Previews: This weekend’s LGFA games

By Jackie Cahill

THE 2026 TG4 Leinster and Munster Senior finalists will be confirmed on Sunday.

As the round-robin phase in each province concludes, it’ll be two from three in Leinster, with all four Munster participants still in with a chance of making the final.

In Ulster on Sunday, there’s a pre Ulster final dress rehearsal between Tyrone and Armagh, who’ll also meet in the provincial decider on Sunday May 24.

The weekend action begins on Saturday with fixtures in the TG4 Leinster and Ulster Junior Championships, the Munster Senior B Championship, and the All-Ireland U20 series.

Sunday’s live action is the clash between Dublin and Meath at Parnell Park, which is available to view via Leinster LGFA at: https://bit.ly/4uBoscP

Saturday May 9

TG4 Leinster Junior Championship

Kilkenny v Longford; James Stephens GAA, 2pm

Longford head to Kilkenny in search of a victory that would keep alive their hopes of making the final.

Having lost to Carlow before drawing with Offaly, Longford need a maximum return on their trip to James Stephens GAA.

They’ll also have one eye on the game between Carlow and Offaly, as score difference may come into play to determine who joins Carlow in the final.

KILKENNY: E Moran; C Brennan, R Doherty, E Dunphy; D Tervit-Kruger, E Royce Brennan, K Hennessy; A Ryan, S Smith; C Moore, B Lomax (capt.), K Grace; M O’Reilly, C Tennyson, M Ryan.

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

Carlow v Offaly; SETU Carlow, 2pm

Carlow are already safely through to the Leinster final and will conclude their group campaign at home to Offaly.

With victories secured against Longford and Kilkenny, the Lidl NFL Division 4 winners have more silverware in their sights.

Offaly make the trip knowing that if they avoid defeat, they’ll join the hosts in the Leinster final.

Even a loss might still be good enough, as their current score difference (+36) is better than Longford (-8).

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.

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.

Munster Senior B

Clare v Cork; Miltown Malbay GAA, 3.30pm

The race for Munster Senior B final places continues as Clare host Cork.

This is the battle between the current top two, with both teams on a maximum six points after playing two games each.

CLARE: R Sexton; H Doyle, R Doohan, A Kelly; L Cleary, J Doohan (capt.), L Power; T Collins, A Slattery; L Kelly, A Sexton, S Melican; E O’Driscoll, C Moloney, L Conway.

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

Kerry v Tipperary; Cordal, 2pm

With the top two in action, Kerry and Tipperary have the chance to make up some ground.

Tipperary are on three points in the standings, level with Limerick and three points clear of Kerry, who are chasing their first points of the campaign.

KERRY: A Looney; C Burke, A Relihan, C Murray; G Murphy, S O’Donovan, S Harkin; H Nic Gearailt, R Kenny; A Dennehy, A McCarthy, K McGlashan (capt.); B O’Neill, E McGlynn, O McKenna.

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

TG4 Ulster Junior Championship

Derry v London; Derry Centre of Excellence, Owenbeg, 1pm

A straight shoot-out between Derry and London for the right to play Antrim in the final.

Both sides have lost out to the Saffrons in the round-robin phase of the competition.

DERRY: T Cassidy; C Dillon, L Brewster, S Hargan; A Donnelly, B Donnelly, S Heron; S Duggan, C Donnelly; J Shivers, C Moore, N Hannon; R Doherty, A Ni Lochlainn, J Slevin.

LONDON: M O’Donnell; K Boyle, P Gallagher, K Allenby; C Cottrell, N Crowley (capt.), S Killen; C Finnerty, E Mohan; E Douglas, M Woods, S Munnelly; L Staunton, E Higgins, E Bartley.

All-Ireland U20 Championship

Cork v Dublin; Cloughduv, 2pm

Dublin opened their campaign with an impressive victory over Mayo in Round 1.

The Sky Blues are now preparing for a trip to Cork, who are getting ready for their first outing in the competition.

CORK: A Toye; O Drummey, K Goulding, A Cooper; M McRae, L Carey, A McKeogh; S Cunningham, M Collins; A Buckley, B Smith (capt.), C Ní Thúama; C Horgan, C Fitzgerald, H Sheehy.

DUBLIN: S Nic Fhinn; C Sone Lenou, A Pollock, A Healy; E O’Dell, E Carey, R Gaughran; H Murphy (capt.), Á McCauley; E Farrelly, K O’Toole, S Peyton; A Timothy, E Fogarty, D Murray.

Mayo v Galway; Fr. O’Hara Park, Charlestown, 2pm

A Connacht derby pits Mayo against Galway.

Mayo suffered a heavy defeat to Dublin in Round 1, as Galway got the better of Meath.

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

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.

Sunday May 10

TG4 Leinster Senior Championship

Dublin v Meath; Parnell Park, 2pm – LIVE STREAM

It’s delicately poised in the TG4 Leinster Senior Championship ahead of this final game in the round-robin phase.

Holders Dublin will qualify for another final if they can secure a second win following last weekend’s triumph over Kildare.

Dublin’s final opponents, should they overcome the Royals on Sunday, will be Kildare.

A win for Meath, however, would leave all three teams in the competition level on three points in the standings.

In that case, score difference will come into play, with Dublin on +6, Kildare on -2 and Meath on -4.

Dublin have named an unchanged starting line-up for this, while there are two changes in personnel to the Meath team that lost out to Kildare, with Amy Gaffney replacing Mary Kate Lynch in defence, as Emma Duggan comes in for Ciara Smyth up front.

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

MEATH: R Murray; K Kealy, Á Sheridan, A Gaffney; O Sheehy, O Gore, K Bermingham; S Murphy, N Gallogly (capt.); M Farrelly, E Duggan, M Thynne; M Byrne, L Woods, R Casserly.

TG4 Munster Senior Championship

Waterford v Tipperary; Cappoquin Logistics Fraher Field, Dungarvan, 11.45am

All four teams in the TG4 Munster Senior Championship begin their final games in the round-robin stage in with a chance of making the final.

Waterford currently lead the standings on six points and with victories over Kerry and Cork under their belts.

Tipperary defeated Cork in Round 1 before losing out to Kerry last time out.

The visitors are unchanged for this one, as hosts Waterford make one change to the team that overcame Cork, with Alana McGrath coming in for Clare Walsh.

Waterford just need to avoid defeat to make it through to a second successive final.

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.

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.

Kerry v Cork; Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney, 11.45am

Old rivals Kerry and Cork lock horns in Killarney on Sunday morning, a fixture that precedes the Munster men’s senior football final between the counties.

Cork are the only team without a point in the round-robin phase but they could still qualify for the final if they beat Kerry and Tipp lose to Waterford.

That would leave a situation where three teams would be level on three points – Kerry, Tipperary and Cork.

Score difference would then come into play, with Kerry and Tipperary currently on 0, while Cork are on -13.

A Kerry win would eliminate Cork and the Kingdom would then hope for Waterford to get the better of Tipperary.

If Kerry and Tipperary both win, that would leave another scenario where three teams are level on three points each, namely Waterford, Kerry and Tipperary.

Score difference will come into play then to determine the two finalists, with Waterford starting the day on +13.

Kerry are unchanged as they look to build on their victory over Tipperary last time out, while Cork make two changes to the side that lost to Waterford, with Grace Murphy and Rachel O’Regan replacing Siobhan Callanan and Leah Hallihan.

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

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, Á O’Sullivan.

TG4 Ulster Senior Championship

Tyrone v Armagh; O’Neills Healy Park, Omagh, 2pm

Tyrone and Armagh will have a look at each other ahead of an Ulster final clash.

With both sides through to the final, Armagh have made two changes to the side that beat Donegal to progress, with skipper Lauren McConville and Kelly Mallon replacing Blaithín Mackin and Maeve Lennon.

Tyrone’s victory over Donegal has afforded the 2025 TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate champions the opportunity to run the rule over their squad ahead of the provincial decider.

There are seven changes to the team that started against Donegal, with Ciara Coltan, Katie Rose Muldoon, Joanne Barrett, Elle McNamee, Emma Conroy, Maeve Maxwell and Cara McNamee coming in for starts.

Dropping out are Jayne Lyons (Hearty), Eimear Quinn, Claire Canavan, Meabh Corrigan, Slaine McCarroll, Chloe McCaffrey, who was hat-trick goalscoring star against Donegal, and Sorcha Gormley.

TYRONE: L Kane; C Coltan, J Barrett, G McKenna; K.R. Muldoon, C Campbell, E McCanny; M Mallon, A McHugh (capt.); E McNamee, A Horisk, E Conroy; N O’Neill, M Maxwell, C McNamee.

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