Tailteann Cup quarter final draw sees Kildare face Offaly
The draw for the Tailteann Cup quarter-final took place this morning with Kildare drawn to face fellow Leinster side Offaly.
Limerick have been drawn against Wexford while Fermanagh will face Sligo with another all Leinster affair with Wicklow drawn against Westmeath.
The games will be played over the weekend of June 14/15 with the fixtures details to be finalised by the CCCC later today.
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RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Leinster Lions quartet of Furlong, Van der Flier, Ringrose and Keenen still in running to face Bulls
Leinster's Tadhg Furlong, Garry Ringrose and Josh van der Flier trained with Leinster today "to some degree" and are still in the running to face Bulls in Saturday's BKT URC final. Ireland and Lions prop Furlong has not played since the start of May as he recovers from a calf injury. Centre Ringrose, who will go on his first Lions tour this summer, has been out since the Zebre game on 10 May with a calf issue, and missed both knockout wins over Scarlets and Glasgow. Flanker van der Flier, also a first time Lions tourist, came off after 28 minutes of Leinster's win over Scarlets with a tight hamstring nine days ago. "They were at different levels but it's great to have them out on the park," Leinster assistant Tyler Bleyendaal told RTÉ Sport when asked about Furlong and Ringrose's prospects for the Croke Park clash. "They were kind of mixing their rehab with a bit of rugby and we'll see how far they integrate during the week whether or not they are available for selection. On Van der Flier and Hugo Keenan, who was ruled out of their semi-final win against Warriors late last week with a calf injury, the New Zealander said: "The same, out on the pitch to some degree and depending on their rehab plans, they might progress more or have to stay but we'll make that assessment, probably tomorrow morning." Speaking after the 37-19 win over the defending champions, head coach Leo Cullen indicated that Van der Flier and Ringrose were closer to the "top" of the list of possible Lions players who could feature at Croke Park, while Furlong and Keenan were ranked in "the middle". "Tadhg obviously brings a lot and hopefully he comes through the week well," said hooker Dan Sheehan, who scored a brace of tries at Aviva Stadium on Saturday. "Obviously we have quite a few big names out but that's just part of this time of the season, boys are banged up so anyone we can get back would be great, but we also have a strong squad with good depth." There were no further updates on Will Connors, Brian Deeny, Caelan Doris and Robbie Henshaw, while Tommy O'Brien came through the game with no issues following a recent injury. Meanwhile, Bleyendaal admitted that Leinster, last league champions in 2021, will need to improve but felt that the Warriors battle will stand to them. Franco Smith's side scored two late converted tries to put a deceptive look on the scoreboard, while Sam Prendergast missed six kicks at goal. "It's an interesting one," said the attack specialist. "We had a tight battle against the Scarlets, who did play well and we ground out a good win. "Glasgow turned up with great intent, I thought. They are still a very difficult team. "The scoreboard might not have reflected that but if you ask the players I'm sure they are feeling all the contacts from the weekend and it definitely wasn't an easy match. "We feel like it was a great result for us, a semi-final victory, it was hard earned, and it was a physical battle. "We're grateful for the win and very much aware that we do need to improve again." Leinster and Bulls, who beat Sharks 25-13 in their semi-final, will name their teams for the final on Thursday.
RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
McGrath: Are we punishing Joe McDonagh Cup finalists?
Joe McDonagh Cup finalists Kildare and Laois will be back in action this weekend, but in truth, anything other than wins for Dublin, and in particular Tipperary, would be seen as major shocks. The Lilywhites will enter the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final at home to the Dubs with huge momentum behind them. Having already secured 1B hurling earlier this year, Brian Dowling's men will compete in the Leinster Championship in 2026 after a maiden success in the McDonagh Cup on Sunday. Laois, on the other hand, will have to pick themselves up after the 10-point defeat at Croke Park, where the challenge will be significantly tougher against a rejuvenated Tipperary. The preliminary quarter-finals tend to be one-sided games, with Laois' victory over Dublin in 2019 the only time a Joe McDonagh side has prevailed against stiffer opposition. Laois' 12-point defeat to Wexford at the same stage last year could be seen a success in the context that the average losing margin for the Joe McDonagh Cup finalists before that was just shy of 22 points. Earlier this year, Leinster Council chairman Derek Kent proposed scrapping the All-Ireland hurling preliminary quarter-finals to accommodate potential provincial final replays, insisting the preliminaries offer "no promotion of hurling". Speaking on the RTÉ GAA podcast, former Tipperary hurler Shane McGrath outlined his own concerns over the fixtures, especially the short turnaround from the McDonagh Cup final. "Take the All-Ireland hurling final on the third week of July," he said. "Imagine after that match, you say to everyone, 'by the way, you won this, but to play in this competition you have to play next Saturday'. "Are we nearly punishing them for winning the thing by playing seven days later." Former hurling referee Barry Kelly praised Kildare and Brian Dowling for being the hurling and managerial story of the year respectively, but feels the preliminaries offer little hope for the McDonagh sides. "The average defeat in those games is 17 points," he said. "No-one would be surprised if Tippeary beat Laois by 17 points. Let's be honest, 17 points would be regarded by Laois as an achievement next weekend." Follow a live blog on the All-Ireland Football Championship on Saturday on and the RTÉ News app. Listen to updates on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Saturday Game at 9.30pm. Watch an All-Ireland Football Championship double-header, Monaghan v Down and Donegal v Mayo, on Sunday from 1.30pm. Follow a live blog on and the RTÉ News app. Listen to updates on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Sunday Game at 9.30pm.
The 42
2 hours ago
- The 42
So, just how serious are we about hurling promotion?
AS YOU APPROACHED the corner where the Drumcondra and Clonliffe Roads meet, several buses were queued up on Sunday lunchtime. Dozens of children emerged clad in the garb of their local clubs or else Galway and Kilkenny jerseys. Noticeable to this eye was the proliferation of kids from Belfast club, Michael Davitts, a bijoux planted off the corner of the Falls Road and Clonard Street. Elsewhere in the stadium, another Belfast club, O'Donovan Rossa, had a busload of children. 33 in total, along with their mentors. It's not unknown for the Leinster final attendance to be swollen by hurling units from Ulster. Most years you are guaranteed a top-quality game, within a travelling distance that is manageable enough that kids won't be blowing chunks all around a bus after a day of munching sweets, and for the tolerance levels of mentors, some of whom realise that children can be a bit like farting; you can just about stand your own. However, there can be no doubt that the Leinster Council did the right thing in meeting these units half way. Around a fortnight ago it was announced that they were donating 20,000 tickets for children under the age of 14. As they explained, the move came about through Leinster GAA's, 'ongoing commitment to youth participation and community engagement, providing young players with the opportunity to experience the excitement and atmosphere of Senior Hurling Championship match days.' For every ten children, there had to be two supervising adults. Speaking prior to handing over the Bob O'Keefe Cup to John Donnelly, Kent gave a shout-out to the various hurling units that had made the effort to come along for the day, hailing those from Tyrone, Armagh and Down by name. It's not sacrilege to also admit at the same time that the appetite for such a game was meagre at best. Advertisement The take-up was believed to be around half in an overall attendance of 37,503. So essentially, for a Leinster hurling final, with the Joe McDonagh Cup final of Kildare and Laois as the curtain-raiser, brought in just over 27,000 apart from the freebies. The presence of Hurling Development Chairman Terry Reilly and National Head of Hurling Willie Maher, sitting in a prominent position when Kildare were being presented with the Joe McDonagh Cup, was instructive. Reilly has been exacting and exhausting in his efforts to date in his role. He has demanded a great deal, but he has also been careful to take his time in identifying what needs to be done, by whom and by when. Terry Reilly, Chairman of the HDC. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO Maher was originally on the committee, but has had to step down in order to take up this role, which had been occupied by former Kilkenny coach Martin Fogarty until his contract ran out in December 2021 and the GAA in a dereliction of duty, did not arrange for an extension or a replacement. The symmetry was too tempting for GAA President Jarlath Burns to ignore. In his speech before handing over the Joe McDonagh cup, he declared Kildare's triumph to be an early 'win' for his Hurling Development Committee, given part of their remit was to expand the number of counties who could compete in the Liam MacCarthy Cup. That status is now bestowed on Kildare, and reward for the plan they devised and began in 2018, and have carried through to fruition so far. Good for Kildare. The sugar rush of a Joe McDonagh Cup needs to be capitalised upon by Kildare when they play Dublin in the preliminary quarter-final. Though you may question why they have to do so much winning to keep playing hurling in the early summer. In his programme notes, Kent noted, 'Almost 60% of our senior hurling teams in Leinster will have no hurling in June, which surely demonstrates a troubling lack of hurling promotion. On the contrary, over 91% of our football teams, all but one of the 12 in the province, will play football this month. That clearly highlights an imbalance in the playing of our games.' The line between Galway and Dublin is the Mason-Dixon Line of hurling. the Confederate states south of that hurling equator have access to each other, where the hurling culture is strongest. The four teams playing in Croke Park were all within that area. As hard as it is to call out the troops in the heartlands, consider the work then that is going on north of that line. One of the chief aims of the Hurling Development Committee has been to increase the number of units in this area. They have already started that project with their 'starter packs' of equipment for clubs that have previously only fielded in Gaelic football, to offer hurling. Empty spaces at the Leinster hurling final. Bryan Keane / INPHO Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO Good. Brilliant. Excellent. However, there is absolutely no point in new clubs starting, unless they have help and support. To that end, our eye gets drawn to a job advertised by the Ulster Council recently for a regional hurling development officer. There are a number of them in the province and people generally don't tend to last long in the roles. The salary advertised was circa £27,000 (€32,000). To put this into context, the average graduate wage in the north is £32,500 (€38,600). The minimum wage in the north, since April 1, 2025 is £25,396. Related Reads 'The fact it went to penalties is a bit mad' - Cork's Munster win with a difference Kildare crowned Joe McDonagh Cup champions with victory over Laois 'It was a whole new world for me': Limerick-Cork Munster final memories 50 years on A job at the interface of hurling development, where the work is most badly needed, is barely more than a minimum wage. If you were wondering how serious the GAA were about promoting hurling, that's one area to fix. Immediately. * Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here
