Donal Burke of Dublin in action against Padraic Mannion, left, and Cianan Fahy of Galway during the Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 5 match between Galway and Dublin at Pearse Stadium in Galway. Photo by Daire Brennan/Sportsfile.
Sunday, May 25
Leinster SHC Round 5
Dublin v Galway, Parnell Park, 2.00pm (RTE)
This match is effectively a Leinster semi-final with the winner through to a Leinster Final against Kilkenny and the loser through to a preliminary All-Ireland quarter-final.
Dublin’s record against Galway has been very good in championship hurling in recent years and with home advantage they’ll arguably go into this match as slight favourites.
They conceded some very soft goals against Kilkenny last weekend and will need to be less naïve defensively, but overall it’s been a very positive campaign so far for Niall Ó Ceallacháin’s team.
They manner in which they almost engineered what would have been a remarkable comeback against Kilkenny will have taken the sting out of that defeat, and that ability to finish strongly has been a real hallmark of their recent performances.
Their midfield partnership of Conor Burke and Conor Donoghue is an effective one, Brian Hayes and Cian O’Sullivan bring great athleticism and craft to their half-forward line, and the power and strength of big man combination John Hetherton and Ronan Hayes in the inside forwards is a real handful for opposition defences.
After a poor start to their Leinster campaign that saw them well beaten by Kilkenny, Galway have improved consistently with every game they have played and have named a strong team with Daithi Burke, Padraic Mannion, Cathal Mannion, David Burke, John Fleming, and Tiernan Kileen coming into the side.
Cathal Mannion has been their star player so far in the campaign thanks to his ability to roam into pockets of space and finish clinically.
It’ll be interesting to see how Dublin handle him because their centre-back, Chris Crummey, would prefer to sit deep and anchor his defence rather than follow Mannion wherever he goes, but giving the Galway centre-forward to much latitude could be very damaging.
This is a very difficult game to call, there’ll only be a couple of points in it whoever comes out on top.
DUBLIN: Eddie Gibbons; John Bellew, Paddy Smyth, Conor McHugh; Paddy Doyle, Chris Crummey, Paddy Dunleavy; Conor Burke, Conor Dohohue; Brian Hayes, Cian O'Sullivan, Darragh Power; Sean Currie, John Hetherton, Ronan Hayes. Subs: Sean Brennan, Colin Currie, Andy Dunphy, Daire Gray, Andrew Jamieson-Murphy, David Lucey, James Madden, Riain McBride, Diarmaid Ó Dúlaing, Conal O'Riain, Fergal Whitely.
GALWAY: Darach Fahy; Padraic Mannion, Fintan Burke, Daithí Burke, Cianan Fahy, Gavin Lee, TJ Brennan; David Burke, Tom Monaghan; John Fleming, Cathal Mannion, Tiernan Killeen; Conor Whelan, Brian Concannon, Anthony Burns**. Subs:** Eanna Murphy, Jack Grealish, Joshua Ryan, Shane Cooney, Seál Linnane, Ronan Glennon, Dan Loftus, Kevin Cooney, Conor Cooney, Rory Burke, Colm Molloy.
Wexford v Kilkenny, Chadwicks Wexford Park, 2.00pm
Kilkenny are already assured of a place in the Leinster Final and Wexford can’t progress to the All-Ireland series so there’s not a whole lot to play for in this game on paper.
The Cats will be keen to bring as much momentum into that final as they can though and everyone on their panel is fighting for jersies so that should ensure a decent level of motivation.
As for Wexford, the sight of a Kilkenny jersey usually brings the best out in them and they won’t want to end their campaign on a dull note so that should help them raise a gallop.
Kilkenny have named a much changed team with some interesting positional and selection calls, chief of which is the presence of Adrian Mullen at centre-back.
He’s played all of his hurling for Kilkenny from midfield forward up until now, and it’ll be interesting to see what sort of qualities he could bring to the position if indeed he starts there.
There are also starts for up and coming players like Peter Connellan, Padraic Moylan, Zach Bay Hammon, Killian Doyle, Peter McDonald, and Luke Connellan who will all be keen to lay down a marker.
It’s a much more recognisable Wexford team from back to front and their greater experience and desire to finish the campaign on a high could be enough to see them come out on top.
WEXFORD: Mark Fanning; Cian Molloy, Simon Donohoe, Conor Foley; Eoin Ryan, Damien Reck, Darragh Carley; Conor Hearne, Corey Byrne Dunbar; Jack O'Connor, Lee Chin, Rory O'Connor; Kevin Foley, Mikie Dwyer, Cian Byrne. Subs: Andrew Kennedy, Chalrie McGuckin, Cathal Dunbar, Niall Murphy, Conor McDonald, Jack Redmond, Seamus Casey, Darren Codd, Tomás Kinsella, Simon Roche, Oisín Pepper
KILKENNY: Eoin Murphy; Peter Connellan, Padraic Moylan, Tommy Walsh; David Blanchfield, Adrian Mullen, Zach Bay Hammond; Killian Doyle, Peter McDonald; Luke Connellan, John Donnelly, Fionán Mackessy; Billy Drennan, TJ Reid, Owen Wall. Subs: Aidan Tallis, Huw Lawlor, Mikey Butler, Shane Staunton, Richie Reid, Cian Kenny, Jordan Molloy, Stephen Donnelly, Gearoid Dunne, Martin Keoghan, Niall Shortall.
Offaly v Antrim, Glenisk O'Connor Park, 2.00pm - GAA+
This is a huge game with the loser consigned to relegation to the Joe McDonagh Cup for the 2026 season.
That would be a big blow for two counties working hard to better themselves.
Antrim competed well in Leinster in 2023 and 2024 but have been way off the pace so far this year, losing their four matches to date by an average margin of 18 points.
Offaly have also lost four from four but they were unlucky not to take something from their matches against Dublin and Wexford so their self-belief levels should be higher than Antrim’s.
The major issue for the Saffrons has been their inability to score – they’ve averaged just 18 points per match.
Injury has sidelined some of their best attacking players and there’s been too much of a scoring burden on James McNaughton.
He’s only named on the subs bench today and when you look at the Antrim attack it’s hard to see how they can score enough to win this game.
If Offaly can replicate the level of performance they produced last weekend against Wexford it should be good enough to see them win with something to spare.
OFFALY: Mark Troy; Ben Conneely, Ciaran Burke, James Mahon; Ross Ravenhill, Donal Shirley, Jason Sampson; Cathal King, Colin Spain; Killian Sampson, Daniel Bourke, Oisin Kelly; Dan Ravenhill, Charlie Mitchell, Brian Duignan. Subs: Liam Hoare, Sam Bourke, Eoghan Cahill, Brecon Kavanagh, Jack Clancy, Eoin Burke, Padraig Cantwell, David King, DJ McLoughlin, Ben Miller, David Nally.
ANTRIM: Ryan Elliott; Stephen Rooney, Paddy Burke, Niall O'Connor; Conall Bohill, Joe Maskey, Conor Boyd; Gerard Walsh, Eoghan Campbell; Ryan McCambridge, Nigel Elliott, Scott Walsh; Joseph McLaughlin, Eoin O'Neill, Cormac McKeown. Subs: Ruairi McCormick, Eoin McFerran, Ryan McGarry, Rory McCloskey, Sean McKay, Paul Boyle, James McNaughton, Aodhan McGarry, Keelan Molloy, Fred McCurry, Jack McCloskey.
Jack Prendergast of Waterford is tackled by Mark Coleman of Cork during the 2024 Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 1 match between Waterford and Cork at Walsh Park in Waterford. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile.
Munster SHC round 5
Cork v Waterford, Supervalu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 4pm – RTE
All sorts of permutations swirl around this game but the bottom line is simple enough – a win for either will secure progress to the All-Ireland series while a defeat will end their season.
Cork don’t need any more incentive than that but they would have the bonus of reaching a Munster Final if they come out on top whereas the best that Waterford can hope for is third place in the Munster round-robin and progress to a preliminary All-Ireland SHC quarter-final.
Pat Ryan has made four changes to the team that beaten by Limerick as Cormac O’Brien, Ger Millerick, and Séamus Harnedy come in for injured trio Rob Downey, Niall O’Leary, and Declan Dalton, while Brian Roche is preferred at midfield to Ethan Twomey.
Waterford make two changes, both in attack, as Patrick Fitzgerald and Sean Walsh come into the team for Kevin Mahony, and, somewhat surprisingly, team captain Dessie Hutchinson.
The Rebels must be seriously smarting after the manner of their defeat against Limerick last weekend and it’ll be interesting to see what sort of reaction they can produce here.
Will they be highly motivated to show that loss wasn’t reflective of their true worth or might it have sapped the confidence of the group?
The were blown away by Limerick’s physical intensity last weekend so that’s one obvious area of improvement for this match but they were also tactically quite naïve.
They left far too much space between their lines which left them very exposed defensively. Waterford might have quite the same punch up front that Limerick do, but if players like Stephen Bennett, Patrick Fitzgerald, Jamie Barron, and Michael Kiely are given the same sort of acreage to roam in, they too will do damage.
Waterford themselves will have plenty of food for thought coming into this game following last weekend’s defeat to Tipperary.
They’ll feel like if they had taken their chances in that game then they might well have won it, but it’s also true they were outworked for much of the game and pulled apart by the movement of the Tipperary attack.
The tactical ploy of playing Tadhg de Búrca as a very deep-lying centre-back ultimately didn’t work. They might have only conceded one goal but the impact made by Tipperary centre-forward, Andrew Ormond, was very damaging.
If they allow Darragh Fitzgibbon the same room to operate in then they’ll likely lose this match as well.
The familiar surroundings of SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh and the huge support they’ll have there will give Cork a boost, but Waterford are a seasoned team that are unlikely to be unnerved by the venue.
Cork’s greater speed in most areas of the pitch is an advantage but if Waterford can hang in their they’ll believe that attacking players like Hutchinson, Shane Bennett, Patrick Curran, and Kevin Mahony will give them a big impact from the bench.
CORK: Patrick Collins; Ger Millerick, Eoin Downey, Seán O'Donoghue; Cormac O'Brien, Ciarán Joyce, Mark Coleman; Tim O'Mahony, Brian Roche; Shane Barrett, Darragh Fitzgibbon, Séamus Harnedy; Patrick Horgan, Alan Connolly, Brian Hayes. Subs: Brion Saunderson, Damien Cahalane, Eoin Roche, Tommy O'Connell, Ethan Twomey, Luke Meade, Conor Lehane, Diarmuid Healy, Jack O'Connor, William Buckley, Shane Kingston.
WATERFORD: Billy Nolan; Ian Kennny, Conor Prunty, Iarlaith Daly; Mark Fitgerald, Tadgh de Burca, Paddy Leavey; Darragh Lyons, Gavin Fives; Sean Walsh, Stephen Bennett, Jamie Barron; Jack Prendergast, Michael Kiely, Patrick Fitzgerald. Subs: Shaun O'Brien, Dessie Hutchinson, Kevin Mahony, Kieran Bennett, Shane Bennett, Patrick Curran, Austin Gleeson, Conor Sheahan, Tom Barron, Padraig Fitzgerald, Carthach Daly.
Limerick v Clare, TUS Gaelic Grounds Limerick, 4pm
With no prospect of reaching the All-Ireland series, how motivated will Clare be for this game?
They won’t want to lose to their biggest rivals but it’s nevertheless going to be difficult for them to summon the fire and brimstone they will need to even be competitive with only honour to play for.
You could argue that Limerick won’t be fully dialled in either as they’re already qualified for the Munster Final, but they’ll want to ensure they bring as much momentum into that game as possible.
Competition for places in their panel is also so stiff that the players selected for this game can ill afford to be at anything other than their best if they want to nail a starter’s jersey for that Munster Final.
John Kiely has made eight changes to the starting XV that hammered Cork last time out as Shane Dowling replaces Nickie Quaid in goals, while Barry Murphy, Declan Hannon and Colin Coughlan all come into defence.
Darragh O'Donovan partners William O'Donoghue in midfield and Cathal O'Neill, Seamus Flanagan and Peter Casey start in the forwards for the first time in this year’s championship.
Despite changing more than half his team it’s still a very formidable looking selection and those who have been brought into the side will be really chomping at the bit.
As for Clare, they make two changes to the side that was beaten two weeks ago by Tipperary as Rory Hayes, John Conlon come into the defence in place of Conor Leen and Daithí Lohan.
The reigning All-Ireland champions won’t want to end their campaign on a low note and we can expect them to produce a really battling performance,
But Limerick’s great impact from the bench should be enough to see them through if they find themselves in any difficulty.
LIMERICK: Shane Dowling; Barry Murphy, Dan Morrissey, Michael Casey; Diarmaid Byrnes, Declan Hannon, Colin Coughlan; Darragh O'Donovan, William O'Donoghue; Gearoid Hegarty, Cathal O'Neill, Tom Morrissey; Seamus Flanagan, Shane O'Brien, Peter Casey. Subs: Jason Gillane, Adam English, Vince Harrington, Ethan Hurley, Barry Nash, Aidan O'Connor, Fergal O'Connor, Donnacha Ó Dálaigh, Paddy O'Donovan, David Reidy, Eddie Stokes.
CLARE: Eibhear Quilligan; Adam Hogan, Darragh Lohan, Rory Hayes; Cian Galvin, John Conlon, David McInerney; Sean Rynne, Cathal Malone; Tony Kelly, Mark Rodgers, Shane Meehan; Ryan Taylor, Peter Duggan, David Reidy. Subs: Eamon Foudy, Daithi Lohan, Ross Hayes, Diarmuid Ryan, Paddy Donnellan, Aron Shanagher, David Fitzgerald, Jack O'Neill, Ian Galvin, Colm O'Meara, Shane O'Donnell.
