Hurling previews: Dublin and Galway bid for Leinster final spot, Clare take final bow
Sunday
Leinster SHC
Wexford v Kilkenny, Wexford Park, 2pm
– Unlike the terrific contests of recent years between these two when no perceived gap, however large, appeared unbridgeable for Wexford and their spiritual leader Lee Chin, this is a dead rubber with all that implies for match excitement and crowd engagement. Keith Rossiter's team were very unlucky to concede a phantom goal to Dublin at a critical stage but overall, it's been a dull year between relegation in the league and the faltering championship.
Kilkenny name a shadow team, giving reserves a run and indulging in a bit of experimentation by naming Ballyhale's front eight All Star, Adrian Mullen, at centre back. If there were high stakes and an excitable crowd, you'd have to go with Wexford, given the opposition line-up. But there's unlikely to be either.
Verdict:
Kilkenny
Dublin v Galway, Parnell Park, 2pm (Live, RTÉ2)
– This is an effective semi-final with the winners advancing to play Kilkenny in the Leinster final – Galway have the scoring edge if it's a draw. Both teams have improved as the championship has unfolded and come into this in relatively buoyant form. Dublin's progress has been well calibrated by Niall Ó Ceallacháin and they are guaranteed All-Ireland hurling regardless of the result. They were a little unfortunate against Kilkenny, as the defence sprang leaks faster than the forwards could find scores, even allowing for some bright and intelligent play.
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Certainly, on a line drawn through Kilkenny, Dublin look better but Galway have improved on that dire first outing and have named a strong team for this, not their favourite hunting ground. Yet to win this championship fixture in the city, Galway are nonetheless odds-on for this. They certainly have a higher ceiling but how close are they to reaching it? Dublin can be depended on to bring energy and cussedness against their former manager Micheál Donoghue but he brings a depth of knowledge and acuity to planning for his former charges. There's a momentum to the home team, though, that can make a marginal difference.
Verdict:
Dublin
Offaly v Antrim, O'Connor Park, 2pm (Live, GAA+)
– The McDonagh play-off pairing that most foresaw has materialised but in a slightly different way. Offaly came up short in Parnell Park having looked at one stage like beating Dublin but they fell away and haven't managed to land a punch yet. Antrim conversely haven't been hugely competitive and there were rumblings of discontent during the week after a campaign where not even Fortress Corrigan appeared to be helping. This is away and the scale of the opportunity is likely to bring out the best in Offaly.
Verdict:
Offaly
Mark Rodgers after Clare's third round loss to Tipperary. Photograph: Natasha Barton/Inpho
Munster SHC
Limerick v Clare, Gaelic Grounds, 4pm
– A sad reduction of the Munster championship's big fixture of the past three seasons to irrelevance, as it's only denied dead rubber status by the potential for Limerick to miss out on the Munster final should Clare win by 26 points. The All-Ireland champions have never been in a position to mount a full-throated defence because of injuries and even the heroic recovery against Cork has been contextualised. John Kiely rests a number of front liners but retains a bit of oomph off the bench.
Verdict:
Limerick
Cork v Waterford, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 4pm (Live, RTÉ2)
– How straightforward all of this looked a week ago. The extent to which it still maintains some of that characteristic is Waterford's sense of running a bit on empty. But Cork's humiliating reversion to the whipping boys of four years ago may have been partly contrived – or not but it's impossible to view their campaign in the same light and a massive statement, not really possible in this match, will be required if they reach the Munster final.
Waterford had their own travails, effectively losing to Tipperary despite a handicap in the shape of a burst of early scores. Second only to Limerick in terms of scores conceded, Peter Queally's team also are the province's least productive attackers. In their favour is that for the first time in this format they go into the last day with a chance of reaching the All-Ireland stages. Assuming that Cork are appropriately stung by last week, they should bring more dynamism to this task. With the atmosphere of a full and urgent venue, the league winners are likely to exert enough pressure to outscore the visitors, ideally by rediscovering their goal touch. Any misfiring will be an invitation to further disaster.
Verdict:
Cork
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RTÉ News
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- RTÉ News
Provincial hurling finals - All You Need to Know
SATURDAY Munster SHC final Limerick v Cork, TUS Gaelic Grounds, 6pm SUNDAY Joe McDonagh Cup final Kildare v Laois, Croke Park, 1.45pm Leinster SHC final Kilkenny v Galway, Croke Park, 4pm ONLINE Live blog on and the RTÉ News app. TV Live coverage of the Munster hurling final on Saturday on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 5.15pm. Live coverage of the Joe McDonagh final and the Leinster hurling final on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player on Sunday, starting at 1.30pm. Highlights on The Saturday Game (9.40pm) and The Sunday Game (9.30pm) on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. RADIO Live commentaries and updates on Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1 and Spórt an tSathairn and Spórt an Lae, RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta. WEATHER Saturday: In Munster, the showers earlier in the day will largely die out later in the afternoon to leave a fine evening. Highest temperatures of 12 to 15 degrees, with moderate northwesterly winds. Sunday: Sunday will bring a mix of sunshine and showers. Highest temperatures of 13 to 17 degrees in moderate westerly winds. Overview - an era of domination Limerick have already broken new ground in the Munster hurling championship with the first-ever six-in-a-row last year. Now, it's just a question of what record they're going to set for future dynasties. It's a particularly stunning feat given that Limerick, traditionally, are outside the 'big two' in Munster. Or, at best, they were the half in the 'big two-and-a-half', akin to Roscommon in the Connacht football championship. Who knows, the long-term legacy of the Kiely-Kinnerk era may be that future generations will refer to a 'big four' rather than a 'big three'? They've beaten every other Munster county in a provincial final in the current run, aside from Cork. They're coming off three successive Munster final wins over Clare, the last of which was the most clear-cut. Tipperary were dispatched in 2019 and 2021, the latter after that remarkable second half turnaround. In 2020, they saw off Waterford before beating them again in the All-Ireland final. Cork are both the last Munster team to win the province before the Limerick supremacy arrived - and they're also the last side to beat Limerick in a Munster final, winning the last championship game played at the old Páirc Uí Chaoimh back in 2014 during Jimmy Barry Murphy's second stint in charge. Kilkenny's present domination of the Leinster hurling championship has attracted far less notice. Indeed, their achievement of the provincial five-in-a-row last year crept up on people. Partly, this is because Kilkenny dominance of Leinster has typically been the historical norm and partly because the province is much less glamorous. Even more so, it's down to their failure to back it up with a Liam MacCarthy, which, as Richie Hogan noted this week, is the only currency worth considering in Kilkenny. The run started in 2020, when they ended a four-year stretch without a Leinster title in an empty Croke Park, after pick-pocketing a generally superior Galway side down the home straight. The westerners looked comfortably the better team for an hour, maintaining a four-to-five point lead for most of the second half. Then Hogan, introduced as a late substitute, rustled up a truly ingenious goal, with Reid whipping in a second within a matter of seconds to turn the game on its head. They've beaten Galway in two more Leinster finals since then. Cody's last provincial victory in 2022 came after an unimaginably dull, free-ridden game. 2023 was another dramatic smash-and-grab. Henry Shefflin's Galway side appeared to have done enough with a stirring final quarter to lead by two in injury-time - until Padraic Mannion's panicked clearance with his boot found Cillian Buckley's paw and we know the rest. Even by the poor standards of your average Kilkenny-Dublin Leinster final, last year's provincial decider was a non-event. Cork aim to recover from "set-up" The blithe and gleeful confidence that settled over Cork in the wake of the league final is a distant memory. The 16-point mauling in the Gaelic Grounds was a shock to the system and a sobering reminder that the great Limerick side of the 2020s aren't close to being done. The Rebels were even threatened with elimination on the final day and produced a somewhat jittery performance at home to Waterford, in which their far greater attacking quality would eventually tell in the end. The Cork management have been angrily rounding on the hype-mongers since the loss in Limerick. Pat Ryan accused those who were writing off Limerick of being "off their game" and "setting us up for a fall." Selector Wayne Sherlock branded the media hype as "cringey outside noise" and had a pop at the Paddy Power stunt of paying out on Cork winning the All-Ireland after the league final. "I think we were being set-up, to be honest," Sherlock told reporters this week. "It's kind of insulting. I think people want us to fail." Ryan even took aim at the concept of 'Corkness', branding it "the most stupid word I ever heard." We can fairly take it that they've concluded the pre-championship hype was not helpful and that a more workmanlike Cork team - and a more humble Cork crowd - will arrive in Shannonside this Saturday. Galway old stagers still plugging away Of Galway's 11 competitive matches in 2025, they've won seven and lost the other four by 12 points. It was assumed this was a transitional period. The returning All-Ireland winning manager Micheál Donoghue was given a four-year term, which was taken to imply this was partly a re-build job. The manager acknowledged they were "looking to the future" after 2017 veterans Joseph Cooney, Gearóid McInerney and Adrian Touhy departed before the season began. But there's a surprising degree of continuity around Galway, all the same. David Burke is still relied upon to bring a stability and game-management expertise to midfield. The Mannions remain prominent at both ends of the field. Daithí Burke and Fintan Burke form the bedrock of the defence. Conor Whelan, notwithstanding his patchy form early in the season, provides much of the gold-dust in attack. In some respects, the 'transition' hasn't even started yet. There has been some change. John Fleming has been a workhorse at wing-forward, while Gavin Lee has nailed down the problematic position of centre-back - though doubts about his defensive suitability were raised after the second half against Wexford. Loughrea's Anthony Burns has shown impressive flashes in the inside forward line, though Kevin Cooney is preferred to start this weekend. Team News There is still some uncertainty about who will be manning the goal for Galway. Their official submitted team is at odds with their 'X' account, with the supposedly suspended Darach Fahy named on the former, while Eanna Murphy is down to start on the latter. Fahy was suspended by the CHC for slapping out at AJ Murphy, though the Tribesmen are still intent on appealing. Otherwise, as noted above, Kevin Cooney - so impressive in the last Leinster decider against Kilkenny in 2023 - replaces Anthony Burns. Derek Lyng is still without the injured Eoin Cody, though Adrian Mullen returns to his centre-forward berth after his runout at centre-back for the Wexford dead rubber. Cork, meanwhile, have handed Diarmuid Healy his first start in place of Brian Roche, while Shane Barrett captains the team in the absence of the injured Rob Downey. For Limerick, Aidan O'Connor makes a first championship start, replacing Shane O'Brien at full-forward. Kildare seek to break new ground in Joe Mc The Kildare hurlers go in search of a landmark victory this weekend, which would take them into the Leinster SHC for the first time since 2004. They've flirted with the big-time in decades past. In 1976, Kildare beat Dublin and took the eventual champions Wexford to the brink in the semi-final. They won the old All-Ireland 'B' championship on four occasions, including in 1989 and 2004. Their rise in modern times has been charted here, with the strength of Naas being a core reason. A Croke Park appearance looked unlikely after an opening day loss to Kerry - who were subsequently relegated - but they've won four from four since, including a shock 11-point win over Laois in the penultimate round. The north of the county is now the hurling stronghold - a turnaround from previous eras - with Maynooth's David Qualter and Naas' Jack Sheridan to the fore on the scoring front. Last year's losing finalists Laois enter as slight favourites despite the loss in Portlaoise. They squeezed into the final after James Duggan's last-gasp goal snatched a draw in Carlow. Tommy Fitzgerald's side is without Cha Dwyer, who took umbrage at being substituted against Carlow, while goalkeeper Enda Rowland has opted out. Mossie Keyes, who hit 0-14 in Netwatch Cullen Park, has been to the fore in attack in this campaign.
Irish Times
an hour ago
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Leinster SHC final: Unflappable Kilkenny can contain the Galway bounce-back
Leinster GAA SHC final Kilkenny v Galway, Croke Park, Sunday 4pm Are Galway becoming a bit like the three-card trick merchants? Every year is the one that's going to be different. Honest. It has been some resurrection for Micheál Donoghue's team to proceed from the vacuous display in Nowlan Park seven weeks ago to being quietly reinstated as contenders for this weekend. Kilkenny in Leinster finals have been a constant source of grief for the westerners since they moved into the province. One win in eight is the running total, allowing that in 2018 the first match was a draw and they eventually won after a replay. Nearly all of those were comprehensive defeats or spectacular self-infliction, like 2020 and 2023. There is, however, some logic to the Galway revisions. They caned a Dublin team that Kilkenny had laboured to put away and even if the Dubs were unfathomably poor two weeks ago, their opponents' vigilant pressing and tactical nous were influential in forcing that. READ MORE Goals are again an issue, in that of the six teams in the Leinster round robin, only Antrim managed fewer green flags than Galway but no side has hit more points. Of course, when Donoghue guided the county to the 2017 All-Ireland, they notably scored no goals in four of their five championship matches. This, predictably, isn't a concern for their opponents, who with 15 have top-scored in championship goals to date. The team hasn't been tweaked much, let alone overhauled, but Derek Lyng continues to get the most out of them. Injuries have stalked selections and Eoin Cody is missing again with hamstring trouble but TJ Reid perseveres and has bagged 4-22 in the last three matches, 3-2 from play. There was the now traditional reverse against Wexford on the last day but that was a dead rubber from Kilkenny's perspective. For that match, Lyng ran an experiment of Adrian Mullen at centre back. It may have been whimsy but presumably there was some level of curiosity as to how the unusual placing of an All Star front eight player would fare and how sustainable the attack might be in his absence. The challenge for Galway is how dependable their opponents are. Kilkenny are on a six-in-a-row in Leinster despite having hardly impacted on the All-Ireland championship during that time. They will turn up and play to a guaranteed level. [ Galway's Cathal Mannion only too aware of Kilkenny's extra-time threat Opens in new window ] They will be more attentive in marking Galway's players and not leaving the gaps that Dublin did nor yielding the same stream of turnovers. David Burke had an excellent match in Parnell Park and his distribution will be a key factor for them. Donoghue has a good record in Leinster finals, having won two titles in three years during his first tenure. They will press hard and in the repurposed Conor Whelan and the prolific Cathal Mannion they have All Star quality forwards in form. Kilkenny's consistency and application, however, look more persuasive. Verdict : Kilkenny Kilkenny : E. Murphy; M Butler, H Lawlor, T Walsh; M Carey, R Reid, P Deegan; C Kenny, J Molloy; J Donnelly, A Mullen, B Ryan; S Donnelly, TJ Reid, M Keoghan. Subs : A Tallis, P Moylan, D Blanchfield, S Murphy, K Doyle, Z Bay Hammond, F Mackessy, H Shine, L Hogan, L Connellan, M Murphy. Galway : E Murphy; P Mannion, Daithí Burke, F Burke; C Fahy, G Lee, TJ Brennan; S Linnane, David Burke; J Fleming, C Mannion, T Monaghan; C Whelan, B Concannon, K Cooney. Subs : D Walsh, D Morrissey, J Grealish, J Ryan, D Loftus, R Glennon, C Cooney, T Killeen, A Burns, C Molloy, J Flynn.
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Cork players don't look to blame others anymore
'Donal O'Mahony, he's a good friend of mine, he's in the coaching ticket there. We have huge regard for each other.' – John Kiely, May 30. In the skull and crossbone, Donal O'Mahony and John Kiely were kindred spirits. Thickest of thieves. One of the few things they didn't share in UCC was a Fitzgibbon Cup. Kiely finished up a year before O'Mahony was part of the 1996 winning team. Full of affirmations and convictions, it's easy to see how they gravitated to each other and continue to remain pals despite their obvious differences. The respect Kiely speaks of is indisputable. O'Mahony considers Limerick 'a generational team' but Pat Ryan's Cork beat them twice in the space of two months last year. Since then, there has been the 16-point payback but the Cork selector approaches Rd 2 in this Munster final brimming with belief. 'I've been involved a couple of years now and your natural inclination is you want to win every game, and when you don't, you get really disappointed. But like Pat's language is very good this year. It's a marathon, it's not a sprint. You just need to stay in there, and then when the time to make a move comes, you make it. 'So for us, making a move is from now on. We're in the Munster final, we're going to the All-Ireland series, so like this is happening. While we lost the game against Limerick and drew a game against Clare the first day, we're making finals whether it's by a circuitous route or a straight line route.' To draw a line under what happened on May 18, there had to be a bloodletting. A round of genuine mea culpas. Management and players owned up. 'If the lads are waiting for us to tell them to do things, I think we're in difficulty,' says O'Mahony of the fall-out from the game. 'There's a real sense that they let the group down, ourselves, they let the backroom team down and, yeah, we let the supporters down. 'It's not just the players, it's the management as well. We're in charge of setting up, we're in charge of the tactics, so we're all in it together, and that's a real positive for us, that the players hold their own meetings, and take responsibility, and they don't look to blame the coach, or the selectors, or the physios, or the doctors. 'That's, I think, a shift in the last couple of years. Before, maybe it wasn't that way, whereas now they take ownership of the performances, and don't look for excuses, don't look to blame people.' O'Mahony has obviously heard the yarn that Cork took a dive last month but he dispels that theory completely. At the same time, there are priorities. 'We always define that the big players play when it's needed the most. Is it needed the most in a round-robin game in Munster or an All-Ireland semi-final? You kind of go towards the latter there. 'This narrative that we kind of took the foot off the pedal and trained really hard for last week is incorrect. Our job all the time is to go out and try to win games, and we didn't achieve that outcome, but it wasn't a fatal blow-up, we weren't knocked out of the championship, and it put us back into an environment that we've been dealing with well in the last two to three years when our backs are to the wall. 'I think that's becoming our defining character. When we need to deliver, we're getting better at it. We're not there yet, but we're definitely getting better at it.' Although it was at times a fraught performance, beating Waterford last Sunday week was a case of mission accomplished and reaching a third consecutive competition final. O'Mahony didn't need the outside world for validation. 'The same fellas patting you on the back the week after Waterford were the same fellas kicking your ass after Limerick, so you don't get carried away with it. Our focus is getting the best out of our fellas, because we do believe that if we get the best out of our fellas, as we proved last year, we're a match for anyone. 'Our philosophy is a general psychological set, you have to keep the outside out, the noise that we can't control, but we're very proud of the connection that we have with our supporters. 'That brings with it the responsibility that you have to deliver. Everybody's busy these days, people are paying good money to go and watch us, and in Limerick the last day, the traffic was chaotic. People are giving a lot of time, a lot of money to follow us, we need to give them something to follow.' The wrecking ball that Brian Hayes has become at the edge of the square is the type of forward Cork folk will gladly fork out to see. O'Mahony can't stress enough how vital it is to have players with different skillsets. 'We felt at times before we might have been one-dimensional, whereas we've developed an adaptability, and that's a concern we have when we're looking at who we add to the panel. If we keep adding the same player, we're probably easier to play against. 'On one end of the spectrum, you have William Buckley who is lightning fast and a brilliant fella on the ball, all the way up to Brian Hayes, who's 6ft 5, and plays a totally different style of hurling. 'We feel we can change the way we play in-game, which is really important. In my first iteration (with John Meyler), we had really good players but were probably the same type of players and replacing a player with the same type of player you were likely to get the same outcome.' To execute a different result now, Cork must be different. O'Mahony is emphatic that they can be. 'If you look at the modern game of hurling, we were 12 points up at half-time in Ennis, and Clare turned a 12-point lead around in 35 minutes of hurling, so why can't we turn a 16-point deficit around in 70 minutes of hurling? 'We know we're capable of getting goals, and we're averaging nearly 30 points, we were 31 against Waterford, and we have the arsenal to do it, so we're confident that that 16-point deficit isn't a barrier to us.'
