This week’s LGFA games at a glance

By Jackie Cahill

THE first pieces of provincial silverware for 2026 will be handed out on Sunday – as old rivals Galway and Mayo clash in the TG4 Connacht Senior final.

The Intermediate decider between Leitrim and Roscommon (1pm) precedes the senior clash (3pm) and the two games will form a double-header at Heartland Credit Union Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada, Carrick on Shannon.

Elsewhere over the weekend, there’s also key action in the TG4 Leinster, Munster and Ulster Championships.

The 2026 TG4 Leinster Intermediate finalists will also be determined, while Down and Monaghan will battle it out for the right to play Cavan in the TG4 Ulster Intermediate final.

There’s also Munster Senior B action to come, along with action in the TG4 Leinster and Ulster Junior Championships, and first round games in the All-Ireland U20 Championship.

Donegal’s Karen Guthrie: Both sides of the line

Saturday May 2

All-Ireland U20 Championship – Round 1

Dublin v Mayo; TUD Blanchardstown, 2pm

Five counties have committed to playing in the 2020 All-Ireland U20 Championship.

Dublin and Mayo are two of the five, and they meet in an opening round fixture at TUD Blanchardstown on Saturday.

Each team will play two home and away matches, with the top ranking side emerging to play the Ulster champions in the All-Ireland Final on Saturday July 11.

DUBLIN: S Nic Fhinn; C Sone Lenou, A Pollock, A Healy; E O’Dell, C Sheedy, L Ryan; H Murphy (capt.), Á McCauley; A O’Neill, K O’Toole, S Peyton; L Ahern, E Fogarty, D Murray.

MAYO: R Dyar; E Carney, J Commons, C Palasz; A Cummins, A McDonnell, A-M. Regan; S McNulty (capt.), L McHugh; L Cassidy, S Carney, H Sheehy; M Callinan, H Murrihy, N McLoughlin.

Galway v Meath; Tuam Stadium, 2pm

In the other Round 1 All-Ireland U20 Championship fixture to be played on Saturday, Galway entertain Meath at Tuam Stadium.

The All-Ireland U20 Championship is being run on a pilot basis in 2026.

GALWAY: E Ryan; L Seoighe, C McCabe, E Jordan; R Quinn, J Ross, S Coleman; K Banek (capt.), S Murray; A Murray, S Banks, K Slattery; I Murray, A O’Malley, R Noone.

MEATH: J O’Neill; B Kelly, A Gardiner, J Collins; C Flaherty, K Butvilaite, M Fahy; A Moyles, I Thorp (capt.); S Fox, O Reilly, N McDermott; N McGuinness, C Smith, A Akinboboye.

TG4 Leinster Junior Championship

Offaly v Longford; Daingean GAA, 2pm

Offaly enjoyed a big one over Kilkenny in Round 1, as Longford were beaten by Carlow.

Longford will aim to bounce back with a positive result in this one, while victory for Offaly would seal a place in the final.

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

LONGFORD: A Cooney; A Scanlon, L Keegan, E Doris; S Dawson, E Bleakley, E Farrell; S Gallagher (capt.), S Hagan; A Nolan, L Maguire, H Burke; K Crawford, K Burke, A Darcy.

Carlow v Kilkenny; SETU Carlow, 2pm

Carlow are aiming to land the TG4 Leinster Junior crown for the first time since 2023.

They got off to a good start with victory over Longford last weekend and another final place awaits them if they can get the better of Kilkenny.

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; M Townsand, S Doyle, A Kiernan.

KILKENNY: J Flynn; R Butler, R Doherty, E Dunphy; D Tervit-Kruger, E Royce Brennan, E Lavelle; N Godden, S Smith; A Ryan, B Lomax (capt.), E Moran; M O’Reilly, C Tennyson, M Ryan.

TG4 Leinster Intermediate Championship – semi-finals

Louth v Wexford; Integral GAA Grounds, Drogheda, 2pm

Wexford enjoyed a good win against Wicklow in a preliminary round clash.

The prize for the Model County is a semi-final clash with Louth, last year’s TG4 Leinster and All-Ireland Junior winners.

It’s already been a very good year for Louth, who gained promotion to Division 2 of the Lidl National League, and they’ll be confident going into this one.

But Wexford’s performance against Wicklow was impressive and was a big confidence boost after suffering relegation from Division 2 of the Lidl NFL.

LOUTH: R Lambe Fagan; S Matthews, R Beirth, 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.

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

Westmeath v Laois; TEG Cusack Park, Mullingar, 3.30pm

A repeat of last year’s final pits holders Westmeath against Laois.

The Lake County ran out six-point winners in the 2025 decider and now the sides meet for a place in the 2026 showpiece.

WESTMEATH: A Temple; L McCartan, L Power, F Coyle (capt.); P Ruane, A Ruane, C Kelly Gonoud; A Jones, V Carr; C Kilmurray, L McCartan, T Dillon; K Kilmurray, S Dillon, R Higgins.

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

Munster Senior B

Cork v Tipperary, Carrigaline, 2pm

A big game for both sides in the quest for a final slot.

Both counties won their first games in the competition and will look to keep pace with table-toppers Clare.

CORK: E O’Sullivan; N Kennedy, E Cooney (capt.), E Tarrant; A O’Sullivan, M Beausang, K O’Donovan; A McDonagh, R Murphy; S Beausang, N Sheehan, A McTaggart; S Pattwell, H Quirke, C Doyle.

TIPPERARY: D Morrissey; E Franklin, L McGrath, M Cronin; A Campion, C O’Connor, H Cleere; A O’Dwyer, S O’Carroll; H Brennan, N O’Donovan, I Carr; L Heffernan, É Hogan, R Daly (capt.).

Kerry v Limerick, Cordal, 2pm

Kerry and Limerick will look to get off the mark in the Munster Senior B competition.

With two games each played, the Kingdom and the Shannonsiders have yet to register a point between them.

KERRY: R White; C Burke, A Relihan, C Murray; S Harkin, O O’Brien, S O’Donovan; H Nic Gearailt, O McKenna; K McGlashan (capt.), L O’Connor, S Lucey; O Clifford, E McGlynn, E Rudden.

LIMERICK: S Hennessy; S Hickey, A Russell, R Fitzgibbon; E Crowe, M MacNamara, C Real; O Ryan, E Hickey; C McNamara, L O’Brien, O McCarthy; L Brown, T Geoghegan, M Creedon.

TG4 Ulster Junior Championship

Antrim v London; Tír na nÓg, Randalstown, 2pm

Holders Antrim can book a slot in the TG4 Ulster Junior Championship final if they get the better of London.

An opening round victory over Derry has left the Saffrons in a commanding position ahead of this home outing.

ANTRIM: H McGahey; E Kearns, M Blaney, A Mulholland; A Kelly, C Brown, D Coleman; O Dahunsi, L McNicholl; A McDonnell, M O’Neill, T Mellon; C Taggart, B Devlin (capt.), C Maguire.

LONDON: E Driscoll-Mooney; M McCarthy, A Durham, K Allenby; C Cottrell, N Crowley (capt.), S Killen; C Finnerty, E Mohan; E Douglas, M Woods, S Munnelly; M Jones, E Mulhern, E Bartley.

Sunday May 3

TG4 Connacht Intermediate Championship – FINAL – Live Stream .

Leitrim v Roscommon; Heartland Credit Union Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada, Carrick on Shannon, 1pm

The TG4 Connacht Intermediate final returns with the meeting of Leitrim and Roscommon.

Leitrim were a senior outfit last year but have dropped back to the Intermediate ranks.

They’ll aim to retain the title won against Roscommon in the 2024 decider.

LEITRIM: M Gallagher; J Maye, C Tyrrell, N Morahan; D Beirne, L Devaney, S Reynolds; N Tighe, A Devaney; A Gilmartin, L Fox, V Egan; K Gormley, M Devaney, L O’Dowd.

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

TG4 Connacht Senior Championship – FINAL – Live on Spórt TG4 YouTube

Galway v Mayo; Heartland Credit Union Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada, Carrick on Shannon, 3pm

Galway will aim for a third successive TG4 Connacht Senior title when they tackle old rivals Mayo on Sunday.

The green and red will look to cause what would be an upset as they chase a first provincial crown since 2023.

Nine points separated the sides when they met in last year’s final and Mayo, who operated in Division 2 of the Lidl National League this year, will hope to close that gap.

Galway’s last competitive outing was a Lidl NFL Division 1 final loss to Cork in Limerick and they’ll want to rinse that defeat from their systems.

Louise Ward returns to the starting line-up for the Tribeswomen, and is listed to play at full-back.

Chellene Trill also comes into the starting line-up at left-half-back, with Sarah Ní Loingsigh and Ríona Quinn dropping to the bench in a defensive reshuffle.

Mayo’s last game was a good victory against Monaghan in Round 7 of the Lidl NFL, when they racked up 2-14 in an eleven-point win.

Former skipper and TG4 All Star Danielle Caldwell was injured in that game and is ruled out for this one.

GALWAY: L O’Halloran; B Quinn, L Ward, K Geraghty (capt.); H Noone, N Ward, C Trill; N Divilly, S Divilly; O Divilly, K Slevin, L Noone; E Noone, L Coen, A Trill.

MAYO: L Brennan; L Wallace, S El Massry, M Delaney; E Brennan (capt.), L Hanley, K Brennan; A Geraghty, H Reape; S Tuohy, F McHale, A Staunton; L Cafferky, S Walsh, S Cafferky.

TG4 Leinster Senior Championship – Live Stream

Dublin v Kildare; Parnell Park, 2pm

Just two points separated the sides when they met in Division 1 of the Lidl National League.

Dublin won that encounter but Kildare are riding high on confidence after securing a Round 1 victory over Meath last weekend.

For Dublin, this is their first competitive fixture since victory over champions Cork in the final round of League fixtures.

That wasn’t enough for the Sky Blues to stay afloat in the top flight but they’ll hope for better fortunes in the quest to retain their provincial and All-Ireland titles.

Dublin’s bid for a 13th successive Leinster title begins against Kildare and there are two changes in personnel from the Cork game.

In defence, there are starts for Catarina Almeida and Sophie McIntyre, as they replace Ellen Gribben and Niamh Donlon.

Kildare are unchanged as they chase another victory and a place in the final.

DUBLIN: A Shiels; N Crowley, H Leahy, C Almeida; S McIntyre, R Hartnett, H McGinnis; N Hetherton, O Nolan; A Timothy, C Rowe (capt.), K Donaghy; M Davoren, L Grendon, J Egan.

KILDARE: R Fennin; A Mernagh, E Wheeler, L Shaw; H McLoughlin, R Sargent, L Lenehan (capt.); A Irhue, G Wheeler; L Curran, C Wheeler, M Aspel; A Rattigan, M Doyle, A Prizeman.

TG4 Munster Senior Championship

Cork v Waterford; Páirc Uí Rinn, 2pm

Opening round results have blown the race for TG4 Munster senior glory wide open.

Lidl NFL Division 1 champions Cork lost out to Tipperary in their Round 1 clash and need a big response at home to Waterford.

The visiting Déise got the better of holders Kerry to open their Munster campaign in style and this is a pivotal fixture in the four-team round-robin phase.

Cork have made one change, with Máire O’Callaghan coming for Ciara Hughes, while Waterford are going with an unchanged team as they look to make it two from two.

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

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

Tipperary v Kerry; Clonmel Sportsfield, 2pm

Tipperary’s Round 1 victory over Cork was an eye-catching result.

The Rebels were expected to win comfortably following their Lidl NFL Division 1 title win but Tipp pulled off a memorable win.

The Premier County now welcome Kerry to Clonmel on Sunday for another huge encounter.

Chasing a second successive victory in Munster, Tipp have named an unchanged starting line-up.

Visitors Kerry, the Munster champions, were stunned by Waterford last weekend and need a big response.

There’s one change for Kerry as they prepare for the trip to Tipp, with Danielle O’Leary coming in for Rachel Dwyer at left corner forward.

TIPPERARY: L Fitzpatrick; T Hoare, M Curley, E Cronin; K Cashman, Nora Martin, S English; L Morrissey, Niamh Martin; C English, L Cunningham, H Spillane; K Crotty Ryan, A Carey, E Morrissey.

KERRY: C Butler; R Rahilly, D Kearney, E Lynch; A O’Connell, E Costello, A Dillane; A Galvin, M O’Connell; K Enright, N Ni Chonchúir, C Evans; L McMahon, S O’Shea (capt.), D O’Leary.

TG4 Ulster Senior Championship

Donegal v Tyrone; Lifford, 3pm

Donegal were competitive against Armagh last weekend, losing out by just three points to the Ulster champions.

As Donegal aim to bounce back against Tyrone, manager James Daly has made two changes to his starting line-up, with Bláthnáid McLaughlin and Eva Gallagher replacing Ava Caulfield and Jodie McFadden in attack.

Tyrone haven’t played since defeating Tipperary in the final round of games in Division 2 of the Lidl National League.

There are five changes to the team that put 5-10 past the Premier County on that occasion, a tally not to be sniffed at when you consider that Tipperary beat Cork in Munster last weekend.

Grainne McKenna, Slaine McCarroll, Chloe McCaffrey, Emer McCanny and Niamh O’Neill all come into the starting line-up, with Ciara Colton, Aoife Quinn, Maeve Maxwell, Joanne Barrett and Cara McNamee listed among the subs.

DONEGAL: C Friel; N Carr, E McGinley, S McFeely; T Hegarty, F McManamon, S McFadden; U Boyle, R Rodgers (capt.); B McLaughlin, K Dowds, N Boyle; S White, E Gallagher, C McGarvey.

TYRONE: L Kane; J Hearty, G McKenna, E Quinn; C Canavan, M Corrigan, C Campbell; M Mallon, A McHugh (capt.); S McCarroll, C McCaffrey, E McCanny; N O’Neill, S Gormley, A Horisk.

TG4 Ulster Intermediate Championship – semi-final

Monaghan v Down; Éire Óg Smithboro, 1pm

Holders Cavan defeated Down in midweek to book their place in the TG4 Ulster Intermediate final.

They now await the winners of Sunday’s semi-final between Down, runners-up last year, and Monaghan.

Monaghan were semi-finalists last year, losing out to Cavan by four points.

MONAGHAN: O Kelly; A Loughman, A McQuaid, K Nolan; M Monaghan, R Courtney (capt.), A Garland; M Atkinson, N Flanagan; C Treanor, C Courtney, A Mc Cormack; C McBride, L Maguire, E Sherry.

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

Ends