Football championship weekend: All you need to know
Ulster SFC semi-final
Armagh v Tyrone, Clones, 4.45pm
SUNDAY 27 APRIL
Leinster SFC semi-finals
Kildare v Louth, Glenisk O'Connor Park, 2pm
Dublin v Meath, Laois Hire O'Moore Park, 4pm
Ulster SFC semi-final
Donegal v Down, Clones, 3pm
ONLINE
Live blogs each day with RTÉ Sport and RTÉ News app
TV
Live coverage of Donegal v Down live on BBC2 NI. GAA+ will stream Saturday's clash of Tyrone and Armagh in Ulster as well as both Leinster semi-finals the following day, Kildare v Louth and Dublin v Meath.
Highlights of the weekend's action on The Sunday Game from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
RADIO
Live commentary and updates on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport. Also live updates on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta's Spórt an tSathairn and Spórt an Lae.
WEATHER
Saturday: The mist and fog will generally clear on Saturday morning to leave a mainly dry, bright day with good spells of sunshine with a few isolated showers. Mild overall with highest temperatures of 14 to 17 degrees in light to moderate south to southwest winds.
Sunday: Likely to be cloudy for a time with some scattered showers. It'll be a breezy day with highest temperatures of 14 to 17 degrees in moderate to fresh and occasionally gusty south to southwest winds.
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Hankering for the noughties
The meeting of Armagh and Tyrone this weekend conjures up memories of one of the great rivalries in Gaelic football. With the gripping nature of the contests and the fact they were such big games in the calendar, it is easy to forget that at its peak, it lasted four years (2002-05), spanned six memorable games and resulted in maiden All-Ireland success for both.
Tyrone edged the rivalry by ending the decade with three Celtic Crosses, but there was rarely little between the sides as the most gifted and ferocious competitiors of their generation duked it out.
Gripping games, though former Tyrone player Enda McGinley concedes rewatching the game is a reminder of the evolvement of the sport.
"It was before the era of controlled possession, so looking back on the games now, it seems like kamikaze football," he said earlier this week.
Could a decent hitout in Clones reignite the flames of this rivalry? Certainly the ingredients are there. While the powerhouses Kerry (2022) and Dublin (2023) reinforced the idea of the traditional two in football, those successes were bookended by unlikely teams - at the start of the respective seasons at least - walking up the Hogan Stand, the Red Hands prevailing in 2021 and Kieran McGeeney's side upsetting the odds last year.
The Orchard County will be wary that Tyrone's dismal defence of Sam Maguire - it was Armagh who put them out of their misery in the qualifiers - did little to dispel the notion that they won that All-Ireland against the head. Few backed the team to make it back-to-back, their implosion fuel to the critics who suggested it was one of the weakest teams to land top honours in recent history.
Armagh now are following a similar path, keen to prove last year was no flash in the pan.
With Rian O'Neill remaining outside the panel and a sizeable injury list, McGeeney could only call on five starters from last year's All-Ireland triumph over Galway for the Ulster quarter-final win over Antrim.
It has allowed others stake claims with the manager name-checking the scoring contribution of three of his four championship debutants last time out, with Tomás McCormack, Calum O'Neill (the first Belleek man to play championship for Armagh) and Darragh McMullan working the scoreboard operator at Corrigan Park.
Have Down another upset in them?
"Down are crafty. Down have a team full of ball players. So many notes taken on them."
The words of Donegal manager Jim McGuinness in relation to the build-up to the 2012 Ulster final. The Tir Chonaill men would make it back-to-back provincial titles for the first time en route to landing Sam Maguire while Down's barren run would continue to an 18th season at least. That wait has moved beyond three decades.
McGuinness's thoughts back then may not hold quite so true now, aside from the obsessive note-taking. That particular Down side were two years on from going within a whisker of an All-Ireland title. Earlier that spring just missed out on a Division 1 final with Dan Gordon, Mark Poland, Danny Hughes, Benny Coulter and current manager Conor Laverty leading the way.
The current crop will battle it out in the third tier in 2026, three wins from seven in Division 2 not enough to avoid the drop.
That disappointment looked set to be compounded by a championship defeat to Fermanagh as the Erne men led by seven points with eight minutes left on the clock.
Inspired by midfielder Daniel McGuinness, who raised a flag of all three colours, Pat Havern and Ryan McEvoy, the Mourne men rallied for a superb win.
Unless we see a significant improvement – the closing stages aside – it's hard to see anything other than the Ulster holders marching on. An embarrassment of riches up front, an athletic midfield and some pacey and attack-minded defenders such as Finbarr Roarty, Ciarán Moore, Peadar Mogan (0-05 between them against Monaghan) means the eight-point spread seems about right.
While Donegal are bidding for a 12th Ulster final in 15 seasons, and their record against Down is impressive – four wins from last five games with an average winning margin of 13 points – their last championship clash should serve against complacency, if that is even possible with McGuinness at the helm.
Two years ago goals from Liam Kerr and Pat Havern sent Down on their way to victory at Pairc Esler against a Donegal side reeling from Division 1 relegation, managerial upheaval and apparent player apathy. McGuinness returned for a second stint in charge of his native county four months later.
Will Leinster remain a piece of cake for Dublin?
A great empire, like a great cake, is most easily diminished at the edges. One of the most accomplished American minds, Benjamin Franklin, is attributed with that quote, and it could be used with the Dublin footballers in mind.
The icing has come off if you will, the likes of James McCarthy, Brian Fenton, Paul Mannion, Jack McCaffrey exiting stage left since last year's championship, but will Leinster remain a piece of cake fo the boys in blue?
Dessie Farrell drafted in 16 new faces during the league. Solid if not spectacular was the early verdict, though the laboured win over Wicklow in Aughrim has whispers of an end to provincial domination – they are bidding for 15-in-a-row in Leinster- growing louder.
Peter Canavan is of the opinion that the presence of Con O'Callaghan alone means the Delaney Cup will remain in the capital, but more will be needed from those around him if they are to go deep into the All-Ireland race.
Question marks regarding goalkeeper and midfield persist, though the return of John Small and Davey Byrne is a huge boon. Sean Bugler is in the form of his Dublin career while Greg McEneaney has nailed down his place in the starting XV.
Meath will, perhaps for the first time since their famous 2010 upset of the Dubs, enter the game with ambitions of more than simply keeping the score down. Whether they have the tools to deliver another shock remains to be seen, but the manner of the performance against Carlow was encouraging with Ruairi Kinsella, Eoghan Frayne and Matthew Costello to the fore for the Royals.
Meath's tallies 1-30 and 1-25 against Carlow and Offaly respectively indicate that there is potential to cause a Dublin defence that wasn't exactly watertight last time out problems.
For all the optimism, it still pits a Division 1 side against a middling Division 2 outfit, with 16 points between the sides last year. Since 2013, the average winning margin hs stood at a touch over 13 points.
Whatever about a shock, a competitive match would be a plus and the surroundings of Laois Hire O'Moore Park can only create a better atmosphere rather than a souless Croke Park.
All-Ireland place up for grabs
By the time the Dubs and Meath throw in at Portlaoise, we will know the identity of the 16th and final team to compete in this year's All-Ireland championship, with Louth v Kildare the first of the provincial semi-finals on Sunday.
The Wee County won the corresponding fixture 12 months ago and are bidding for a third successive final appearance, something they last achieved in 1914.
Louth manager Ger Brennan will be pleased that their Division 2 status was retained despite a lengthy injury list. What will have given more food for thought was the indifferent display against Laois last time out.
Goals from Ryan Burns and Ciarán Byrne (above) saw them through, but it was a performance to be filed in the 'room for improvement' folder. The possibility of talisman Sam Mulroy returning to action - he has been named at full-forward but one can never be certain of the starting personnel - would be a huge shot in the arm for their chances.
It's just three years since the Lilywhites dished out a 16-point trimming to Saturday's opponents, but even last year's defeat as a reference point for Kildare is tricky. Eight of the 20 who lined out in Croke Park last April have departed the panel and another six unlikely to start.
Brian Flanagan saw a mixed bag of results early season, with expectations low heading into their quarter-final against Westmeath. Under the cosh in the opening half, they found a resilience that has not always been apparent in recent seasons to dig out a morale-boosting two-point victory.
Kevin Feely and Callum Bolton are looking to build a strong partnership in the middle of the field, while Ben McCormack and Alex Beirne were central to the second-half turnaround against Westmeath. Tommy Gill and Niall Kelly impressed off the bench and Flanagan will have to plan without Harry O'Neill who picked up a nasty injury.
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