Eyes on a few and how they’ve coped with recent trauma<\/p>\n
And so we move on to the remaining four Round 1 games, where the winners will join Donegal, Cork, Galway and Tyrone in next Tuesday’s Round 2A draw.<\/p>\n
The victors at that juncture will advance to the All-Ireland quarter-finals. Round 2B will see the losers from the opening round face off, with the winning teams here up against the beaten quartet in Round 2A to determine the remaining quarter-final spots.<\/p>\n
Hope that makes sense!<\/p>\n
It’s also a schedule of fixtures that will see half the teams who make the quarters playing for three weekends on the bounce. A hectic period in the season. Availing of the front-door option will be foremost for the Round 1 winners.<\/p>\n
Kerry and Donegal to face no further suspensions<\/a><\/p>\n Last weekend saw provincial kingpins Kerry and Roscommon bite the dust. The Kingdom well beaten in what was a fractious encounter against Donegal, while Tyrone edged out the Rossies by the bare minimum at the Hyde, in a game the hosts could have won. That said, the Red Hands were full value for their victory, making the most of their six-week break since narrowly losing to Armagh in Ulster.<\/p>\n Time, as they say, is a healer, and refocusing minds in that instance will also be key as some of this weekend’s participants look to relaunch their season.<\/p>\n Cavan are also in the six-week waiting room. Defeat to neighbours Monaghan<\/a>, aside from a poor start, should not have left too many scars. Dermot McCabe (above), after a season with Westmeath and more than a few near-misses, is back on home soil, plotting an upset of sorts against the newly-crowned Leinster champions.<\/p>\n Westmeath were deserved champions. And they’ll be happy with this draw.<\/p>\n Dessie Dolan hails Mark McHugh for giving Westmeath players “real confidence to deliver” as @westmeath_gaa<\/a> claimed a second Leinster SFC title #rtegaa<\/a> #sundaygame<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/6gg4uDGLbF<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) May 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n It’s a case of five weeks of stewing, yes I think we can say that, as Mayo look to rebound after Roscommon handed out a lesson<\/a> in the Connacht semi. High hopes dashed amid the Castlebar sunshine. Andy Moran and Co now head to the land of Farney, where the Anglo Celt runners-up will hope to refuel the tank after it ran dry in that extra-time period against Armagh.<\/p>\n It was at the end of February when Kobe McDonald’s cameo against Monaghan lit up the gloomy skies overhead. Mayo were on a roll back then, that before Kerry gave them a spanking in Tralee. Not a knockout blow, March not the month for that, but a warning as to how the house of cards can fall when teams run at you.<\/p>\n Roscommon were similarly forward driven when the cooker was turned up on 26 April.<\/p>\n And it’s a four-week period of reflection, contemplation, call it what you want for the pain Derry and Louth must have felt after their provincial semi-final losses.<\/p>\n For Derry, the pain was most acute<\/a>. Twice against Monaghan, they had a ten-point advantage and for all money looked home and hosed. And while Monaghan’s courage knew no bounds, Ciar\u00e1n Meenagh’s men had opportunities to settle it in those nervy extra-time periods.<\/p>\n A date away to the Ulster champions should sharpen the axe with regard to salvaging a campaign that started with lofty ambitions.<\/p>\n The Wee County, sensing Dublin were vulnerable, failed to raise any sort of gallop in Portlaoise. A paltry return of ten points said it all on a night when the then reigning Delaney Cup holders had a malfunction of sorts, were easily dispossessed amid them searching for answers nowhere to be found.<\/p>\n When the draw was made, a few audible gasps were no doubt heard around Ardee and Termonfeckin at the prospect of more capital punishment. But the Dubs are brittle again after Westmeath, for the most part, bossed the Leinster final. Surely Louth won’t be as timid this time.<\/p>\n Monaghan’s resilience can’t be questioned, again showing it in spades in the Ulster final. They love clawing back what looks an insurmountable deficit and having able two-point exponents makes that task easier.<\/p>\n \n Against Derry and Armagh they went in as underdogs, a tag they’ll also show ahead of facing Mayo. The odds, however, should matter little in Clones. The question is can Monaghan summon up the same insatiable appetite for duty when it’s not an Ulster rival?<\/p>\n Juices seem to be flowing from the Orchard cultivation<\/p>\n And so to Armagh. Kieran McGeeney was more happy for his players than he was for himself after the county’s wait for an Anglo Celt was ended. McGeeney admitted afterwards that the side were a bit “jittery” on the day. At times it showed alright but there was no denying that the Orchard County deserved to win.<\/p>\n Yet their manager had the look of a man whose focus was elsewhere despite the acclaim. Attention had turned to Derry. In the Ulster pecking order, Derry and Tyrone are not far apart and it was the latter who gave Armagh much to think about some seven weeks ago. That Athletic Grounds clash went to extra-time, something the hosts have become accustomed to, and are now mastering the art of coming out on the right side of.<\/p>\n After the “dark days” Armagh finally got over the line in Ulster, with Ciar\u00e1n Whelan saying they “wiped the floor” with Monaghan in that extra-time period #rtegaa<\/a> #sundaygame<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/dnDP0aH5JQ<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Cavan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0023e2f6-614.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Kobe](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0023efe9-614.jpg\"\/)
\nCrossmollina youngster Kobe McDonald taking the plaudits at Clones in February<\/p>\n![\"2](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/00244f0e-614.jpg\"\/)
\nNiall Loughlin finding the net for Derry against Monaghan<\/p>\n
![\"Armagh](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/002461e2-614.jpg\"\/)