Dublin v Armagh headlines bumper All-Ireland weekend

BBC News

2 days ago

And now the championship really gets going. After an opening round split across two weekends to allow provincial finalists a bit of breathing space, all 16 teams with ambitions of becoming All-Ireland champions are in action this weekend. The first batch of games produced a couple of eyebrow-raising shocks, namely Cavan's win in Mayo and Tyrone stunning Ulster champions Donegal in Ballybofey.With four games apiece on Saturday and Sunday, another healthy dose of drama is guaranteed as teams jostle for position in their respective groups. The pick of the bunch is unquestionably Armagh's first trip back to Croke Park since lifting the Sam Maguire Cup last summer, so that's where we'll start.
Remarkably, Sunday's Group Four contest will be Dublin and Armagh's first championship meeting since the 2010 All-Ireland qualifiers. In that game at Croke Park, Bernard Brogan hit nine points to help the Dubs see off Paddy O'Rourke's Orchardmen 0-14 to 0-11. And not only is it Armagh's first trip back to headquarters since that momentous day last summer, it is the first time they have faced Dublin in Croke Park since the opening round of the 2022 Division One campaign (which was only the second time Armagh boss Kieran McGeeney has faced the Dubs during his 11-year reign). The star of the show that night? Rian O'Neill - and with the Armagh ace having ended his self-imposed inter-county exile in last week's win over Derry, he will surely relish another blockbuster outing at Croke Park.
Armagh in a 'brilliant place' for Dubs test
Dublin, like Armagh, are coming off a win. Having crashed out of the Leinster championship at the hands of Meath, Dessie Farrell's side rebounded impressively to beat Galway in Salthill, meaning the winners of Sunday's game will more than likely top Group Four and earn straight passage through to the quarter-finals. "Dublin are not where they were at," says Armagh legend and BBC pundit Oisin McConville. "But there's still a little bit of fight in them. They will enjoy Croke Park but Armagh will too; obviously they have lovely memories from the last time they were."Apart from winning the Ulster Championship, Armagh have ticked all the boxes this year. They've gotten a lot of players back from injury so I think they're in a brilliant place for this game."Already without All-Ireland winning stalwarts Brian Fenton, James McCarthy and Michael Fitzsimons among others, Dublin must cope with the absence of injured three-time All-Star Con O'Callaghan on Sunday."They need absolutely everybody right now. The biggest thing they need is experience," added McConville."The fact that O'Callaghan won't be there - or we're led to believe he won't be there - definitely helps Armagh and detracts from Dublin's forward line."
Preceding Dublin v Armagh on Sunday is Derry's must-win game against Galway at Celtic Park. Back-to-back Ulster champions and strong All-Ireland contenders as recently as two years ago, Derry have endured a miserable first year under Paddy Tally, who is still searching for his first win since replacing Mickey Harte. While Derry earned a draw with Galway in the league, overcoming Padraic Joyce's men in the championship pressure-cooker is a big ask, especially for an Oak Leaf unit still shorn of All-Star quality in Gareth McKinless and Conor McCluskey. "Derry must take something from the last 10 or 15 minutes against Armagh when they ripped them apart at times and could have three or four more goals," said McConville. "You wouldn't have argued if that game ended a draw but now it's about results, it's not about anymore hard luck stories and the fact they have Galway at home makes it even more must-win."In Sunday's two other games, Donegal will attempt to regroup against a rejuvenated Cavan at Breffni Park while Monaghan, who beat Louth in their opener, hope to strengthen their position in Group Three when they host Clare.
For Tyrone, Saturday evening presents a golden chance to take a significant step towards the last eight when they welcome Mayo to Omagh in Group One.With the Red Hands basking in the glow of their win over Donegal and their latest All-Ireland triumph at Under-20 level, Malachy O'Rourke's side are firm favourites to dispatch a Mayo side for whom the past couple of weeks have been turbulent. Having fallen to Cavan in their opener, manager Kevin McStay stepped back to deal with health issues before an extraordinary meeting of the county committee on Monday which followed recent reports of the board's financial situation. Also at that meeting, GAA president Jarlath Burns condemned "bullying, intimidation and threats" directed at Mayo county board officers. With McStay stepping back, Stephen Rochford leads Mayo against Tyrone in what is a rerun of the 2021 All-Ireland final, which was won by the Ulster county."A lot of things have gone against Mayo and that's usually when they'll give you something so Tyrone need to be on their game but I can't see anything other than a Tyrone win," said McConville."Mayo have history in this regard. They've been written off previously. The performance against Cavan was so alarmingly poor so there's a lot of work to be done. "But Tyrone have the ability to keep the scoreboard ticking over. I don't think Mayo have that."In Group Three, Down hope to make it two wins from two when they welcome Leinster champions Louth to Pairc Esler. Having comfortably dispatched Clare last time out, victory over Louth would leave Conor Laverty's Mournemen in a commanding position before facing Monaghan at a neutral venue in the final round of group games in a fortnight.
On Sunday, there are two Ulster counties in Tailteann Cup action as Antrim take on London and Fermanagh face Wexford in the final round-robin games. After defeats by Westmeath and Limerick, Antrim must win to secure an away preliminary quarter-final, while Fermanagh can still top Group Four if they beat Wexford.The Ernemen's game will be played at Croke Park as the curtain-raiser to Dublin v Armagh. Finally, there is a triple-header of hurling finals at Croke Park on Saturday with two Ulster counties vying for silverware. Cavan face New York in the Lory Meagher Cup final before Derry take on London in the Christy Ring Cup decider. Mayo face Roscommon in the Nicky Rackard Cup final.
All-Ireland SFC fixtures
All times BSTSaturday 31 May Group Two: Cork v Kerry, Pairc Ui Chaoimh, 16:45Group Two: Roscommon v Meath, Dr Hyde Park, 18:00Group Three: Down v Louth, Pairc Esler, 17:30 Group One: Tyrone v Mayo, Healy Park, 19:00Sunday 1 JuneGroup One: Cavan v Donegal, Breffni Park, 14:00Group Four: Derry v Galway, Celtic Park, 14:00Group Three: Monaghan v Clare, Clones, 16:00Group Four: Dublin v Armagh, Croke Park, 16:00
Tailteann Cup fixtures
Saturday 31 May Group Three: Westmeath v Limerick, Portlaoise, 14:00 Group Two: Offaly v Laois, Newbridge, 18:00Group Two: Wicklow v Waterford, Wexford Park, 18:00Sunday 1 JuneGroup Four: Carlow v Longford, Tullamore, 13:45Group Three: Antrim v London, Pairc Esler, 13:45Group One: Leitrim v Tipperary, Mullingar, 13:45Group Four: Fermanagh v Wexford, Croke Park, 13:45Group One: Kildare v Sligo, Dr Hyde Park, 14:00
Hurling fixtures
Nicky Rackard Cup final: Mayo v Roscommon, Croke Park, 13:00 Lory Meagher Cup final: Cavan v New York, Croke Park, 15:00Christy Ring Cup final: Derry v London, Croke Park, 17:00