Leahy; A Healy, S Cronin, D Kiely; M O’Callaghan (capt.), A O’Mahony; E Cleary, L O’Mahony, A McDonagh; A McAuliffe, K Quirke, R Leahy.

Galway: D Gower; M Jordan, S Ní Loingsigh, K Geraghty; A Ní Cheallaigh, N Ward, C Cooney; M Glynn, A Davoren (capt.); O Divilly, L Ward, N Divilly; A Morrissey, L Coen, R Leonard.

Armagh v Kerry; Glenisk O’Connor Park, Tullamore, 7.15pm
For the first time since 2016, a county other than Dublin or Meath will win the TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship on Sunday August 4 at Croke Park.

Dublin were four-in-a-row winners from 2017-2020 inclusive; Meath won back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022, and Dublin were victorious again last year.

But with Dublin and Meath out of the race for 2024 glory, having fallen at the quarter-final stage against Galway and Kerry respectively, the remaining four teams harbouring hopes of All-Ireland Senior glory will all feel they’re in with a great chance.

Kerry are aiming to reach a third successive Final, with Armagh looking to bridge an 18-year gap.

The teams last met in Championship fare in the 2022 quarter-final, won by Kerry, and they also contested the 2024 Lidl National League Division 1 Final, won by Armagh at Croke Park.

Now, the stakes are high as both teams look to go one step further in the All-Ireland race, with Armagh’s Eve Lavery (0-11) and Kerry’s Danielle O’Leary (1-6) currently the leading scorers in the All-Ireland series for their respective counties.

In the quarter-finals, Kerry defeated Meath for the second successive year in the last eight, as Armagh emerged victorious over Mayo.

Kerry are unchanged following the Meath win, as Armagh make one change, with Kelly Mallon replacing Meabh McCambridge in attack.

Armagh: A Carr; G Ferguson, C McCambridge (capt.), R Mulligan; C Towe, L McConville, D Coleman; N Coleman, C O’Hanlon; E Druse, A McCoy, B Mackin; E Lavery, N Henderson, K Mallon.

Kerry: C Butler; E Lynch, K Cronin, C Murphy; A O’Connell, D Kearney, A Dillane; M O’Connell, A Galvin; N Carmody (capt.), D O’Leary, N Ní Chonchúir; H O’Donoghue, E Dineen, L Ní Mhuircheartaigh.