GAA Football Championship previews

This weekend will be the busiest to date in this year's championship, as the provincial championships begin to pick up momentum. By Sunday evening, the identity of the Munster finalists should be known, while the other provinces also begin to whittle themselves down.

SUNDAY

Munster GAA Football Senior Championship - Semi-FinalFitzgerald Stadium: Kerry v Cork, 4.00pm

While Kildare and Louth may not be overly familiar with each other, there is no way that the same could be said of these two, who, barring 2003, have met in the Championship every year since 1998, including three times in each of the last two years.

Every year since 2005, Cork's campaign has ended with defeat to the Kingdom in Croke Park, but in Munster they have had the measure of their neighbours, winning provincial honours in 2006, '08 and '09.

All of those victories against Kerry have come at Páirc Uí Chaoimh though, and it has been 15 years since the Rebels last came away from Killarney with a win though three of the last five meetings between the sides there - 2002, '06 and '09 - have been draws.

Conor Counihan's side are regarded by many as the favourites to go all the way and end the county's 20-year wait for the Sam Maguire Cup, a view that will only have been reinforced by the League win, but at the same time it is somewhat strange to see a side travelling to Killarney to face the All-Ireland champions going being tipped to win.

The Rebels name 10 of the side that began last year's All-Ireland Final, with the side freshened up by the inclusion of Jamie O'Sullivan, Aidan Walsh and Ciarán Sheehan, all of whom won Cadbury GAA All-Ireland Football Under-21 Championship medals in 2009. Those changes are in part down to the absences of Anthony Lynch, John Miskella and Nicholas Murphy due to injury, but it just goes to show the strength in depth that Cork possess.

A deep squad is also something Kerry have - and unfortunately for Jack O'Connor's men, it is also something that they have had to demonstrate by necessity rather than choice as Tadhg Kennelly, Tommy Walsh and Darragh Ó Sé have all departed the scene.

With Paul Galvin not starting on Sunday as he is carrying an ankle injury, it means more changes, but when you consider that his replacement is Darran O'Sullivan, the All-Ireland-winning captain of last year, you see that Kerry do not exactly have a shortage of talent.

That is the only change from the side that beat Tipperary well in the Quarter-Final, and that game could be a big advantage given that this is Cork's first outing since beating Mayo in the League Final.

With the margins so tight and the game expected to be exceptionally close, the final outcome could come down to something as small as that.

Munster GAA Football Senior Championship - Semi-FinalFraher Field: Waterford v Limerick, 2.00pm

It's fair to say that there will not be as much media focus on this game as on the one in Killarney, but the prize for the winners is no smaller, with the carrot of a Munster Final spot a huge motivation for both sides.

Getting to the decider is not exactly alien to Limerick, having reached it in 2003, '04 and '09, but on each occasion they came up heartbreakingly short, falling to a late Daniel Goulding-inspired flurry in Páirc Uí Chaoimh last year.After that game, midfielder John Galvin declared himself "sick of moral victories", so one gets the feeling that a Limerick victory here would be regarded as part of a journey rather than being a destination.

These sides have already met twice in Division 4 of the League this year, Waterford winning by a point in Limerick in March but, though the Déise topped the table unbeaten, Mickey Ned O'Sullivan's side turned the tables on them in the Final in Croke Park, triumphing by 1-16 to 1-14.

While that game may carry some weight with it going into this game, Waterford will hope that home advantage can offset any psychological edge that Limerick feel they will have.

Playing at Fraher Field certainly seemed to aid them as they turned things around against Clare in the Quarter-Final, and they will hope that they can they can produce a similar performance to make it to a first Final since 1960.

Gary Hurney's goal turned the game against Clare and he has been a big player for Waterford since concentrating on football, while Liam Ó Lionáin and Conor McGrath will also have big roles to play.Limerick, though, look to have a little bit too much for their opponents. With the aforementioned Galvin in midfield, Stephen Lucey at centre-back and Stephen Kelly and Ian Ryan in attack, they should progress, though it could be close.

Ulster GAA Football Senior Championship - Quarter-FinalCasement Park: Armagh v Monaghan, 2.00pm

It has almost become a cliché at this stage to hold up the Ulster GAA Football Senior Championship as being the example of why the provincial titles still matter, but clichés only become clichés because they have truth in them.

On Sunday evening, Armagh could be after beating both Derry and Monaghan - no mean feat at all - but will still only be at the Semi-Final stage in Ulster, and that, surely, proves that it is the most difficult competition to win.

Of course, we are not saying that a victory for the Orchard County is guaranteed, after all Monaghan spent the spring sharpening up in Division 1 of the League while Armagh were working, successfully as it turned out, on being promoted from Division 2.

There is no doubt that the victory in the Final against Down - who showed their quality in beating Donegal last week - added to the momentum of Paddy O'Rourke's and acceleration continued to be picked up as a result of the impressive win away to Derry in the Preliminary Round.

Steven McDonnell showed in both of those games that he is back to the level of performance that made him one of the most feared attackers in the country, and Jamie Clarke, who came off the bench to score the goal against Derry, demonstrated the strength of the squad.

That is shown again for Sunday by the fact that Ronan Clarke has to be content with being a sub after returning from injury, as O'Rourke has named an unchanged side from the Derry game. Monaghan have delayed naming their team until Friday night, but Dermot Malone and Colm Greenan will not be involved as they are injured.

The presence of Paul Grimley on the sideline at an Armagh game may not be an unusual one, but that he will be in white and blue rather than orange and white may be a bit confusing as he is now assisting Seamus McEnaney and it will be interesting to see how much inside knowledge he can bring, having been involved with Armagh under Joe Kernan.

Ultimately, however, Armagh's extra two games since Monaghan last played could be the deciding factor in who wins this game, but it would be no surprise if, come Monday, we were all hailing Monaghan's 'freshness' and Armagh's 'tiredness'!

Leinster GAA Football Senior Championship - Quarter-FinalTullamore: Wicklow v Westmeath, 3.30pm

Given all of the other games being played this weekend, there was a fear that this game could have been almost forgotten about, but Thursday's revelations (since refuted) that this was to be Mick O'Dwyer's last season in charge of Wicklow have propelled it back into the national consciousness.

Both sides will be going into this game knowing who they will be facing after the Kildare-Louth game of the previous evening, and there is no doubt that they will feel they are capable of getting to a Leinster Final.

Wicklow already have an impressive win against Carlow behind them, but O'Dwyer has shown that he is not afraid to tinker with a successful formula as they make three changes.

The sides also met at the same stage last year, Westmeath winning after extra time, but it was Wicklow who went further in the Qualifiers, getting to round four while the Lake County lost to Meath in round two.

It should be close again, and is in fact very difficult to call, but with Dessie Dolan named among the substitutes, Westmeath may have an ace to call upon if the game is up for grabs that Wicklow would find difficult to deal with.