PREVIEWS: TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-final slots up for grabs as 6 counties battle for survival!

THE semi-final pairings for the 2026 TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship will be confirmed over the coming weekend.

Three of the four games are down for decision on Saturday, while the Connacht derby between Galway and Mayo will be played on Sunday evening.

All four games will be available to view live on TG4.

The action begins on Saturday with Armagh at home to Kildare (1.45pm), followed by Meath’s visit to Kerry (5.15) and Cork’s trip to Dublin (7.30pm).

On Sunday, the Galway-Mayo clash in Tuam will get underway at 5.45pm.

The semi-finals will be played on Saturday July 18 and the winners of the Dublin/Cork and Meath/Kerry ties will meet at the penultimate stage of the competition, with the winners of Galway/Mayo and Armagh/Kildare pitted against each other.

Elsewhere over the weekend, Donegal, Waterford, Tipperary and Tyrone have the chance to preserve Senior championship status for 2027, while the losers of the Intermediate play-off between Laois and Wicklow will be playing Junior Championship football next year.

 

Saturday July 4 

 

TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship Quarter-Final 4

 

Armagh v Kildare; BOX-IT Athletic Grounds, Armagh, 1.45pm – Live on TG4 

 

ARMAGH’S performances in the Championship have marked them out as genuine contenders.

And the Orchard County will fancy their chances of making the semi-finals with a home tie against visiting Kildare.

Armagh got the better of Cork and Waterford to finish on top of their pool, with Kildare’s victory over Tipperary good enough for a knockout slot.

Four points separated the sides when Armagh and Kildare met in the group stages of the Lidl National League, Armagh victorious on that occasion.

Armagh are unchanged from the side that survived a stern test from Waterford, while Kildare have also opted for ‘same again’ following the Tipperary win.

 

ARMAGH: B Mathers; A Donnelly, C McCambridge, C Towe; E Druse, L McConville (capt.), G Ferguson; B Mackin, C O’Reilly; L Marsden, A McCoy, C Marley; A Mackin, C O’Hanlon, K Mallon.

 

KILDARE: C Nallen; L Reilly, E Wheeler, L Shaw; H McLoughlin, R Sargent, L Lenehan (capt.); N Murphy, G Wheeler; L Curran, J Harney, M Aspell; A Rattigan, M Doyle, A Prizeman.

 

TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship Quarter-Final 3

 

Kerry v Meath; Austin Stack Park, Tralee, 5.15pm – Live on TG4

 

It’s another bout of knockout football for Kerry and Meath – who locked horns in last year’s semi-final.

Prior to that, the sides contested quarter-finals in 2024 and 2023, and a Croke Park final in 2022.

Meath earned bragging rights and a place in the final with a stunning last-four victory in 2025, a win that ended Kerry’s reign as All-Ireland champions.

The Kingdom won’t have forgotten that and will be keen to make amends in front of their home supporters in Tralee.

Kerry’s form to date in the Championship has been impressive and they’re unchanged from the team that enjoyed a big win over Kildare last time out.

Meath, meanwhile, make three changes to the team that defeated Tyrone, a win that ensured a knockout place for a sixth successive season.

Karla Kealy, Orlaith Mallon and Rachel Casserly are all named to start, with Aoife Farrell, Ciara Smyth and Orla Finnegan dropping out.

 

KERRY: M.E. Bolger; R Rahilly, D Kearney, E Lynch; A O’Connell, E Costello, A Dillane; A Galvin, M O’Connell; N Carmody, N Ní Chonchúir, C Evans; J Lucey, D O’Leary, S O’Shea (capt.).

 

MEATH: R Murray; K Kealy, Á Sheridan, A Gaffney; O Sheehy, O Gore, K Bermingham; S Murphy, N Gallogly (capt.); L Woods, E Duggan, M Thynne; M Byrne, O Mallon, R Casserly.

 

TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship Quarter-Final 1

 

Dublin v Cork; Parnell Park, Dublin, 7.30pm – Live on TG4

 

Cork are working their way back to form following a disappointing Munster campaign that saw them lose all three games.

The Lidl NFL champions bounced back from defeat to Armagh in the group stages of the All-Ireland series and victory over Waterford was good enough to secure a quarter-final slot.

Dublin know they’re in for a stern test as they aim to progress to the last four and keep their hold on the Brendan Martin Cup.

The Sky Blues have been contending with injury issues but still managing to produce displays good enough to advance, with Mayo and Donegal defeated in the group phase.

The Cork team to start at Parnell Park shows two changes in personnel, with Siobhán Callanan coming in for Dara Kiniry, as Rachel O’Regan replaces Rachel Leahy. Both Kiniry and Leahy have been ruled out through injury.

On the Dublin side, skipper Carla Rowe is back, along with Kate Sullivan, as Kate Donaghy and Jodi Egan make way.

 

DUBLIN: A Shiels; N Crowley, R Hartnett, H Leahy; S McIntyre, H McGinnis, N Donlon; N Hetherton, L Magee; A Timothy, O Nolan, C O’Connor; L Grendon, C Rowe (capt.), K Sullivan.

 

CORK: S Murphy; M Duggan, S Kelly, S Callanan; A Corcoran, M O’Callaghan, R Corkery; S McGoldrick, K Redmond; R O’Regan, G Murphy, E Cleary (capt.); L Hallihan, K Quirke, Á O’Sullivan.

 

TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship Relegation Qualifier

 

Waterford v Donegal; Pádraig Pearses GAA, Roscommon, 2pm

 

Waterford will have been disappointed not to make the last eight of the All-Ireland series but now thoughts turn to staying afloat in the senior grade.

The Déise were viewed as Brendan Martin Cup dark horses but losses to Armagh and Cork scuppered their hopes.

Donegal suffered defeats to Mayo and Dublin and must now also scrap for survival.

The winners of this one will play Senior Championship football again next year, with the losers facing Tipperary or Tyrone in the last chance saloon.

Waterford are unchanged following defeat to Armagh, as Donegal opt for one change following the loss to Mayo, as captain Roisin Rodgers replaces Rhiana McColgan.

 

WATERFORD: K Gardner; C Murray, R Casey, L Cusack; L Mulcahy, K McGrath, E Power; R Browne, Á O’Neill; M Daly, K Hogan, K Murray (capt.); B McMaugh, C Walsh, L McGregor.

 

DONEGAL: C Friel; N Carr, N Boyle, S Mc Feely; T Hegarty, F McManamon, S Mc Fadden; R Rodgers (capt.), E McGinley; B Mc Laughlin, K Dowds, A McDermott; E Gallagher, S White, A McGranaghan.

 

TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship Relegation Qualifier

 

Tipperary v Tyrone; St. Lomans Mullingar, 3.30pm

 

Tyrone were TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate champions last year and the Red Hands won’t want to drop back so quickly.

Tipperary will also want to preserve senior status and build on some of the good form they’ve shown this year – most notably that victory over Cork in the Munster Championship.

One of these teams will breathe a sigh of relief on Saturday, as the winners will secure Senior Championship football again for next season.

The losers will face Waterford or Donegal in a relegation play-off, with the losers of that one consigned to the Intermediate grade for next year.

Both Tipperary and Tyrone are unchanged for this one.

 

TIPPERARY: L Fitzpatrick; T Hoare, L Spillane, E Cronin; K Cashman, M Curley, S English; L Morrissey, A Kennedy (capt.); A Ryan, L Cunningham, H Spillane; A Carey, E Morrissey, K Crotty Ryan.

 

TYRONE: L Kane; E Quinn, G McKenna, J Hearty; C Canavan, M Corrigan, C Campbell; M Mallon, A McHugh (capt.); E McCanny, C McCaffrey, S McCarroll; N O Neill, C McNamee, S Gormley.

 

TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Championship Relegation Playoff

 

Laois v Wicklow; National Games Development Centre (Pitch 1), 2pm

 

A winner-takes-all affair in Dublin as Laois take on Wicklow.

Laois lost out to Cavan in last weekend’s qualifier, as Wicklow suffered defeat to Louth.

That leaves Laois and Wicklow now knowing that they have to win to retain Intermediate status.

The losers of this one will be playing in the Junior grade next year.

 

LAOIS: E Barry; M Cotter, D Phelan, S Farrelly; J Murphy, F McEvoy, A Moran (capt.); A Healy, F Dooley; C Crowley, L Marie Maher, S Larkin; K Donoghue, S Havill, E Lacey.

 

WICKLOW: B Clancy; A Doyle, O O’Keeffe, E Doyle; E Doyle, S Evans, S O’Toole; E Bourke, M Renaghan; R Donohoe, E Parke, C Renaghan; H Sheehy, L Dunne (capt.), L Butler.

 

Sunday July 5

 

TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship Quarter-Final 2

 

Galway v Mayo; Tuam Stadium, 5.45pm – Live on TG4

 

A tasty Connacht derby pits Galway against Mayo, with the last remaining slot in the quarter-finals on offer.

Galway have been moving very well recently and are one of the favourites for the All-Ireland title.

The Tribeswomen defeated Mayo already this year in championship fare, in the provincial decider, but the green and red have improved since then.

Mayo will have learned a lot from that outing and will make the short trip to Tuam confident of producing an improved showing.

Galway will start as favourites, though, and they’re unchanged following an impressive win against Tyrone last time out.

Mayo are also unchanged after getting the better of Donegal to secure a passage to the last eight.

 

GALWAY: L O’Halloran; B Quinn, S Ní Loingsigh, K Geraghty (capt.); H Noone, N Ward, E Power; N Divilly, S Divilly; O Divilly, K Slevin, K Thompson; E Noone, L Coen, R Leonard.

 

MAYO: L Brennan; L Wallace, S El Massry, L Hanley; M Delaney, F Collins, H Reape; A Geraghty, T Needham; M Reilly, S Walsh (capt.), A Staunton; L Cafferky, C Keane, S Cafferky.