Preview: Weekend's Ladies Football Championship action

By Jackie Cahill

The race for TG4 provincial glory gets underway over the coming weekend – with key senior action in Leinster, Munster and Ulster.

Cork, fresh from their Lidl National League Division 1 success, get their Munster campaign underway against Tipperary on Saturday evening, before holders Kerry tackle Waterford on Sunday, in what is a repeat of last year’s final.

Armagh and Donegal meet in the round-robin stages in Ulster on Sunday, and that’s a repeat of the 2025 provincial decider, while Meath host Kildare in Leinster.

There’s also Munster Senior B action to come, along with Junior and Intermediate fare in Leinster, and an Ulster Junior tie between Antrim and Derry.

Saturday April 25

TG4 Munster Senior Championship

Cork v Tipperary; Páirc Uí Rinn, 7pm

Cork will aim to carry their excellent League form into the championship.

Having gained promotion from Division 2 last year, the Rebels stepped up to the mark big time on their return to the top flight, and landed the Lidl NFL Division 1 title.

Cork haven’t won the Munster senior A title since 2023 and they’d dearly love to win back the provincial title before moving on to the All-Ireland series.

Saturday’s opponents, Tipperary, last won a Munster senior A title back in 1980.

The Premier County come into this one on the back of a mixed bag in Division 2 of the Lidl NFL.

Tipp won three, lost three and drew one of their seven games but still comfortably retained their second tier status.

Cork’s starting line-up shows two changes from the side that landed the League crown against Galway, with Máire O’Callaghan replacing Aoife Healy at midfield, while Rachel O’Regan comes in for Áine Terry O’Sullivan in attack.

Tipp’s last competitive outing was a five point loss to Tyrone in Round 7 of the Lidl NFL, and there are eight changes to the team that started in what was a ten-goal thriller.

Tara Hoare, Emma Cronin, Nora Martin, Laura Morrissey, Clara English, Lauren Cunningham, Heather Spillane and Anna Carey are all named to start, with Ellen Moore, Lucy Spillane, Emma Buckley, Nicole Shelly, Ava Ryan, captain Anna Rose Kennedy, Aoibhe O’Shea and Lily Maher listed on the bench.

CORK: C Richmond; M Duggan, D Kiniry, S Kelly; A Corcoran, S McGoldrick, R Corkery; M O’Callaghan, A O’Mahony; R Leahy, G Murphy, E Cleary (capt.); R O’Regan, K Quirke, L Hallihan.

TIPPERARY: L Fitzpatrick; T Hoare, M Curley, E Cronin; K Cashman, Nora Martin, S English; L Morrissey, Niamh Martin; C English, L Cunningham, H Spillane; K Crotty Ryan, A Carey, E Morrissey.

Munster Senior B

Cork v Kerry; Páirc Uí Rinn, 4.30pm

Cork and Kerry’s second string selections will serve up the curtain-raiser to the senior A clash between Cork and Tipperary.

The competition began last weekend with victories for Tipperary over Limerick and Clare against Kerry.

In the round-robin section, the action continues with the meeting of these old rivals.

CORK: C Forde; N Kennedy, E Cooney (capt.), E Tarrant; A O Sullivan, M Beausang, K O’Donovan; A McDonagh, R Murphy; S Beausang, N Sheehan, A McTaggart; S Pattwell, H Quirke, C Doyle.

KERRY: A Looney; L Kerins, K McGlashan, S Harkin; S O’Donovan, A Barrett, O O’Brien; A O’Donoghue, H Nic Gearailt; A McCarthy, A Dennehy, L O’Sullivan; O Clifford, E McGlynn, S Lucey.

Limerick v Clare; Gerald Griffins, 2pm

Holders Limerick will be looking to bounce back from an opening round defeat to Tipperary.

They tackle Clare in a repeat of last year’s final.

The visiting Banner County were big winners over Kerry in Round 1.

LIMERICK: S Hennessy; R Fitzgibbon, A Ryan, A Russell; E Crowe, L Ryan, M MacNamara; O Ryan, E Hickey; C McNamara, L O’Brien, K Heelan; L Brown, C McGrath, M Creedon.

CLARE: R Sexton; H Doyle, R Doohan, A Kelly; L Cleary, J Doohan (capt.), L Power; T Collins, A Slattery, L Kelly; A Sexton, S Melican, E O Driscoll; C Moloney, L Conway, S Considine.

TG4 Ulster Junior Championship

Derry v Antrim; Ballymaguigan, 4pm

ANTRIM and Derry meet in a repeat of last year’s TG4 Ulster Junior Final.

Antrim were winners on that occasion and in this opening round clash, they’re expected to win again.

The Saffrons are fresh from a Lidl NFL Division 3 final appearance, and promotion, while Derry struggled in Division 4.

But the Oak Leafers have shown in recent years that they can raise their levels in the white heat of championship fare.

DERRY: T Cassidy; R Doherty, L Brewster, S Hargan; A Donnelly, B Donnelly, S Heron; S Duggan, C Donnelly; J Shivers, C Moore, N Hannon; A McAlister, A Ni Lochlainn, J Slevin.

ANTRIM: A Devlin; E Kearns, M Blaney, M Mulholland; H Donaghy, C Brown, C McKenna; L Agnew, A Tubridy; A Davidson (capt.), M O’Neill, T Mellon; C Logan, B Devlin, A Monaghan.

Sunday April 26

TG4 Leinster Senior Championship

Meath v Kildare; Summerhill GFC, 2pm – Live Stream

DUBLIN are the undoubted standard-bearers in Leinster, with the previous 12 TG4 Leinster senior titles annexed.

The task at hand for Meath and Kildare is to step up to the mark and challenge the Sky Blues in the Eastern province.

They may see a chink of light with Dublin relegated from Division 1 of the Lidl NFL, and in something of a transitional phase.

But Dublin came from the pack last year to land the TG4 All-Ireland senior title and they can’t be discounted again.

In the round-robin phase of the Leinster championship, Meath have home advantage for Sunday’s opener against Kildare, which is also available as a live-stream.

Meath stayed alive in Division 1 of the Lidl NFL with a final day draw with Armagh.

There are two changes to the side that started on that occasion, with Robyn Murray replacing Aoibheann Corcoran in goal, while Meadhbh Byrne comes in for Emma Duggan in attack.

Kildare lost out to Kerry by just a single point in their final League match and were relegated from the top flight.

The team that lined out against the Kingdom shows two changes, with Corla Nallen in for Rachel Fennin between the sticks, while Nanci Murphy comes in for Jessica Harney at midfield.

MEATH: R Murray; K Kealy, Á Sheridan, M.K. Lynch; O Sheehy, O Gore, K Bermingham; S Murphy, N Gallogly (capt.); M Farrelly, M Byrne, M Thynne; C Smyth, L Woods, R Casserly.

KILDARE: C Nallen; A Mernagh, M Doherty, L Shaw; H McLoughlin, R Sargent, L Lenehan (capt.); N Murphy, G Wheeler; A Murnane, C Wheeler, M Aspel; A Rattigan, M Doyle, A Prizeman.

TG4 Munster Senior Championship

Kerry v Waterford; Austin Stack Park, Tralee, 2pm

KERRY begin the defence of their TG4 Munster senior title with a home tie against Waterford.

The Kingdom face off against Waterford in what is a repeat of last year’s final.

Kerry are going for three-in-a-row but they won’t get anything easy in this opening round fixture against a Waterford side that enjoyed another solid League campaign.

There are two changes to the Kerry team that defeated Kerry in Round 7 of the Lidl NFL to preserve top flight status.

Emma Costello and Mary O’Connell come into the starting line-up in place of Eabha Ni Laighin and Niamh Carmody.

For Waterford, there are three changes to the team that finished the League campaign on a high with victory over Division 1 finalists Galway.

Ruby Browne comes into the half-back line, with Bríd McMaugh and Lauren McGregor in attack. Alice Hahesy, Jade Queally and Chloe Fennell drop to the bench for the trip to Tralee.

KERRY: C Butler; R Rahilly, D Kearney, E Lynch; A O’Connell, E Costello, A Dillane; A Galvin, M O’Connell; K Enright, N Ní Chonchúir, C Evans; L McMahon, S O’Shea (capt.), D O’Leary.

WATERFORD: K Gardner; C Murray, L Mulcahy, A McGrath; R Browne, R Casey, K McGrath; E Murray (capt.), E Power; Á O’Neill, K Hogan, K Murray; M Daly, B McMaugh, L McGregor.

TG4 Ulster Senior Championship

Armagh v Donegal; BOX-IT Athletic Grounds, 2pm

WITH Tyrone now a senior force following their TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate title win last year, there are now three teams competing for the Ulster senior title.

Holders Armagh and Donegal contested last year’s final, when the Orchard County were comfortable winners.

Donegal will hope they’ve closed the gap and come into this one on a high after landing the Lidl NFL Division 2 title recently.

Armagh will fancy their chances of going deep into the summer and they’d love to retain the provincial title ahead of the All-Ireland series.

The road starts here and there are two changes to the Armagh side that drew with Meath on the final day of the League season.

Catherine Marley and Caroline O’Hanlon are handed starts in attack, with Alanna Donnelly and Ella Reid dropping to the bench.

Following that win against Cavan to secure Division 2 silverware, Donegal’s starting line-up shows just one change, with Eva Gallagher coming in for Mia Bennett at full-forward.

ARMAGH: B Mathers; M Ferguson, C McCambridge, C Towe; E Druse, L McConville (capt.), G Ferguson; B Mackin, C O’Reilly; C McNally, A McCoy, C Marley; A Mackin, C O’Hanlon, K Mallon.

DONEGAL: C Friel; N Carr, E McGinley, S McFeely; T Hegarty, F McManamon, S McFadden; C Brennan, R Rodgers (capt.); B McLaughlin, K Dowds, N Boyle; S White, E Gallagher, C McGarvey.

TG4 Leinster Intermediate Championship – preliminary round

Wicklow v Wexford; Echelon Park, Aughrim, 2pm

Five counties are competing for TG4 Leinster Intermediate glory.

Holders Westmeath and Laois will face off in the semi-finals on May 2, with the winners of this one to meet Louth in the other last four clash.

After suffering relegation from Division 2 of the Lidl NFL, Wexford will hope for better fortunes in the Championship.

Wicklow lost five of their seven Division 4 outings and will look to improve also.

WICKLOW: C Mullin; S O’Toole, O O’Keeffe, E Doyle; M Healy, S Evans; M Renaghan; E Bourke, A Lalor; L Butler, E Parke, N McGillycuddy; N Caffrey, L Dunne (capt.), C Renaghan.

WEXFORD: S Cloake; A Tormey; K English, J Dempsey; O Kehoe, A Halligan (capt.), R Hughes; B McDonald, C Donnelly; A Cullen, A Hughes, O Byrne; E Tomkins, C Banville; K Dempsey.

TG4 Leinster Junior Championship

Longford v Carlow; Killoe GAA, 2pm

With Louth now operating in the Intermediate ranks, there will be a new name on TG4 Leinster Junior Championship trophy in 2026.

A round-robin format applies in this competition and Carlow, champions last in 2023, will aim to win back the provincial crown after losing to Louth in the last two finals.

Carlow are on a high after landing the Lidl NFL Division 4 title and they beat Longford well in that competition last month.

LONGFORD: A Cooney; A Scanlon, L Keegan, R McGrath; S Dawson, E Bleakley, E Farrell; S Gallagher (capt.), S Hagan; A Nolan, M Farrell, H Burke; K Crawford, K Burke, A Darcy.

CARLOW: N Hanley; A Carroll, A Roche, S O’Neill; A Webb, N Forde, R Bermingham; R Bailey (capt.), C O’Neill; E Hayden, C Ní Shé, A Hanley; M Townsend, S Doyle, A Kiernan.

Kilkenny v Offaly; St Martins GAA, 2pm

Offaly lost out at the semi-final stage against champions Carlow in Division 4 of the Lidl NFL.

The Faithful County have the chance to bounce back, however, when they tackle Kilkenny in Sunday’s Leinster opener.

Offaly won well when they faced the Cats in the League.

KILKENNY: J Flynn; R Butler, R Doherty, E Dunphy; D Tervit-Kruger, E Royce Brennan, K Hennessy; A Ryan, S Smith; R Roche, B Lomax, C Moore; M O’Reilly, C Tennyson, M Ryan.

OFFALY: L Dunne; J Maher, H Doolan, B McDermott; R Ennis, R Mealiff, F Dempsey; N Buckley, M Rouse; F McDermott, C Lynam, A Grehan; E Kelly, M Mann (capt.), E Hand.