All to play for in Leinster<\/p>\n
Are we about to see a big change in Leinster?<\/p>\n
There’s excitement brewing in the eastern province that maybe Kilkenny won’t be lifting the Bob O’Keeffe Cup next month.<\/p>\n
It’s not a slight on the Cats, of course, but the neutral wants to see something different play out.<\/p>\n
Now, that said, if Kilkenny win both of their remaining games, they’ll be back into the decider, and if they make it that far, would you back against them?<\/p>\n
That starts with Kildare’s visit to UPMC Nowlan Park on Saturday; the defending champions unbackable favourites against the side currently looking like they’ll be relegated.<\/p>\n
This is a first ever championship meeting between Kilkenny and Kildare.<\/p>\n
![\"25](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0022ad3e-614.jpg\"\/)
\nDublin and Galway are aiming to break Kilkenny’s hold in Leinster<\/p>\n
The two teams who have notions of taking Kilkenny’s place on the steps of the Hogan Stand next month are set to meet in Salthill in the opening game of the weekend in Leinster.<\/p>\n
Galway looked impressive in dismantling Kilkenny on day one, and they followed it up a straightforward victory over an Offaly side who’ve held the Cats and the Dubs. At this stage, with full points from their three games, the Tribesmen are many people’s favourites for the provincial title.<\/p>\n
Dublin were in that position before the start of the championship as they followed up a trip to the All-Ireland semi-finals last year with league promotion.<\/p>\n
It was nearly over before it began as they stole a draw on the opening day against the Faithful, but they’ve looked secure in seeing off Kildare and Wexford in the games since.<\/p>\n
For all the talk of progress in the capital, this feels like a big one for Niall \u00d3 Ceallach\u00e1in and his troops. The Dubs have only one win in their last four meetings with Galway, but that did come at Pearse Stadium two years ago.<\/p>\n
It’s noteworthy that current manager with the Tribesmen, Miche\u00e1l Donoghue, was in charge of the Metropolitans at the time.<\/p>\n
![\"17](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/00245bd4-614.jpg\"\/)
\nWexford and Offaly will aim to keep their top-three hopes alive<\/p>\n
On the week that the BBC announced that Big Break is to return to our screens, an Offaly v Wexford hurling match has something riding on it again – 1990s nostalgia is in full swing.<\/p>\n
The Faithful have made Tullamore a fortress in the championship, so far, with two All-Ireland semi-finalists from 2025 being held by Johnny Kelly’s men. A win against the Yellowbellies and there’s a great chance for Offaly to finish in the top three in the competition, which would secure them a shot at the Liam MacCarthy Cup.<\/p>\n
The difference this week is that they have to deal with the pressure of the favourites’ tag, although the nature of their draw with Kilkenny on Sunday will be a great fillip.<\/p>\n
Wexford will like coming in as underdogs considering their record in the Leinster round-robin since its introduction. If Kilkenny overcome Kildare, then they’re safe from relegation.<\/p>\n
If they could beat Offaly, which they would feel confident they can do despite their current form, then qualification for the All-Ireland Championships would be within their grasp. The Yellowbellies have only lost once to the Midlanders since 2000, with seven championship wins in that time.<\/p>\n
![\"leinster](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0024589d-614.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Waterford’s summer swansong to be heard in May once more<\/p>\n
The action in the Munster Championship is spread across two days with All-Ireland holders Tipperary under the cosh as they prepare to welcome 2024 Liam MacCarthy champions Clare to Thurles.<\/p>\n
Both have a chance of reaching the provincial decider where they’ll almost certainly face Cork, barring a string of unusual results. That is to say, there’s one Munster final place up for grabs, with three counties realistically fighting for it.<\/p>\n
There’s not been much between the Banner and the Premier in recent years with two wins each in their last four meetings. It’s possibly noteworthy that Clare’s wins came in Thurles, while Tipp’s came in Ennis.<\/p>\n
With Clare on two points, a defeat would be less damaging for them than it would be for the hosts, who only have one point from their two games.<\/p>\n
![\"10](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/00245bdc-614.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
It’s a bit different for Waterford on Sunday, who have to win, and hope for other results to go their way. Even with a win, three points is unlikely to be enough for them to secure a top three finish.<\/p>\n
The D\u00e9ise haven’t come out on top against Limerick since 2011, losing nine games in the interim, including the 2020 All-Ireland final, and the All-Ireland semi the following year.<\/p>\n
Limerick, after one of the biggest shocks in hurling in their defeat to Dublin in last year’s All-Ireland quarter-final, had won six games on the spin in 2026, after losing their opener to Waterford, en route to league glory.<\/p>\n
Munster started with a defeat to Cork in the round-robin but they put it behind them by beating Clare impressively two weekends ago.<\/p>\n
They have a good scoring difference already and they’ll be eyeing running up a decent total on Sunday before potentially ending defending All-Ireland champions’ Tipperary’s summer on Sunday week.<\/p>\n
![\"Munster](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/00245bc9-614.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Joe McDonagh Cup final spot withing Carlow’s grasp<\/p>\n
Carlow are to set to welcome London to Netwatch Cullen Park as they look to continue their 100% record in the competition.<\/p>\n
With nearest rivals Laois and Down set to meet, a win for the Barrowsiders would guarantee their spot in the final in Croke Park in early June. A draw might even do them, depending on how results go elsewhere.<\/p>\n
The Exiles have lost all three games so far, with a scoring difference of minus 20. Defeat for them and their stay in the Joe McDonagh will have lasted one season, so they’re fighting to take it to the last day.<\/p>\n
The clash of Laois and Down nearly has a semi-final feel to it, with the winner in pole position to reach the final. That said, we could end up with three teams on six points at the end of next week’s fixtures, so there’s plenty to play for.<\/p>\n
A draw between the two counties would keep them in the hunt for a place in the final, and guarantee both of them that Antrim and Westmeath, who will lock horns at Corrigan Park, can’t catch them.<\/p>\n
Whoever wins in Belfast has an outside chance of reaching the final.<\/p>\n
Westmeath and Antrim have both beaten London already, so they might both be safe before throw-in, if the Exiles lose out to Carlow.<\/p>\n
Listen to the RT\u00c9 GAA Podcast on the RT\u00c9 Radio Player<\/a>, Apple Podcasts<\/a>, Spotify<\/a>, or wherever you get your podcasts<\/a>, and email us at sportpodcasts@rte.ie<\/p>\n \n Watch The Saturday Game and The Sunday Game from 9.30pm on RT\u00c92 and RT\u00c9 Player. Follow a live blog on all matches on the RT\u00c9 News app and on rte.ie\/sport.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SATURDAY 16 APRIL Leinster SHCGalway v Dublin, Pearse Stadium, 4.30pmKilkenny v Kildare, UPMC Nowlan Park, 6pmOffaly v Wexford,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448132,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[61,60,112],"class_list":["post-448131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448131\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}