Donegal\u2019s defeat to Roscommon<\/a> on Sunday complicates things slightly for Jim McGuinness\u2019 side. They face relegated Monaghan and if Kerry beat Armagh and Roscommon beat Mayo, they\u2019ll need to win. A draw will do if Kerry and Mayo win as they have Andy Moran\u2019s side on the head-to-head rule.<\/p>\n Defeat will be enough if Kerry lose unless the Connacht derby ends in a draw, then scoring difference will decide two from four.<\/p>\n A draw is good enough for Kerry unless Donegal draw and there\u2019s a winner in Castlebar, then scoring difference will pick two from three on 10 points.<\/p>\n A win for Mayo or Roscommon would be enough if either Donegal or Kerry lose while a draw would bring four teams onto nine in the event of the current top two losing.<\/p>\n Relegation battle<\/p>\n Monaghan are down, and if Dublin had held on <\/a>having led by 11 against Armagh, it would have been an Ulster double drop.<\/p>\n The Orchard County\u2019s comeback leaves three teams still fighting the drop. They now have the head-to-head advantage on Dublin, which could be crucial. Beat Kerry and it doesn\u2019t matter what happens elsewhere due to a strong score difference situation. A draw will be enough too if Dublin can\u2019t win.<\/p>\n If Dublin lose to Galway, they\u2019re down. Better Armagh\u2019s result and they will survive.<\/p>\n Wins for Armagh and Dublin will bring three teams onto six points and scoring difference would be at play. In that scenario, Armagh will be safe as they are guaranteed to finish above Galway.<\/p>\n Dublin would need to beat Galway by four points to send the Tribe County down, if Armagh beat Kerry.<\/p>\n Indeed, a four-point win for Dublin will guarantee their safety in any circumstance, whether on score difference or otherwise.<\/p>\n A defeat for Galway wouldn\u2019t prove fatal if Armagh fail to beat Kerry.<\/p>\n DIVISION 2<\/p>\n Derry v Cavan Promotion situation<\/p>\n Like Division 1, four teams could still book a Croke Park date, realistically a secondary reward with top-flight football in 2027 the real aim for the quartet.<\/p>\n Cork and Meath, with a two-point buffer, hold the advantage and if one, or both, avoid defeat, they\u2019re going up.<\/p>\n If both lose, and Louth and Derry win, scoring difference will come into play for the four teams.<\/p>\n There are too many possible outcomes to go through across the four games, so a reminder that in terms of the head-to-head advantages should two teams finish on level points, Cork have the nod over Meath and Louth, Meath have it over Louth and Derry, Derry have it over Cork and Louth have it over Derry.<\/p>\n On score difference, Derry (+42) are sitting pretty ahead of Meath (+23), Louth (+18) and Cork (+2).<\/p>\n In essence, for Louth, assuming they beat Kildare, they would probably need all three of their fellow contenders to lose as it’s likely they need to get into a three-way tie with just Meath and Cork given how far ahead Derry are on them in terms of scoring difference.<\/p>\n Derry sit fourth currently, but if they beat Cavan as expected, they\u2019re practically guaranteed promotion should Cork lose – no matter what happens with Louth. Theoretically, they could lose out on score difference but reality is much different.<\/p>\n Relegation battle<\/p>\n Offaly gave it a good lash against Cavan<\/a>, but they were edged out and their threadbare squad is heading back to Division 3.<\/p>\n Who will join them? Well, while it looks like it\u2019s one from Kildare or Cavan, incredibly Tyrone also head into the final day looking to avoid possible Tailteann Cup football (although that won\u2019t be decided for months) in what would be a sensational drop-off for the 2021 All-Ireland champions.<\/p>\n Malachy O\u2019Rourke\u2019s side are pretty much safe though. They\u2019d need to lose to Cork and for Kildare and Cavan to win, or for Kildare to win and Cavan to draw. Even if those results happened, they currently have a 28-point scoring advantage over both their fellow relegation contenders so scorelines would need to be pretty crazy too.<\/p>\n The more likely scenario involves the other two sides. Cavan just need to match Kildare\u2019s final day result to stay up. The Lilywhites need to win and see Cavan lose to secure Division 2 football next season.<\/p>\n DIVISION 3<\/p>\n Down v Laois Promotion situation<\/p>\n Down are the only team across all four divisions with a ticket to Croke Park booked where they\u2019ll be hoping to improve on their frankly horrendous final record since their last All-Ireland win in 1994.<\/p>\n Their last loss was a 2024 Division 3 final against Westmeath, and it\u2019ll be the same pairing again if Mark McHugh\u2019s side can win or draw in Wexford.<\/p>\n![\"Division](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/00241223-614.jpg\"\/)
\nMonaghan are relegated with a round to spare<\/p>\n
\nKildare v Louth
\nOffaly v Meath
\nTyrone v Cork<\/p>\n![\"Division](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/00241225-614.jpg\"\/)
\nTyrone are not out of the woods yet<\/p>\n
\nLimerick v Fermanagh
\nSligo v Clare
\nWexford v Westmeath<\/p>\n
![\"Division](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/00241226-614.jpg\"\/)
![\"Division](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/00241224-614.jpg\"\/)