SATURDAY 18 APRIL
Ulster SFC quarter-final
Derry v Antrim, Find Insurance Celtic Park, 5pm
SUNDAY 19 APRIL
Leinster SFC quarter-finals
Meath v Westmeath, Glenisk O’Connor Park, 2pm
Louth v Wexford, Netwatch Cullen Park, 2.30pm
Wicklow Dublin, Echelon Park Aughrim, 3pm
Kildare v Laois, Cedral St Conleth’s Park, 3.45pm
Ulster SFC quarter-final
Monaghan v Cavan, Clones, 3pm
ONLINE
Follow a live blog on all matches on the RTÉ News app and on rte.ie/sport.
TV
Derry v Antrim and Monaghan v Cavan are both live on BBC2 NI.
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: Sunshine and well scattered showers, becoming isolated later. Highest temperatures of 9 to 12 degrees in light or moderate westerly breezes.
Sunday: A mix of cloud and sunny spells with a few stray showers. Highest temperatures of 10 to 13 degrees in mostly light breezes. For more go to met.ie.
That was the league, it was a while back
One week down and a disgruntled Tyrone fan messaged RTÉ Radio’s Inside Sport outlining his frustration at the six-week delay before the Red Hand commence their Sam Maguire campaign. But that is the way of things, my friend, the lie of the land now, and it’s not as if the provincial championships are being drawn out.
Far from it.
Early casualties have ample time to dust themselves down, with a four-week gap for the eight counties who exited the provincial scene last weekend to prepare for their opening Tailteann Cup assignments.
The Tyrone supporter in question will also be feeling sore at how close the side came to causing a surprise against Armagh. Who would have thought ‘surprise’ would have entered the lexicon in discussing a clash involving these Ulster counties?
Tyrone’s share price during the league took a dip and while Armagh’s rating, albeit in a higher division fluctuated at times, the smart money was still on Kieran McGeeney’s men to progress with a bit of spare. That wasn’t the case.
What played out a month or two before had little or no bearing on what eventually transpired at the BOX-IT Athletic Grounds. Armagh’s greater squad depth and a bit more savvy got the over the line in extra-time. Tyrone, though, can look forward to their next day out with a bit more hope than would have been case given their finish in Division 2.
Karl Gallagher (c) and his Monaghan colleagues will be hoping for a championship uplift
League form was also not an indicator of future performance as Leitrim, in spite of their one-point winning margin, deservedly got the better of Sligo at Markievicz Park.
As for Carlow and Longford, both promoted from Division 4, they came crashing down to earth against Wicklow and Westmeath respectively. The nature of Carlow’s loss was the most surprising.
This weekend sees six fixtures across three provinces. Will league form be turned on its head? Monaghan are still seeking a first competitive win of the year. They’ll fancy a crack off neighbours Cavan on home soil.
Can Kildare, in spite of the safety net of a guaranteed Sam Maguire spot, be freed up sufficiently to cut loose against Laois? But the O’Moore County will have their eye on a ‘mild’ surprise. Just two encounters that could also render what has gone before, redundant.
Ulster’s handier side
While Armagh-Tyrone took a while to simmer, the quarter-final clashes of Derry-Antrim and Monaghan-Cavan, on paper, don’t suggest that things may reach boiling point at Celtic Park or in Clones. If the excitement does ratchet up it is more likely the neighbours at St Tiernach’s Park will be having us on the edge of our seats.
One of the quartet here will contest the provincial decider. The likelihood is that Derry will make it that far. An opportunity then to add to the titles won in 2022 and ’23. The county were on the rise. Ciarán Meenagh took over from Rory Gallagher in advance of the ’23 final, a year that ended with a narrow loss to Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final. Meenagh then opted not to continue on as coach.
Ciarán Meenagh is eyeing a second Ulster crown under his watch as Derry boss
In came Mickey Harte. Collective heads were scratched at that appointment. Didn’t see that one coming.
That said, Easter 2024 saw Derry crowned Division 1 champions. Pundits, even in advance of that success, were talking them up as genuine Sam Maguire contenders. It wasn’t idle chat, no headline-grabbing. Performances on the pitch suggested such a standing on a high perch. Then came the visit of Donegal in Ulster and the concession of three goals that mirrored the parting of the Red Sea.
A shock to the system alright for Harte and Co. Their season in tatters. Harte would walk away.
Paddy Tally’s arrival as conductor ahead of the 2025 season did not get the requisite tune out of a talented crop. No competitive wins across the year.
Louth goalkeeper Niall McDonnell trying to force his way past Derry’s Lachlan Murray
Meenagh was called on again. He answered the call. Derry’s fortunes have improved, back to that version that cut a swathe in ’22 and ’23. A return to Division 1 looked on track until they came a cropper away to Louth. In the grand scheme of things, not a damaging reverse. There are few summits for the likes of Conor Glass, Brendan Rogers, Ethan Doherty, Shane McGuigan and Lachlan Murray to scale in the months ahead.
Antrim were one of the favourites to escape from Division 4. Losing their opening three games ended that quest but they finished the campaign strongly and were one of the form teams across the entire league thereafter. Much focus will be on Pat Shivers and Dominic McEnhill as they aim to keep things competitive for as long as they can on Foyleside.
The late Paddy Kavanagh would no doubt have written a few sorrowful words after Monaghan’s relegation to Division 2.
For many years, The Oriel County have arguably been the poster boys for all those counties who aspire to be greater than the sum of their parts. However, their comparatively small pool of playing talent has suffered major personnel issues this season, with results reflecting a difficult predicament for their manager Gabriel Bannigan (below).
“The reality is Division 1 was too high a step up for us, considering 20 players who played for us last year in Division 2 last year we didn’t have for most of this league campaign,” Bannigan told RTÉ Sport after their loss to Galway on 15 March
“Some won’t be coming back. There are a couple of boys who went travelling, we’ve had three retirements, and a few left the panel.
“We’ve been missing 10, 11, or 12 of our top 20 for most of the league games. You just can’t manage on that in Division 1.”
So 16 players got their debuts across the league. A period of transition alright.
Cavan full-forward Patrick Lynch
As for Cavan, they survived in Division 2 by the skin of their teeth. In the end the home win against Kildare tipped things in their favour.
Monaghan’s form so far would suggest that if they had operated in the second tier, they would have found life difficult there. Little to choose then between the neighbours? Probably.
Eastern promise is well justified
There’s a different look to the battle for Leinster supremacy now. It’s competitive again. It’s reborn.
Dublin, obviously not the dominant force they once were but are still to be feared.
Mickey Harte’s time as Louth boss brought about a revival in their fortunes. Ger Brennan and now Gavin Devlin have continued a trajectory that is going one way. The Wee County are the defending champions and have designs on a back-to-back.
Louth player Conall McCaul and manager Gavin Devlin
Kildare, in spite of their return to Division 3, can’t be discounted and know that they’ll be heading for the All-Ireland series in any event.
Meath have cut a dash alright in the last 12 months. Quite a jump in their stock since Robbie Brennan took over. A county with serious designs on landing more silverware, this after recently lifting the Division 2 title. Ending a 16-year wait since the Delaney Cup last resided in the Royal County is the obvious next target.
Westmeath, who let promotion slip to tier 2 late on against Wexford, recovered to easily account for Longford. They scored 5-25, and all but two points came from play. Good shooting practice then in preparation for the date with Meath, who also can score heavily and have in their ranks able exponents in kicking two-pointers.
On the side same of the draw are Kildare and Laois. The latter’s form was mixed in Division 3 but they warmed up for their St Conleth’s Park assignment with a relatively comfortable win over Offaly. The formguide would suggest the Lilies should bloom enough to eke out a victory.
Holders Louth and Wexford head to Netwatch Cullen Park. It’s three weeks since John Hegarty’s side came so close to landing a spot in Division 2 next year and with it a place in the upcoming race for Sam.
But if the Tailteann Cup is ultimately their lot, they’ll give that a good shoot.
The Wee County are now used to big days in the sun and will hope for a few more before this year is out.
Dublin, with their manager currently suspended and now seeking a higher authority to reduce or overturn that 12-week ban, are off to Aughrim again.
Padraig O’Toole finding the net for the Garden County against Carlow
Wicklow are another one of those counties who had a near-miss on the final day of the league. A substantial lead against Longford was wiped out late on and so went promotion to Division 3.
Their championship opener saw them brush Carlow aside and now they’ll fancy making life tricky for a Dubs outfit that did show some moments of promise during the league.
Obviously not enough to keep them in the top flight and how they perform in a province where others have sights on the main prize will be of much interest.
Listen to the RTÉ GAA Podcast on the RTÉ Radio Player, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.