The race for the Tailteann Cup will continue this weekend. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
Saturday May 31
Tailteann Cup, Round 3
Group 2
Offaly v Laois, Cedral St Conleth's Park, Newbridge, 6pm
A midlands derby date with all the trimmings. There is the possibility for either team to top the group, and to advance directly to a home quarter-final, or to finish as low as third and be away for a preliminary quarter-final.
Offaly are the pace-setters, winning both their games, which is in stark contrast to last year when they lost all three group games. They have recalled Aidan Bracken at the back.
Laois, the 2024 Tailteann runners-up, slipped up in Round 2 against Wicklow and will be desperate to finish the group on a high. Offaly won 2-19 to 1-17 when they met in Division 3 in early February.
Prolific Laois forward Mark Barry is a loss again with a hamstring injury. Padraig Kirwan is back in the starting team at wing-forward.
OFFALY: Paddy Dunican; Lee Pearson, David Dempsey, Daire McDaid; Aidan Bracken, John Furlong, Cormac Egan; Jack McEvoy, Jordan Hayes; Kyle Higgins, Cathal Flynn, Cillian Bourke; Aaron Kellaghan, Jack Bryant, Shane Tierney.
Subs: Sean O'Toole, Marcas Dalton, Cathal Donoghue, Rory Egan, Dylan Hyland, Oisin Keenan-Martin, Geordi O'Meara, Keith O'Neill, Shane O'Toole-Greene, Ruairi McNamee, Morgan Tynan.
LAOIS: Killian Roche; Ben Dempsey, Trevor Collins, Liam Knowles; Patrick O'Sullivan, Seamus Lacey, Aaron McEvoy; Conor Heffernan, Damon Larkin; Pa Kirwan, Ronan Coffey, Kevin Swayne; Brian Byrne, Cathal Lee, Niall Corbet.
Subs: Aaron Cooney, Ryan Brady, John Brennan, Jamie Conway, Jake Darcy, Michael Doran, Josh Hogan, Jonah Kelly, Jack Lennon, Sean O'Neill, Mark Barry.
Wicklow v Waterford, Chadwicks Wexford Park, Wexford, 6pm
This was an intriguing encounter when the sides met in the league. Wicklow edged that one, by 3-17 to 1-19, but Waterford won a wind-assisted second-half by eight points.
Paul Shankey's side have been highly competitive so far in the Tailteann Cup too, running Division 3 champions Offaly to within five points in Round 2.
Wicklow ignited their own campaign with a big win over Laois and Dean Healy's continued top form gives them a great chance of back-to-back wins.
Oisin McConville has opted to leave well enough alone with the return of experienced forward Kevin Quinn the only change to his in-form team.
Tholom Guiry and Rory Furlong come back into the Waterford team.
WICKLOW: Mark Jackson; Tom Moran, Matt Nolan, Malachy Stone; Joe Prendergast, Patrick O'Keane, Darragh Fee; Dean Healy, Padraig O'Toole; Christopher O'Brien, Eoin Darcy, Cathal Baker; Oisin McGraynor, Kevin Quinn, Mark Kenny.
Subs: Cathal Fitzgerald, Jaques McCall, Gavin Fogarty, Liam O'Neill, Conor Fee, Jack Hardy, Craig Maguire, Andy Maher, Brian Bohan, Ryan Harrison, Jack Kirwan.
WATERFORD: Aaron Beresford; Tommy Martin, Coaimhin Walsh, Billy Hynes; Donie Fitzgerald, Adam Crawford, James Power; Tholom Guiry, Rory Furlong; Michael O'Brien, Conor Murray, Jason Curry; Stephen Curry, Ciaran Walsh, Dylan Guiry.
Subs: Paudie Hunt, James Walsh, Alan Dunwoody, Conor O Cuirrin, Caolan Mac Cathmhaoil, Ciaran Looney, Darragh Jacob, Colin Foley, Jamie Power, Liam Fennell, Loughlan Walsh.
Group 3
Westmeath v Limerick, Laois Hire O'Moore Park, Portlaoise, 2pm
Westmeath won the inaugural Tailteann Cup and big wins so far over Antrim, when they hit 4-27, and London, suggest they intend on becoming the first team to claim the title twice.
Luke Loughlin is in the form of his career, drilling 1-26 across the two games. He starts again in a potent Westmeath attack.
Limerick also defeated Antrim and London, posting 1-18 against a quality Antrim team, so both sides are through to a preliminary quarter-final at least. But there's still plenty to play for, namely top spot and a home quarter-final tie.
Killian Ryan came on against Antrim and starts this time. That's the only change to the Limerick team.
WESTMEATH: Conor McCormack; David Giles, Sam Smyth, Jamie Gonoud; Joseph Moran, Ronan Wallace, Sam McCartan; Ray Connellan, Eoghan McCabe; Matthew Whittaker, Kevin O'Sullivan, Nigel Harte; Luke Loughlin, Stephen Smith, Brandon Kelly.
Subs: Joe Hyland, Daniel Scahill, Tadhg Baker, Robbie Forde, Danny McCartan, Lorcan Dolan, Shane Allen, Shane Ormsby, Jack Geoghegan, Brian Guerin, Brian Cooney.
LIMERICK: Josh Ryan; Jason Hassett, Darren O'Doherty, Mark McCarthy; Paul Maher, Iain Corbett, Tony McCarthy; Tommy Childs, Darragh O'Hagan; James Naughton, Emmett Rigter, Cillian Fahy; Peter Nash, Danny Neville, Killian Ryan.
Subs: Jeffrey Alfred, Fiachra Cotter, Conall O Duinn, Jack McCarthy, Oran Collins, Sean Clancy, Darragh Murray, Rory O'Brien, Andrew Meade, David O'Shaughnessy, Rob Childs.
Steven Poacher will be back on the sideline with Leitrim in the Tailteann Cup this weekend. Photo by Thomas Flinkow/Sportsfile
Sunday June 1
Tailteann Cup, Round 3
Group 1
Leitrim v Tipperary, TEG Cusack Park, Mullingar, 1.45pm
After a heavy loss to Kildare in Round 1, Leitrim were considerably improved in Round 2 but still slipped to defeat to Connacht neighbours Sligo.
Tipperary are coming off back-to-back defeats too so the situation is straightforward for both teams, it's win or bust.
Whoever wins in neutral Mullingar will qualify as the away team for a preliminary quarter-final while the loser will be out.
Leitrim have named the same team that lost by 1-18 to 2-19 against Sligo while Tipperary have drafted in Eoin O'Connell from the start this time in defence.
He was the first sub brought on against Kildare while Emmet Moloney, who also came on the last day, retains his spot next to O'Connell in defence.
LEITRIM: Daire O'Shea; Eanna McNamara, Donal Casey, Kieran Clancy; James Rooney, Mark Diffley, Jack Foley; Keith Keegan, Cillian McGloin; Jack Flynn, Barry McNulty, Tom Prior; Ben Guckian, Darren Cox, Riordan O'Rourke.
Subs: Stephen McPartland, Ryan Bohan, Shane Finn, Tom Hughes, David Feeney, Mark Keegan, Sean Harkin, Conor Quinn, Evan Harkin, Eoin McLoughlin, Joe McGloin.
TIPPERARY: Shane Ryan; Manus McFadden, Eoin O'Connell, Emmet Moloney; Luke Boland, Mark Stokes, Jack O'Neill; Paudie Feehan, Kieran Costello; Micheal Freaney, Steven O'Brien, Cian Smith; Daithi Hogan, Darragh Brennan, Sean O'Connor.
Subs: Robbie McGrath, Michael Barlow, Ben Comerford, Conor Fahey, Jason Madigan, Killian Butler, Charlie King, Jack Nevin, Mark Russell, Mikey O'Shea, Eoghan Power.
Kildare v Sligo, King & Moffatt Dr Hyde Park, Kildare v Sligo, 2pm
Free-scoring Kildare are just one more win from completing back-to-back Tailteann Cup group campaigns with a perfect record of six wins from six.
After hitting Leitrim for 0-36 in Round 1, they blasted 3-19 beyond Tipperary though this is shaping up as their most significant test yet.
Sligo also have two wins to their credit and Kildare manager Brian Flanagan has responded by shaking up his team somewhat.
Cian Burke comes in as goalkeeper while there are starts outfield for Harry O'Neill, James McGrath and Kevin Feely. Darragh Kirwan, Ryan Houlihan and Mick O'Grady are injured and haven't made the 26.
The winners will top the group and advance to a home quarter-final tie. Sligo boss Tony McEntee has named the same team that started the Round 2 win over Leitrim.
KILDARE: Cian Burke; Harry O'Neill, Mark Dempsey, Brian Byrne; Tommy Gill, David Hyland, James McGrath; Kevin Feely, Brendan Gibbons; Ben McCormack, Alex Beirne, Darragh Swords; Ryan Sinkey, Daniel Flynn, Jimmy Hyland.
Subs: Didier Cordonnier, Ryan Burke, Jack McKevitt, Kevin Flynn, Aaron Masterson, Rian Teahan, Callum Bolton, Colm Dalton, Brian McLoughlin, Eoin Cully, Niall Kelly.
SLIGO: Aidan Devaney; Evan Lyons, Eddie McGuinness, Paul McNamara; Brian Cox, Darragh Cummins, Luke Towey; Paul Kilcoyne, Patrick O'Connor; Alan Reilly, David Quinn, Cian Lally; Alan McLoughlin, Niall Murphy, Pat Spillane.
Subs: Daniel Lyons, Ross Doherty, Lee Deignan, Mikey Gordon, Canice Mulligan, Conor Johnston, Donal Conlon, Shane Deignan, Jack Lavin, Peter Laffey, Ciaran O'Dowd.
Group 3
Antrim v London, Pairc Esler, Newry, 1.45pm
Antrim reached Tailteann Cup semi-finals in both 2023 and 2024 but if they slip to defeat in Newry they'll exit this year's competition at the earliest stage.
Andy McEntee's team were beaten by Westmeath and Limerick and need to summon the same spirit and quality they produced when pushing Armagh so hard for 40 or so minutes in the Ulster SFC.
McEntee has named the exact same starting team that lost to Limerick by eight points in Round 2.
Losses to Limerick and Westmeath have left London in a similarly tricky situation. They picked off great results against the likes of Offaly (2024) and Laois (2023) and the time is now to deliver their biggest performance of the 2025 campaign.
Michael Maher has made two alterations to his Exiles attack with Daniel Clarke coming in at centre-forward and Michael Carroll ahead of him in the number 14 jersey.
ANTRIM: Michael Byrne; Eoghan McCabe, Eunan Walsh, Kavan Keenan; James McAuley, Dermot McAleese, Patrick Finnegan; Conor Hand, Marc Jordan; Ronan Boyle, Adam Loughran, Patrick McBride; Ryan McQuillan, Ruairi McCann, Dominic McEnhill.
Subs: Luke Mulholland, Calum Higgins, Conor Stewart, Daniel McNicholl, Eunan Quinn, Fionn Nagle, James McDonnell, John Morgan, Joseph Finnegan, Niall Burns, Ryan Murray.
LONDON: Andrew Walsh; Daire Rooney, Sean Taylor, Matt Moynahan; Eoin Walsh, Conal Gallagher, Kristian Healy; Tighe Barry, Liam Gallagher; Joshua Obahor, Daniel Clarke, Ciaran Diver; Ruairi Rafferty, Michael Carroll, Shay Rafter.
Subs: Aidan McLoughlin, Conor McKelvey, Oran Hilley, Marc Friel, Nathan McElwaine, Sean Tucker, Conor O'Donoghue, Ciaran McCarrick, Conor Doran, Conor Cox, Fiontan Eastwood.
Group 4
Fermanagh v Wexford, Croke Park, 1.45pm, GAA+
All sorts of possibilities are still on the table in Group 4, arguably the most competitive of this season's Tailteann Cup groups.
Wexford are currently top, albeit tied with Carlow on three points, and guaranteed a preliminary quarter-final at least though will be chasing top spot and a home quarter-final tie.
They were disappointed to be reeled in by Carlow for a draw last time out and there are alterations to the starting team.
Jack Higgins and Robbie Brooks, who both came on against Carlow, hold their positions.
Fermanagh came alive in the group with a big Round 2 win over Longford and could yet leap from third to top with a win.
There is just one change to the Erne County lineup with Ronan McCaffrey, who came on against Longford, starting this time at wing-forward.
FERMANAGH: Sean McNally; Che Cullen, Lee Cullen, Oisin Smyth; Shane McGullion, Declan McCusker, Fionan O'Brien; Joe McDade, Darragh McGurn; Conor McGee, Ryan Lyons, Ronan McCaffrey; Josh Largo Ellis, Garvan Jones, Conor Love.
Subs: Ross Bogue, Luke Flanagan, Sean Cassidy, Diarmuid Owens, Aaron Jones, Aogan Kelm, Jack Largo Ellis, Oisin Murphy, Jonathan Cassidy, Diarmuid King, Paul Breen.
WEXFORD: Darragh Brooks; Michael Furlong, Martin O'Connor, Liam O'Connor; Eoin Porter, Eoghan Nolan, Pairic Hughes; Liam Coleman, Niall Hughes; Jack Higgins, Tom Byrne, Mark Rossiter; Kevin O'Grady, Robbie Brooks, Sean Nolan.
Subs: Colum Feeney, Sean Barden, Gavin Sheehan, Ruairi Martin, Dylan Furlong, Glen Malone, Cathal Walsh, Conor Carty, Michael Kinsella, Ben Brosnan, Sean Ryan.
Carlow v Longford, Glenisk O'Connor Park, Tullamore, 1.45pm
Carlow's storming finish against Wexford, securing a draw, has kept them right in the hunt to finish top of the group.
They are clearly enjoying life under new manager Joe Murphy and will be confident of picking up their second win in the group.
They will probably need a big win to top the group but it's not out of the question and Murphy has tweaked his team slightly in defence, bringing in Lee Moore.
Unfortunately for Longford, their season will end after this game as they cannot finish higher than fourth in Group 4.
Darragh Finlass, Ryan Moffetet and Oran Kenny all came on for Longford in the heavy Round 2 loss to Fermanagh and will feature from the start this time.
CARLOW: Johnny Furey; Paddy McDonnell, Mark Furey, Lee Moore; John Phiri, Niall Hickey, John Murphy; Kyle Nolan, Conor Doyle; Ross Dunphy, Darragh Foley, Mikey Bambrick; Conor Crowley, Kevin Murphy, Sean Murphy.
Subs: Ben McCarron, Paddy Regan, Shane Clarke, Jonah Dunne, Adam Burgess, Aaron Amond, Ian Atkinson, Liam Gavin, Ciaran Moran, Jamie Clarke, Josh Egan.
LONGFORD: Patrick Collum; Patrick Fox, Oisin O'Toole, Bryan Masterson; Darragh Finlass, Cian Brady, Dessie Reynolds; Daire Duggan, Ryan Moffett; Caolan Lynch, Matthew Carey, James Moran; Aaron Farrell, Dylan Farrell, Oran Kenny.
Subs: Micheal Hughes, Sean O'Sullivan, Shane Campbell, Harry Kiernan, Paddy Moran, Jamie Brady Hynes, Jayson Matthews, Iarla O'Sullivan, Sean Morgan, Ruairi Harkin, Diarmuid Farrell.
