Cork's All-Ireland SHC semi-final set for early Saturday evening throw-in
Broadcasters RTÉ have the Munster winners's game slotted in for an early evening start at the beginning of next month with the second semi-final involving Kilkenny the following afternoon expected to begin at 4pm.
Matching their provincial final day, Cork will return to action 28 days after they lifted the Mick Mackey Cup in TUS Gaelic Grounds on Saturday after beating Limerick on a penalty shoot-out.
It will be preceded by an All-Ireland senior camogie quarter-final at GAA HQ. Another camogie quarter-final clash will be the curtain-raiser to the Cats's semi-final fixture.
As per championship regulations, Cork can't meet Limerick in a semi-final so their potential opponents are Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Laois or Tipperary just as Kilkenny can't duel with Galway at that stage, so they will face one of Dublin, Kildare, Limerick or Tipperary.
After provincial finals, repeat pairings in early provincial fixtures are avoided where feasible in the last four.
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Irish Daily Mirror
32 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
GAA fans fume over All-Ireland final ticket allocation for Donegal v Kerry clash
The biggest weekend in the Gaelic football calendar is here and the All-Ireland final is upon us. Over 82,000 will be at Croke Park on Sunday to witness the clash between Kerry and Donegal in a final that pits undoubtedly the two best sides in the country this year against each other. But while Croke Park will be heaving, plenty of fans have been left disappointed at being unable to get their hands on tickets. It has been reported that of the 82,000+ fans in Croker this weekend, only 13,748 will be from Donegal. That represents a paltry 17% of the entire expected attendance at GAA HQ. The reason for such a small Donegal contingent is due to administrative errors by a number of the 40 clubs in the county. As reported by Donegal Live, some clubs in the county have failed to correctly log their LGFA and Camogie members in the 'Foireann' system - the portal used by GAA players, coaches and clubs. This has led to reduced tickets as the allocation was based on the adult membership on the portal. 1,230 extra Donegal fans will be in attendance on top of the 13,748 number as they are season ticket holders. That brings Donegal's total tally of fans to 14,978 - bringing the percentage of the stadium filled by official Donegal supporters up to 18.1%. This is despite the GAA's annual report from 2025 showing that 59,212 tickets were set to be given for county allocations in the final. Many clubs within County Donegal have posted on Facebook about failing to be able to acquire tickets to meet the demand. CLG Baile na ngalloglach stated: 'The demand for tickets far exceeded our allocation. 'Some will be disappointed not to receive a ticket and some will be disappointed with the location of their ticket, this totally out of our control as we can only allocate what we have been given. We have done our best to accommodate everyone.' CLG Chloich Cheann Fhaola also stated their disappointment in not receiving more tickets. They stated: 'We had hoped to receive a second allocation to meet our order, which unfortunately we haven't been able to secure.' Fans have also voiced their displeasure on social media: 'Shocking. Feel so sorry for all the Donegal fans who have been to every game this year and can't get a ticket for the final', said one. 'It should be 40% at least for both teams', said another.
Irish Daily Mirror
35 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Kerry v Donegal: Páidí, piseogs and blue jersey talk ahead of the All-Ireland
Páidí Ó Sé was definitely a man for piseogs - on the eve of the 1985 All-Ireland final he was horrified to discover that he hadn't packed his lucky underpants. Having worn them in his previous six All-Ireland final victories, he was adamant that if he didn't wear them against Dublin then Kerry wouldn't lift Sam. So he rang his mother, who arranged with Charlie Haughey to have Ó Sé's prized package transported from Heuston Station to Croke Park ahead of the game. Kerry won. The late, great Ó Sé had plenty more piseogs, or superstitions in English, which he believed influenced how a game might go. His nephew Marc, whose last of five All-Ireland wins with the Kingdom came against Sunday's opponents Donegal in 2014, had his own piseogs - but then he says many players do. "Oh yeah, for sure," said the 45-year-old. "I mean, there's very few Gaelic Footballers that don't have something. It could be something so silly that you just have to have, 'where's that thing I always have in my bag' or whatever. "We all have them. I used to have the same towel, I'd nearly had it for 16 years. You always had to have something, but then you lose an All-Ireland and you just nearly throw the towel into the bin!"We all believe in them but at the end of the day I think it's about just two teams going out giving their best and whichever team out-works the other team, they're nearly going to do it. "Do you know what, when I saw the blue jerseys coming out it wasn't something that really bothered me because I saw Kerry winning big games (wearing blue) down through the years." Maurice Fitzgerald of Kerry and Hank Traynor of Meath in the 2001 All-Ireland SFC semi-final (Image: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy) It was announced early in the week that, due to the colour clash, Kerry will be wearing blue in an All-Ireland final for the first time in over 50 years. Donegal will also be changing to their predominantly white jersey. Plenty in the Kingdom will be a little uneasy about the change but then switching to white, green and gold has been out of fashion since the 2-14 to 0-5 hammering dished out by Meath in the 2001 All-Ireland semi-final. Kerry have had a very good record in the modern era when wearing the blue of Munster at that last four stage in the championship, ever since they lost to Offaly in the 1972 All-Ireland final replay after the late Mick O'Dwyer levelled late to earn the Kingdom a second chance. They wore blue again when they beat Offaly in the 1980 semi-final. It was the same outcome against Mayo at the same stage the following year and against Meath in '86. Then came that Meath loss in 2001 before they wore blue against the Royals in 2009, this time winning in the last four of the championship, and also at the same stage against Mayo in 2011, 2014 and '17 against Mayo. Donegal's Anthony Thompson is tackled by Marc Ó'Se of Kerry in the 2012 All-Ireland SFC quarter-final (Image: ©INPHO/Colm O'Neill) Of course the most famous All-Ireland final defeat came against Offaly courtesy of Seamus Lowry's late goal in 1982, when Kerry wore that lime green adidas jersey. The year before, when the same counties also met in the final, Kerry wore a half yellow, half green top on their way to lifting Sam. Interestingly, Kerry wore blue jerseys and Donegal wore white when the Tir Chonaill men prevailed in their 2012 All-Ireland quarter-final meeting. But this is the blue jersey's first final outing for the Kingdom since that Offaly's triumph 53 years ago. "I remember putting on Páidí's jersey, the 1986 blue number 2 jersey," recalled Marc Ó Sé this week. "I remember going into his chest of all the gear and putting that on and I was swimming in it. "But any time Kerry wore blue they seemed to do well. I remember watching Kerry's Golden Years - '80, I think, against Mayo in the semi-final. So, like, it was a jersey I used to love to see Kerry wear and it doesn't really bother me that they're wearing blue. "Obviously we're green and gold but, look, Donegal are green and gold as well, so it'll be a colourful day anyway if anything else. Of course piseogs come into it but at the end of the day it's who works the hardest." Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts.
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Éamonn Fitzmaurice: Donegal's greatest strength can be their biggest weakness
THERE'S been some amount written and spoken about the All-Ireland football final - and we haven't reached Sunday yet! A common thread running through many discussions, sometimes from people who have never played or managed in one much less won it, that All-Ireland final day is different. It absolutely is, but many of the principles that apply to winning any match also apply on the biggest day. The team that works hardest, makes the best decisions in possession and has the greatest number of players playing to their potential will generally win. That final one can be the hardest one to achieve, because of the enormity of the occasion. It is every player's dream to play in an All-Ireland final and sometimes that can result in them freezing. Victims of this paralysis often speak afterwards of how the game simply passed them by. Having the experience of having played in them previously counts. Ultimately it is a game of football to be won, by constantly doing the simple things well. Kerry have an advantage here. Emphasising this very point, Jack O'Connor spoke this week about the importance of being able to think on their feet, for both players and management during an All-Ireland final. So much thought, visualisation and preparation goes into this game that it can be taken for granted that every angle is covered. It rarely is. There is always some curveball to think through. Some are controllable, more aren't. Think back to last Sunday's All-Ireland hurling final. Uniquely, the pre-game formalities went on for longer than scheduled. At one stage Pat Ryan could be seen glancing anxiously at his watch wondering about this delay. An unnecessary annoyance. The parade, a significant part of the occasion, was considerably shortened as a result. All of this, while not ideal, was not a controllable. Management have to trust the players to navigate through those twists. Many of them probably didn't even notice. What was a controllable was how the Cork management and players reacted to Liam Cahill's surprise move of playing with a sweeper. This is one of the many things they will wrestle with for the winter. Speaking of the parade, it will be interesting to see if Donegal break prematurely Sunday as they did in the semi-final. If they do will Kerry remain in place and go around in front of the Hill, often the most enjoyable and memorable part of the parade? This final is a clash of styles. Whoever wins will provide a template for certain coaches up and down the country for the foreseeable. Donegal will look to limit David Clifford's influence while not obsessing over him. As Kevin Cassidy mentioned on the RTÉ podcast this week, Jim McGuinness may accept that David will score a certain amount and they may well to try to negate the rest of the Kerry attack using their zonal system. They will plan that he can't win the game on his own and will try to make sure that the rest don't do enough to make up the difference. From a Kerry perspective they will have to get a lot right, the norm to win a final. Everyone will have to play well, they will need to tie down the Michaels (Murphy and Langan) and the O'Donnells (Shane and Conor) and they will need to get an impact from the bench, including springing a marker for Patrick McBrearty when he is introduced. To win, the Munster champions will also have to excel in attacking against Donegal's zone, defending their runners and breaking even on Shaun Patton's kickouts. Donegal's greatest strength so far can be their biggest weakness - in my opinion. Their zonal defensive setup has worked so far, getting them to an All-Ireland final and winning Ulster. I have long felt it won't win Sam, and I am about to get my answer, one way or the other. They have conceded an average of 19 points per game in the championship (2.5 less than Kerry). They sit deep, marking normally one, and sometimes a second danger man while everyone swaps between opponents on or close to the ball. Ryan McHugh and Eoghan Bán Gallagher sit in and mind the 'D'. Caolan McConagle prior to his injury can also fulfill this role, which he may do again to free up McHugh to possibly track Paudie Clifford in a similar job to the one he did on Rory Grugan in the Ulster final. Joe O'Connor is one of the Kerry players who can punch holes in an opposition defence. Pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile These twin sweepers are the players that will sprint to the danger and double up to force turnovers. As a team they thrive on these. It energises their supporters as they hare up the field in search of scores. They are mesmerising to watch in full flow. They have got goals from these situations where they are going from turnover to score in between 15 and 20 seconds. Finnbarr Roarty's goal against Cavan and Ciarán Moore's major against Meath are great examples. For Kerry to win they will have to avoid these turnovers, but do it without blunting their attacking edge. They need to avoid being conservative and pedestrian and attack with pace, while being patient. Patience at pace. For Kerry to pull that zone apart, there are a number of considerations. Chief among them will be decision-making in possession. Where that zone thrives is when players take the ball into contact or when a player receives a sloppy pass. The Donegal boys are expertly drilled on this and pounce on their quarry to force those precious turnovers at the most opportune time - when their opponent is in a vulnerable position. Generally this season, when faced with a deep sitting team, Kerry have favoured setting the spare bodies up outside the defensive shield and punching holes when they can. Gavin White, Brian Ó Beaglaoich and Joe O'Connor are especially effective at this. Use this again but don't rely solely on it. Flood the full forward line and create space for those runners to break into and shoot. Alternatively, to mix it up they can push those outside bodies further up the pitch, inside the two point arc to engage the Donegal backs and the create more one-on-ones. Occupy and rob them of their sweepers. Force Donegal's host of converted half forwards to defend. Play through the zone with accuracy and in the direction they are facing. Set up a two-point shooter outside and when the Donegal defence collapses in to deal with a threat feed it back out to that shooter. Monaghan did exactly this to good effect in the first half of their quarter final encounter. Furthermore, Kerry can set up two-point shooters outside the arc and entice the Donegal defence towards them. If they are given space as against Armagh, shoot. If they push too aggressively is there a pop pass inside to set up a possible goal chance, which will be required to win? Use David Clifford when possible but don't force it his way when it's not on. In short, be ruthlessly efficient through a variety of methods. Be a nightmare to defend against. Kerry have the quality but can they execute accurately under pressure? An extension of that area is Donegal's awesome counter-attacking running game. The simple thing for Kerry to do is to rob them of turnovers and the momentum that generates by killing the ball. Armagh limited them to four points from turnovers in the Ulster final because of their efficiency, getting off 42 shots from 47 attacks. Against Meath, Donegal scored 1-5 from turnovers, with the Royals getting 31 shots from 43 attacks. Three of those shots dropped short, a cardinal sin against the Ulster champions. Their huge spread of scorers (generally ten plus players score for them) in part comes from those counter attacks. Reduce those and you reduce that challenging scoring spread. Tyrone were quite effective at exactly this, limiting Donegal to nine scorers, in the one game they have lost in championship this year. The second part of that turnover scenario is that when they do occur Kerry have to react instantly. It is a code red situation, with all hands to the pump. Track runners and get back in shape. Delay their attack and slow them down. If necessary give away a point but never a goal. Speaking of slowing Donegal down, when they do enter established 11 v 11 attacks they are excellent at opening up the right opportunity. They constantly run angles and wrap around each other to make sure they are probing while not over-committing. They wait for the opposition to switch off and pounce. The simple answer - harder at a human level - for the Kerry defence is never switch off, especially against this quality of opposition on the biggest day. Finally we come to Shaun Patton's kickout which will, as always, be a concern for Kerry. As well as his accuracy and distance, his unique trajectory off a couple of steps is a formidable weapon. This is his first All-Ireland though, and he has come under pressure in big games in the past. Kerry will need to press it when they can, after frees and established attacks, as giving kickouts up to Donegal is akin to giving a shot away, most of the time. When pressing they will be hyper-aware of the long one over the top and flick ons. They were extremely alert on this against Niall Morgan in the semi-final. Mark O'Shea competed manfully in the air and as soon as the ball was kicked, Joe O'Connor, Gavin White and others sprinted from their zones and anticipated the destination of the flick on. The Kingdom defenders will have to be ready for Michael Murphy's late move from the top of the traditional 'D' for this kickout and be ready to disrupt him on the ground and in the air. Up to this point they haven't used it as often as one would expect, but they may on Sunday. Similarly, the number of balls kicked into Murphy in the full forward line could be counted on one hand so far in championship but we may see an attempted 2012 reprise early in the match. All of this is only scratching the surface of what the teams have prepared for and what they are planning for. My wish for both sets of players is that they play to their potential and perform on one of the most special days of their sporting lives. Two great groups of players going at it will make for a fascinating contest, and a potentially cracking final, particularly the second half. We may need a second day to separate them, but Kerry to prevail. Eventually.
