SATURDAY 11 APRIL
Connacht SFC quarter-final
London v Mayo, McGovern Park, Ruislip, 2.30pm
Leinster SFC preliminary round
Offaly v Laois, Glenisk O’Connor Park, 6.15pm
SUNDAY 12 APRIL
Ulster SFC preliminary quarter-final
Armagh v Tyrone, BOX-IT Athletic Grounds, Armagh, 4.15pm
Connacht SFC quarter-finals
Sligo v Leitrim, Markievicz Park, 3pm
New York v Roscommon, Gaelic Park, New York, 8pm
Leinster SFC preliminary round
Carlow v Wicklow, Netwatch Cullen Park, 2.30pm
Longford v Westmeath, Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, 3pm
Munster SFC quarter-finals
Cork v Limerick, SuperValu Páirc Uà Chaoimh, 2pm
Waterford v Tipperary, Cappoquin Logistics Fraher Field, 2pm
ONLINE
Follow a live blog on all matches on the RTÉ News app and on rte.ie/sport.
TV
The Sunday Game Live is back with coverage of the Armagh-Tyrone clash from 4pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, a game that is also live on BBC2 NI.
London v Mayo and New York v Roscommon available to watch on GAA+
Highlights and reaction to all the weekend’s action on The Sunday Game, RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, 9.30pm.
RADIO
Live commentaries and updates on RTÉ Radio 1’s Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport as well as Spórt an tSathairn and Spórt an Lae on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta.
WEATHER
Saturday: London should see temperatures up to 13 degrees with just the chance of a shower.
Sunday: It looks set to be another showery day with sunny spells in Ireland. It’ll be a dry, bright and crisp start to begin for many but scattered showers will soon spread from the west through the late morning and afternoon, and some will be heavy with a chance of hail and thunder again. Highest temperatures of 8 to 11 degrees in light to moderate southwesterly winds. In New York, a dull day is forecast with temperatures reaching a high of 12 degrees. For more go to met.ie.
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Provincial equilibrium
Over six weekends, the battle for dominance in each province will be played out. There’s no hanging about in this new championship window. Gone are the days when the Ulster campaign took nine weekends to sort out or when teams had a month or even a five-week wait to play their provincial final.
And so there are reasons to believe that the Nestor Cup, Anglo Celt Cup, Delaney Cup and Páidà Ó Sé Cup battles will be contested with real vigour, all before the tantalising prospect of a more cut-throat All-Ireland series, where provincial finalists will be guaranteed a home tie in Round 1. Another reason then to go at it hard for the next month or so.
In Leinster, the talk, and it was silly talk, of splitting Dublin in two is no longer relevant. The Dubs, not the marauding force they were, are now joined by an extended cast of those who believe they can scale the summit. After the league, Meath, given the abandon at which they now play the game and their prowess at kicking two-pointers, are viewed as the one that can go all the way, so ending a 16-year wait for a title.
Louth celebrate their 2025 Leinster triumph
Louth, the defending champions, found greater momentum through their Division 2 campaign, and will relish a possible semi-final crack off Dublin. As for the aforementioned, it was more down than up across the early spring and down they subsequently went to Division 2. It still would be foolhardy to write them off, with Ger Brennan’s efforts to reduce his 12-week suspension a sideshow the Boys in Blue could do without.
Kildare’s share price has taken a drop since their tumble back to Division 3 but they are still most worthy of consideration, as our Westmeath and Wexford. The Yellowbellies will have more than a few regrets that they didn’t close out the deal against Down in their recent Tier 3 decider.
Ulster never lost its competitive edge. Armagh-Tyrone gets things underway and while the pairing does now not illicit the hype and blockbuster-effect of previous clashes, it still offers enough traction, in that can Tyrone arise from their league slumber? Donegal are on the same side of the draw. A high-profile semi-final awaits.
Derry, on the opposite grid, will be targeting an Ulster final date.
Cork’s Ruairà Deane (centre) celebrates with Stephen Sherlock (left) and Brian Hurley during Cork’s win against Tyrone on 22 March
Munster is the home of the All-Ireland champions and it was a rarity to see Kerry getting a scutching from Donegal in that league decider. Jack and the lads have headed off to warmer climes, time to reset and sharpen the axe ahead of the serious business. Cork have improved from 2025 and will be keen to give the Kingdom their fill of it again, this time in a likely Munster decider.
And so to Connacht. One of Sligo or Leitrim will be looking to test themselves against five-in-a-row chasing Galway. After trips to London and New York, where the element of unknown/surprise remains, Mayo and Roscommon will look to come through unscathed, so setting up a last-four clash bearing no resemblance to their recent league meeting.
An outline then to what awaits us. Provincial combat still relevant, firmly locked in as a championship cornerstone, so leaving the traditionalists happy. Splitting counties? We want none of that!
Orchard reaping a greater harvest
A year on and Armagh and Tyrone played out an Ulster semi-final thriller, with Kieran McGeeney’s side prevailing by a point. Come the end of championship, Tyrone had gone a stage further, reaching an All-Ireland semi where they were well beaten by Kerry. Armagh had fallen to the Kingdom at the previous hurdle but judging the campaign as a whole, you would have to say the Orchard County offered more.
So far in 2026 and despite playing in different divisions, there is now the consensus that Armagh have pulled further clear of their rivals. The Red Hand failed to fire in Division 2 and going into the last round were in danger of being relegated. Five points from seven games a paltry return for a side tipped to head the standings.
Lee Keegan: Armagh look primed and ready for enigmatic Tyrone
Armagh also registered a five in the Division 1 table, however that figure could have and should have been higher. McGeeney’s men were somewhat goal-shy in early spring when clear opportunities to raise green flags presented themselves.
If recent form is an indicator, Armagh should have enough on their home patch to advance. Tyrone, however, are capable of stirring themselves and in Darragh Canavan and Eoin McElholm (below, right) have enough at the top end of the pitch to worry their opponents.
Will be that enough? It’s hard to say, with former Red Hand star Enda McGinley, commenting on the latest RTÉ GAA Podcast: “We’ve seen little evidence that Tyrone have really embraced that energy level that they need to bring.
“And is that a quality issue? Is it an energy issue? Is it a team atmosphere issue? All those question marks are there.
Enda McGinley: Many question marks hovering over Tyrone
“They have the place as a group to give a hell of an answer in the Athletic Grounds, and that’s with or without a result.”
It’s 18 years since Armagh last claimed the Anglo Celt and they’ve endured extra-time and penalty shootout heartache in their quest to end that wait in recent seasons. And while they only recently landed the biggest prize of all, capturing the provincial silverware would still mean a lot for McGeeney & Co.
London and Yonkers calling
It’s 30 years since London nearly shocked Mayo in Ruislip. John Maughan’s men given the fright of their lives, a wake-cup call that would eventually lead to an All-Ireland final appearance – and that missed chance to end that wait since ’51. Mayo are still waiting.
Andy Moran oversaw a productive league campaign, with the only point of concern arising from that trouncing by Kerry in Tralee. That said, Kobe McDonald announced himself as a breakout star and Moran introduced a number of other new faces to the inter-county scene.
McDonald, however, and Darragh Beirne will not be part of Mayo’s match-day 26 for the trip to the English capital.
London were more than competitive in Division 4, were in the promotion mix up to the final round, and will aim to still be in with a fighting chance going down the stretch on home soil.
Current Mayo boss Andy Moran in action against London’s David McGreevey, centre, and Ciaran McCallion in 2011
Roscommon can also point more to the debit side after they comfortably maintained their Division 1 status. High points were pushing Kerry all the way and the resolve shown to find renewed energy against the wind in the defeat of Donegal.
New York GAA chairperson Sean Price says their presence in the Gaelic football championship is vital to ensure continued progress on and off the field.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, he said: “Firstly, immigration has always been an issue in the United States and in New York,” he says.
“We all hear the stories of the past when the Irish were told they need not apply and when we started coming here around the time of the famine.
“It’s something that I suppose is part of our life here. We were all immigrants when we came here at one stage. So, we just get on with it. It is what it is.
A view of Gaelic Park in New York
“We have a lot going on. We have a Lory Meagher hurling team, a Tailteann Cup football team, junior and Feile teams that go home. Our junior team is composed of all American-born kids going for four in a row this year.”
‘This weekend is so crucial to us’ – New York GAA chairperson Sean Price
Looking ahead to the date with the Rossies, he added: “The weekend is simply massive. It shines a light on all of the work we are doing – and there is so much going on here. The championship game is a focal point, and because of it we are able to do so much more work.”
The other quarter-final game in Connacht sees Sligo host Leitrim. Galway await the winners. The Yeats County’s thrilling win over Clare preserved their Division 3 status while Leitrim’s final-round defeat to Carlow and a heavy one at that ended their quest to escape the bottom tier.
Sligo get the nod to progress but may not have it all their own way.
And elsewhere…
Cork have ticked an important box in ending a decade-long stay in Division 2. Next up is reaching a Munster final and progressing far in Sam Maguire. Both are attainable.
Heading straight back to Division 4 will disappoint the Limerick faithful and the hope for the rest of the year is that they can go far in the Tailteann Cup again.
Waterford welcome Tipperary in the other Munster quarter-final, where the Premier should have enough to progress.
The preliminary ties are down for decision in Leinster. Can Offaly register their first competitive win of the year against Laois?
Silverware for Carlow at Croker
Division 4 champions Carlow will look to kick on against a Wicklow side, no doubt smarting from not reaching a league final against Sunday’s opponents.
It was Longford who pipped the Garden County and now face neighbours Westmeath, another county where promotion, this time to Division 2, slipped from their grasp late on after losing to Wexford.
Laois, Carlow and Westmeath the favoured trio here.