We’re down to the final six in the All-Ireland Hurling Championship, with just seven games to be played between now and All-Ireland final day.<\/p>\n
Three of those seven matches will end with trophies being handed out, with the Leinster and Munster hurling finals taking place over the weekend.<\/p>\n
At a time when the traditional powerhouses of Kilkenny and Wexford are in something of a dormant phase, we have a relatlvely novel pairing in Leinster.<\/p>\n
In Munster, however, it’s the dominant modern county taking on the most successful in the competition’s history.<\/p>\n
The smart money is on an all-Munster All-Ireland final next month, but last summer showed that anything can happen in an Irish summer when Dublin knocked out Limerick in the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n
Clare, All-Ireland champions two years ago, will also surely still have a big say in the destination of the Liam MacCarthy Cup.<\/p>\n
![\"16](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/002477ea-614.jpg\"\/)
\nDublin beat Galway last month in Salthill<\/p>\n
Dublin and Galway will meet for the 18th time in championship on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Historically, the Dubs didn’t lose to the Tribesmen, winning the first four clashses they had. But the sides didn’t play between 1941 and 2011.<\/p>\n
The westerners were welcomed into the Leinster Championship in 2010 and in that modern period, the rivalry has been much closer, with Dublin having a 6-5 head-to-head lead, while there have been two draws.<\/p>\n
Dublin and Galway go head-to-head in the Leinster SHC final on Saturday evening, reports Marty Morrissey #RTEGAA<\/a> #RTESport<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/2W6p7mq1ix<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 RT\u00c9 GAA (@RTEgaa) June 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The most recent meeting in Salthill last month went the way of the Metropolitans<\/a> thanks to late scores by Brian Hayes, with a goal, and Cian O’Sullivan.<\/p>\n The sides have met in two championship finals – the 1924 All-Ireland and the 2013 Leinster decider – both of which went the way of the Sky Blues.<\/p>\n While the Dubs did win that provincial decider 13 years ago, it’s their only Leinster triumph since 1961. There is only one survivor from that day, with Liam Rushe returning to the squad this year after four years out.<\/p>\n John Hetherton (above, right, t-shirt) was a water-carrier during that Leinster final in 2013 but he wasn’t part of the playing squad.<\/p>\n Is the venue relevant? Well, Galway beat Dublin in Parnell Park last year, while the Dubs have won the last two contests at Pearse Stadium. If the Tribesmen win this weekend, it’ll be the first time ever beating Dublin at Croke Park, having lost five and drawn one there in their previous meetings.<\/p>\n Galway have three Leinster titles since 2011, with the most recent of these coming in 2018. They have also lost eight finals, with Kilkenny handing out seven defeats in that period.<\/p>\n With Kilkenny suffering a rare dud year – the first time since 1996 that they haven’t made the All-Ireland series – it’s a chance for Dublin or Galway to really go after a Leinster title.<\/p>\n And for the winner, they’d be just one win away from an All-Ireland final.<\/p>\n \n In Munster, it’s a repeat pairing from last year, which turned out to be an epic, with extra time and penalties.<\/p>\n Limerick, chasing a seventh title on the spin, were denied by Cork, who claimed a first provincial crown since 2018, and picked up the Mick Mackey Cup for the first time since it was renamed.<\/p>\n These counties have dominated the southern province of late, with Tipperary’s title in 2016 the last time one of them didn’t win it.<\/p>\n The sides have 75 previous meetings in championship, with 48 wins for the Rebels, 21 for the Treaty City men, and six draws.<\/p>\n In what has been the greatest era in the history of Limerick, with five All-Irelands and seven Munsters in the last decade and a half, you have to go all the way back to 2013 for the last time they beat Cork in a Munster final.<\/p>\n That was also their first provincial title of this century, with their most recent before that coming in 1996. It’s worth remembering that they did manage to beat Cork, and beat them well at that, in the 2022 All-Ireland final as they emerged from Croke Park with 16 points to spare.<\/p>\n And while Cork have the better overall record, in the last 14 championship meetings between the pair, Limerick hold a slender 7-5 advantage, with two draws – one of which was last year’s Munster final, which the Rebels won on penalties.<\/p>\n While Limerick were denied the seven in a row last year, they did bring their Munster titles total to 25 the previous year.<\/p>\n This season, the sides have already met three times, with Limerick winning both league meetings – regular and the final – before Cork secured victory in their Munster round robin clash in April at Sunday’s venue.<\/p>\n For Cork, the Liam MacCarthy famine is approaching 21 years, but in that time they have won five Munster crowns, to bring their total to 55.<\/p>\n Since the old P\u00e1irc U\u00ed Chaoimh opened in 1976, the sides have met by the banks of Lee on 12 occasions, with Cork winning eight times, a draw in 2018, and Limerick claiming three victories, the most recent of which came in 2022.<\/p>\n Joe McDonagh Cup and 2027 Leinster spot on the line<\/p>\n Carlow and Laois will do battle for the Joe McDonagh Cup.<\/p>\n This should be a very evenly matched contest, with the Barrowsiders relegated from Division 1B of the league, while the O’Moore Men claimed the Division 2 title.<\/p>\n Carlow have twice won the McDonagh Cup, in 2018 and 2023, but these sides have never met in the final.<\/p>\n Laois have lost the last two finals – to Offaly and Kildare – but did win the competiton back in 2019. In that year, they became the only McDonagh Cup finalist to go on and reach the All-Ireland quarter-final in the same year, beating Dublin in the preliminary quarter-final.<\/p>\n That can’t happen this year with the preliminary quarter-finals having been abolished at the end of last year. Whether the Joe McDonagh Cup starts a bit later in the year in the future, with their calendar no longer having to align with the provincial one, remains to be seen.<\/p>\n The Barrowsiders defeated the O’Moore men on day one of the group stage of this year’s competition by nine points. Their previous two meetings were draws, while Carlow also beat Laois in this competition in 2018.<\/p>\n Of the previous 12 championship meetings this century, the record is flipped with Laois having won 11 games.<\/p>\n Listen to the RT\u00c9 GAA Podcast on the RT\u00c9 Radio Player, Apple Podcasts<\/a>, Spotify<\/a>, or wherever you get your podcasts<\/a>, and email us at sportpodcasts@rte.ie<\/p>\n Watch a hurling final double-header, Carlow v Laois in the Joe McDonagh Cup (3.45pm) and Dublin v Galway in the Leinster Hurling Championship (6pm), on Saturday from 3.30pm on RT\u00c92 and RT\u00c9 Player. Follow our live blog on RT\u00c9.ie\/sport and RT\u00c9 News app and listen to Saturday Sport on RT\u00c9 Radio 1<\/p>\n Watch Cork v Limerick in the Munster Hurling Championship final on Sunday from 1.15pm on RT\u00c92 and RT\u00c9 Player. Follow our live blog on RT\u00c9.ie\/sport and RT\u00c9 News app and listen to Sunday Sport on RT\u00c9 Radio 1<\/p>\n ![\"7](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/00247881-614.jpg\"\/)
\nLiam Rushe is Dublin’s sole survivor from 2013<\/p>\n![\"26](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/00247893-614.jpg\"\/)
\nCork won the side’s round-robin clash<\/p>\n![\"3](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/002478a2-614.jpg\"\/)
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