WEEKEND PREVIEWS: TG4 Championship action to come in all four provinces

THERE’S TG4 Provincial Senior Championship action in Connacht, Leinster and Munster over the coming weekend.

On Saturday, All-Ireland champions Kerry begin the defence of their Munster crown against old rivals Cork, before Tipperary host Waterford on Sunday in the southern province.

Also on Sunday, Mayo host Leitrim in Connacht, as holders Dublin aim to book another Leinster Final slot when they travel to Newbridge for a clash with Kildare.

There’s also Munster B action in Munster, with Junior and Intermediate action to come in Leinster and Ulster.

Sunday’s Leinster senior clash between Kildare and Dublin will be streamed live at: https://bit.ly/4cSqDky

Saturday April 26, 2025

TG4 Munster Senior Championship

Cork v Kerry; Cloughduv GAA, 2pm 

Kerry claimed the TG4 Munster Senior title last year for the first time since 2017.

And that provincial success was a real platform for the Kingdom, who went on to land the TG4 All-Ireland Senior crown, a first Brendan Martin Cup success in 31 years.

Team management may have changed but the winning habit remains healthy in the Kerry set-up, as they recently landed the Lidl NFL Division 1 title.

There are four changes in personnel from the team that defeated Armagh at Croke Park, with Fay O’Donoghue, Niamh Broderick, Katie Brosnan and Rachel Dwyer handed starts.

Dropping out of the team are Róisín Rahilly, All-Star Kayleigh Cronin (now in Australia), Niamh Carmody and Jaydn Lucey.

Cork lost out to Kerry in the 2024 Munster Senior Final and having played in Division 2 this year, they haven’t faced their neighbours in a competitive fixture since then.

Cork’s last outing was the Lidl NFL Division 2 Final loss to Galway at Croke Park on April 12 – and manager Joe Carroll has named an unchanged team as the Leesiders begin their provincial campaign.

Cork: S Murphy; D Kiniry, S Kelly, M Duggan; E O’Shea, S Leahy (capt.), R Corkery; A Corcoran, A Healy; A O’Mahony, L O’Mahony, E Cleary; H Looney, E Coppinger, K Quirke.

Kerry: ME Bolger; F O’Donoghue, D Kearney, E Lynch; A O’Connell, N Broderick, A Dillane; M O’Connell, A Galvin; C Evans, N Ní Chonchúir, K Brosnan; D O’Leary, R Dwyer, S O’Shea.

Munster B Championship

Kerry v Cork; Killarney Legion, 6.30pm 

Kerry and Cork also meet on Saturday in the Munster Senior B competition.

Both counties will use this tournament for development purposes, with the chance presenting itself to run the rule over second string outfits.

Kerry: C Fitzpatrick; A Relihan, K McGrath, L Kerins; L Reilly, K Furtey, S O’Donovan; K Ryan, K McGlashan; A Dennehy, O Clifford, B O’Neill; G Musgrave, E O’Sullivan, M Duffy.

Cork: C Moore; E Murphy, A McKennedy, R Sheehan; R Shanley, E Cooney, A O’Sullivan; A McTaggart, K O’Donovan; A Moloney, G Ní Mhurchú, H Fitzgerald; S Pattwell, A Hurley, R O’Regan.

TG4 Ulster Junior Championship

Derry v Antrim; Ballerin, 2pm 

Antrim will be hoping to win this competition for the first time since 2022.

The Saffrons were recently crowned Lidl NFL Division 4 champions and have been in terrific form in 2025.

They’ll be favourites to land the provincial junior silverware and begin the round-robin format of the competition against Derry, who they defeated by 14 points in a Division 4 group clash in March.

Derry: T Cassidy; E Dillon, T Donnelly, J Corr; M Boylan, K Hargan, B Donnelly; L Brewster, A Crozier (capt.); N Hannon, A Ni Lochlainn, A Martin; A McAlister, C Donnelly, A Donnelly.

Antrim: A Devlin; N McIntosh, M Blaney, M Mulholland; S O’Neill, C Brown, D Coleman; A Mulholland, Á Tubridy; T Mellon, O Dahunsi, A Kelly; B Devlin (capt.), N Jones, M O’Neill.

Sunday April 27, 2025

TG4 Connacht Senior Championship

Mayo v Leitrim; Swinford Amenity Park, 1pm 

Leitrim’s victory in the 2024 TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Championship ensures a three-team TG4 Connacht Senior Championship this year.

Leitrim will be the underdogs against traditional big-hitters Mayo and Galway but they’re not without hope against a Mayo side relegated from Division 1 of the Lidl National League.

Leitrim will have been disappointed not to gain promotion and it will be interesting to note if there’s a major gulf between a team operating in the top flight and the bottom tier this year.

With home advantage, Mayo will still start as favourites for this one.

Mayo: J Gawalkiewicz; L Wallace, N O’Malley, C Durkin; D Caldwell (capt.), E Brennan, S El Massry; H Reape, S Lally; R Jordan, S Walsh, A McDonnell; E Murray, C Keane, A Devereux.

Leitrim: M Monaghan, M Murphy, C Tyrell, J Maye; S Reynolds, C Owens, R McIntyre; N Tighe, C Dolan; A Gilmartin, V Egan, A Clancy; L Fox, M Devaney, L O’Dowd.

TG4 Leinster Senior Championship 

Kildare v Dublin; Cedral St Conleth’s Park, Newbridge, 2pm – Live stream at https://bit.ly/4cSqDky

Dublin have won the last 11 Leinster Senior titles on offer and victory against Kildare on Sunday would send the Sky Blues back to another provincial decider.

They won by seven points against Meath last weekend and victory over Kildare will add to Dublin’s remarkable Leinster record.

Since winning their first Leinster Senior title in 2002, Dublin have lifted the silverware in each season bar 2006, 2007 and 2011, when Laois were champions.

There are two changes to team that defeated Meath, with Lauren Magee coming in for Martha Byrne, while Aoife Curran replaces Hannah McGinnis.

This will be Kildare’s first competitive outing since defeating Tyrone in March to retain Division 1 status.

And manager Pat Sullivan has named an unchanged starting 15 for a glamour home outing at Cedral St Conleth’s Park.

While Dublin will start as favourites, they were on the wrong end of a 0-8 to 1-8 scoreline against the Lilywhites when the sides met in the Lidl NFL in February.

Kildare: M Hulgraine; R Sargent, L Lenehan (capt.), E Wheeler; M Doherty, L Dunlea, M Aspel; C Sullivan, L Curran; C Moran, L Shaw, N Dooley; A Rattigan, A Murnane, R Byrne.

Dublin: A Shiels; J Tobin, L Caffrey (capt.), N Donlon; A Curran, L Magee, A Kane; É O’Dowd, G Kós; C O’Connor, C Darby, S Goldrick; H Tyrrell, N Hetherton, S McIntyre.

TG4 Leinster Intermediate Championship 

Wicklow v Offaly; Echelon Park, Aughrim, 2pm 

Wicklow and Offaly will battle it out for a place in the TG4 Leinster semi-finals.

The winners of this one will take on Laois on May 4, with Westmeath and Wexford on the opposite side of the draw.

Offaly endured a difficult League campaign, losing all seven games in Division 3 and suffering relegation.

Wicklow, meanwhile, won three and lost four of their Division 4 outings.

Wicklow: E Griffin; S Goetelen, E O’Keane, A Gorman; S McGettigan, S Byrne, S.J. Winders (capt.); S Evans, N Cullen; M Corr, H Dowling, L Dunne; I Ledesma, E.R. O’Toole, E O’Brien.

Offaly: L Dunne; A Grehan, N Glackin, N Buckley; K Flynn, J Maher, D Hannon; M Mann (capt.), M Byrne; I Lyons, S Doyle, E Kelly; A Phelan, E Hand, A Stafford.

TG4 Leinster Junior Championship 

Longford v Louth; Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, 2pm 

With four counties involved, the 2025 TG4 Leinster Junior championship will be played on a round-robin basis, with the top two finishers contesting the Final.

Louth, 2024 TG4 All-Ireland Junior Finalists, are the provincial title holders and begin their campaign with a visit to Glennon Brothers Pearse Park and a clash with hosts Longford.

Louth will feel confident ahead of this one. They finished just outside the promotion places in Division 3 of the Lidl National League, while Longford ended up third from bottom in the Division 4 standings.

Longford: A Cooney; G Kenny, L Keegan, A Brady; C McCormack, E O’Brien (capt.), E Duggan; S Gallagher, S Hagan; E O’Reilly, K Crawford, K McKeon; L McGuire, K Burke, C Lohan.

Louth: R Lambe Fagan; C Boyle, E Hand, H Lambe Sally; C O’Reilly, S McLaughlin, A Russell; G McCrave, Á Breen (capt.); Z Sweeney, E Byrne, R Leonard; K Flood, C Woods, C Nolan.  

Kilkenny v Carlow, Muckalee GAA, 2pm 

Carlow’s Lidl NFL campaign in Division 3 unfortunately ended with relegation back to the fourth tier.

With just one win from seven outings, championship now offers the opportunity for an upturn in fortunes.

Remarkably, Cavan have contested four successive TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship semi-finals but have yet to vault that hurdle.

The Barrowsiders will want to feature at the business end of the campaign again but regaining the Leinster title they won in 2023 will also be a priority item.

Carlow lost out to Louth in last year’s provincial decider but they’ll start as strong favourites to get their 2025 championship campaign off to a winning start against Kilkenny.

Kilkenny: K Fitzpatrick; S Mooney, A Galwey, R Crowley; S Dunne, R Roche, A Ring; E Lawlor (capt.), S Smith; N Ward, S Corcoran, L Gilmore; A Ryan, L McDowell, K Purcell.

Carlow: S Cotter; S McCullagh, C Mahon, K Tunstead; T Lyons, A Carroll, M Cranny; R Bailey (capt.), E Ware; B Nolan, O Woods, E Molloy; S Hayden, C Ní Shé, A Kiernan.

TG4 Munster Senior Championship

Tipperary v Waterford; Fethard Town Park, 2pm 

Waterford enjoyed a terrific Lidl NFL Division 1 campaign and will provide dangerous opposition for Championship opponents.

The Déise finished on 13 points alongside Dublin in the top flight – and just two behind second placed Armagh.

Waterford will look to carry that good form into the TG4 Munster Senior Championship and their opening tie is a clash with neighbours Tipperary in Fethard.

Tipp pulled themselves out of relegation danger in the closing rounds of Division 2 – and they eventually finished in third place, nine points off Cork.

Ace forward Aishling Moloney is named on the bench for Tipp but if she’s ready to play some part, the Cahir star will surely feature.

Waterford had captain and midfielder Emma Murray and free-scoring Kellyann Hogan named on the Division 1 Team of the Lidl National League.

They’re two players Waterford will look to as they aim to get off to a winning Championship start.

Tipperary: L Fitzpatrick (capt.); N Martin, L Spillane, E Cronin; S English; M Curley, B Condon; A.R. Kennedy, S O’Carroll; H Spillane, N Towey, A O’Shea; C English, K Crotty Ryan, A Fennessy.

Waterford: G Corcoran; M Ryan, R Casey, C Murray; K McGrath, H Power, Á O’Neill; E Murray, E Power; B McMaugh, K Hogan, C McCarthy; K Murray, C Walsh, L McGregor.

Munster Senior B Championship

Clare v Limerick; Clare Abbey, 2pm 

Clare and Limerick have the chance to warm up for the TG4 All-Ireland Championships by competing in the Munster Senior B competition.

Clare will play at Intermediate level, with Limerick preparing for Junior fare.

Limerick won the Munster Senior B title in 2024 and will be keen to retain the title.

Clare: A Griffin; L Power, G Harvey, R Doohan; C Byrne, J Doohan, E Burke; C Harvey (capt.), R Martin; M Downes, C Moloney, L Conway; A Slattery, E Hanrahan, S Melican.

Limerick: S Hennessy; S Dillon, Y Lee (capt.), R Browne; M MacNamara, C Mee, G Lee; G Mullane, O Ryan; R Ambrose, D Murphy, K O’Leary; L O’Brien, R Delee, C McNamara.

TG4 Ulster Intermediate Championship

Fermanagh v Tyrone; Kinawley, 2pm

Fermanagh will look to regroup quickly after losing out to Antrim in the Lidl NFL Division 4 Final.

But the main goal of promotion to Division 3 was achieved and that will have the 2024 TG4 All-Ireland Junior champions in good form as they prepare for a return to Intermediate fare.

It’s a stiff test for Fermanagh when they take on Tyrone, who will want a reaction after suffering relegation to Division 2.

The Red Hands will also feel they’re leading contenders for the TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate crown, after contesting last year’s final.

The winners of this preliminary round tie will take on Down in the Ulster semi-final, with Monaghan and Cavan on the other end of the draw.

Both semi-finals are due to be played on Sunday May 4.

Fermanagh: A Haren; S McQuade (capt.), C Clarke, E Keenan; N Boyle, C Murphy, C Bogue; S Feeley, M McGloin; A O’Brien, C Martin, L Maguire; J Doonan, E Smyth, N McManus.

Tyrone: A Coyle; J Lyons, G McKenna, E Quinn; C Canavan, M Corrigan, S McCarroll; M Mallon, A McHugh (capt.); M Moore, S Gormley, A Horisk; A McGahan, C McCrossan, N O’Neill.