Crunch time for Mayo and Galway on bumper weekend of GAA action

Irish Times

a day ago

Saturday
All-Ireland SFC, Round Two
Group One
Tyrone v Mayo, Healy Park, 7pm (Live on GAA+):
In the county's extensive history of difficult weeks,
Mayo
put down yet another one over the last seven days. The optics of the GAA president and director general both
attending a hastily called Mayo County Board meeting
on Monday wasn't a particularly resplendent look for all involved. More importantly,
news of Kevin McStay's health issues
forcing him to step away as manager at this time is a worry that goes beyond football.
All of this unspooled just one week
after Mayo's surprise loss to Cavan
. That loss means they will struggle to emerge from this group now so to at least keep their summer alive a little longer Mayo must not leave Omagh empty-handed. But if
Tyrone
reproduce their Ballybofey form, that's likely to be Mayo's fate.
Verdict:
Tyrone
Group Two
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Cork v Kerry, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 4.45pm (Live on GAA+):
Once bitten ... and all that.
Kerry
received a hell of a scare from
Cork
in the Munster semi-final in April so that will be fresh in the minds of the Kingdom's players and management. Cork's lacklustre display against Meath last weekend must be a worry for the Rebels. That was a game John Cleary would have targeted for two points, but Cork played with no spark in Navan.
Verdict:
Kerry
Roscommon v Meath, Dr Hyde Park, 6pm:
Roscommon have never beaten Meath in championship football. This is the fifth time the sides will have clashed – with Meath winning the previous four (1952, 1991, 2006, 2009.) Robbie Brennan's Meath also beat Roscommon in the league this year but the Rossies still finished in the promotion places while Meath did not. This is likely to be a close affair between two evenly matched sides and could end in stalemate.
Verdict:
Draw
Group Three
Down v Louth, Páirc Esler, 5.30pm:
Down delivered one of the most comprehensive displays of the opening round with a 3-27 to 1-16 dismissal of Clare in Ennis. Louth edged Down by a point when the sides met in the league in February so don't be surprised if this one comes down to a winning score at the death. Louth have had some injury issues in recent weeks though and they were denied permission to play their round one 'home' game against Monaghan in Newry as Down didn't want to cede any advantage ahead of this game.
Verdict:
Down
Odhran Murdock of Down goes for a score. Photograph: Natasha Barton/Inpho
Tailteann Cup, Round three
Group Two
Wicklow v Waterford, Wexford Park, 6pm:
Wicklow's solid win over Laois last time out leaves them on course for a place in the knockout stages. A draw or a win here will guarantee Oisín McConville's side progression from the group. They face a Waterford side who, whilst competitive, lost to both Laois and Offaly.
Verdict:
Wicklow
Offaly v Laois, St Conleth's Park, 6pm:
Laois manager Justin McNulty was critical of his team's performance following their defeat to Wicklow in round two. Offaly, meanwhile, have been the form team in this group and that momentum should see them make it three wins from three.
Verdict:
Offaly
Group Three
Westmeath v Limerick, O'Moore Park, 2pm:
This is a straight shootout for top spot and a pass directly to the quarter-finals. Dermot McCabe's Westmeath appear to have hit some real form in recent weeks and their high-scoring victories over London (0-26 to 1-10) and Antrim (4-24 to 1-17) suggest they might have superior firepower here on Limerick.
Verdict:
Westmeath
Nickey Rackard Cup final
Mayo v Roscommon, Croke Park, 1pm (Live on TG4 YouTube):
Mayo had seven points to spare on Roscommon when the sides met in April and while Roscommon have shown to carry a real goalscoring threat this year, their Connacht neighbours look to have a better balance to their team. Mayo lost last year's final to Donegal.
Verdict:
Mayo
Lory Meagher Cup final
Cavan v New York, Croke Park, 3pm (Live on TG4 YouTube):
New York's participation in the competition has sparked plenty of debate in recent weeks and they enter this final as unbackable favourites. New York were parachuted in at the semi-final stages, where they beat Monaghan 1-29 to 2-13.
Verdict:
New York
Christy Ring Cup final
Derry v London, Croke Park, 5pm (Live on TG4 YouTube):
Derry overcame London by four points when the sides met in Ruislip during the group stages. Both sides have shown impressive form this season but Derry have been the most consistent side in this year's Christy Ring and are hoping to make it third time lucky after losing the last two finals.
Verdict:
Derry
All-Ireland under-20 hurling final
Kilkenny v Tipperary, UPMC Nowlan Park, 3pm (Live on TG4):
Kilkenny's path to this final came with wins over Laois and Dublin in Leinster whereas the round-robin format in Munster meant Tipp played all comers in their province – beating Cork, Clare and Limerick. They then beat Clare again in the Munster final and should enter this decider much more battled-hardened than the Cats. Tipperary are also still stewing from last year's All-Ireland final defeat to Offaly.
Verdict:
Tipperary
Sunday
All-Ireland SFC, Round Two
Group One
Cavan v Donegal, Kingspan Breffni, 2pm
Interesting to see what sort of reaction Donegal bring here, having thrown away a good position after a very patchy display against Tyrone. Cavan surprised everyone by tearing Mayo to shreds so Jim McGuinness's side will be well-warned. Shaun Patton's importance can rarely have been better advertised than last Saturday night so the sooner Donegal have him back taking kickouts the better. They should probably be too strong for Cavan but then we said that about Mayo too.
Verdict:
Donegal
Group Three
Monaghan v Clare, Clones, 4pm
Monaghan have been impressive, putting Louth away for more comfortably than the scoreline suggested last weekend. They will surely have plenty in hand against a Clare team that couldn't get out of Division Three and have lost by 11 and 17 in their last two games.
Verdict:
Monaghan
Stephen O'Hanlon of Monaghan. Photograph: Ciaran Culligan/Inpho
Group Four
Derry v Galway, Celtic Park, 2pm (Live on GAA+)
Not exactly a loser-goes-home game but not a million miles off it. Whoever is beaten here will still have a chance to escape deep water in a fortnight but it's a long, long way to the surface. The return of Odhran Lynch and Lachlan Murray give Dery some hope – god knows they need it.
They won't find much encouragement from their home record anyway – they haven't won a championship match in Celtic Park since June 7th 2015, a decade ago almost to the day. Not a lot of succour in their history against Galway either – in five championship meetings down the years, they've lost every game.
Galway look to have evolved past their dependence on having both Shane Walsh and Damien Comer available at the same time, which can only be a good thing. A team with their pretensions can't afford a defeat here.
Verdict:
Galway
Dublin v Armagh, Croke Park, 4pm (Live on RTE Two)
The only game of the weekend between two first-round winners. It's first time that Dublin have faced a proper All-Ireland contender in Croke Park in a group game in either the old Super 8s or the current format, so there should be some electricity.
The absence of Con O'Callaghan is a killer for Dublin, who don't have a replacement. That said, they will be heartened to see Lee Gannon back after they feared his season was done. Armagh have a deeper squad and a cleaner bill of health. Should be enough.
Verdict:
Armagh
Tailteann Cup, Round three
Group One
Kildare v Sligo, Dr Hyde Park, 2pm
Sligo are nobody's mugs and drew this fixture in the 2023 Tailteann Cup. Both these teams will progress so it might take a slight edge off. With Daniel Flynn back firing, Kildare could have a class edge. But not by much.
Verdict:
Kildare
Leitrim v Tipperary, Mullingar, 1.30pm
Still something to play for here – a Tipperary win will likely earn them a spot in the next round. Leitrim's points difference leaves them with more of an uphill struggle and they haven't won a game since May 2024 so they can be forgiven for just wanting the season over.
Verdict:
Tipperary
Group Three
Antrim v London, Newry, 1.45pm
This has really turned into a rotten season for Antrim. Relegation from Division Three has been followed by a championship in which they've been conceding cricket scores. Even this fixture is a bit forlorn – both teams have such a lead weight points difference that a win most likely won't buy them passage to the knock-out stage. Might favour London, oddly.
Verdict:
London
Group Four
Carlow v Longford, O'Connor Park, 1.45pm
Joe Murphy has performed quite the exorcism in Carlow, going unbeaten against Wexford (Division Four champions) and Fermanagh (finished a point off promotion in Division Three). They should have enough to put Longford away and will probably top the group. Nobody saw that coming when Shane Curran walked in late March.
Verdict:
Carlow
Fermanagh v Wexford, Croke Park, 1.45pm - GAA+
Crunch tie of the day in the Tailteann Cup. Fermanagh came so close to beating Down in Ulster that most presumed they'd breeze through the early stages of the Tailteann but Carlow nipped them in a stone-cold classic. Wexford were four up going into injury-time against Carlow the last day but gave up a goal and point at the death. In four meetings between the teams, Fermanagh haven't been beaten. This is no time to be making history.
Verdict:
Fermanagh