SATURDAY 5 SEPTEMBER
TG4 All-Ireland Ladies IFC semi-final
1215 Kildare v Offaly, Parnell Park
TG4 All-Ireland Ladies SFC semi-final
1400 Dublin v Armagh, Parnell Park
All-Ireland SFC semi-final replay
1700 Dublin v Mayo, Croke Park
SUNDAY 6 SEPTEMBER
All-Ireland MHC final
1315 Galway v Tipperary, Croke Park
All-Ireland SHC final
1530 Kilkenny v Galway, Croke Park
ONLINE
Live blog on RTÉ.ie from 1600 on Saturday and from 1200 on Sunday
ON TV
Saturday
1200 Ladies Football - Kildare v Offaly (1215) & Dublin v Armagh (1400) live on TG4
1630 Dublin v Mayo (1700) live on RTÉ2, RTÉ Player, Sky Sports and GAAGO worldwide
Sunday
1245 Galway v Tipperary (1315) live on TG4 and GAAGO wordwide
1415 Kilkenny v Galway (1530) live on RTÉ2, RTÉ Player, Sky Sports and GAAGO worldwide
ON RADIO
Saturday
1400 Updates on all the day's action, including live commentary on Dublin v Mayo (1700) on RTÉ Radio 1
Sunday
1400 Updates on Galway v Tipperary (1315) and live commentary on Kilkenny v Galway (1530) on RTÉ Radio 1
WEATHER
A lot of dry weather is expected on Saturday and Sunday. It will be cool, however, with top temperatures in the low to mid teens generally, probably peaking at 17C on Sunday.
FIXTURES
Dublin v Mayo - All-Ireland SFC semi-final replay
Replays, they say, are often different beasts to what has gone before. Last Sunday's drawn encounter, while not a footballing classic, offered much in the way of intrigue and no little drama.
Referee Joe McQuillan brandished cards of various colours and awarded two penalties. Those decisions provoked much debate and arising from that was the question whether top-level Gaelic football is now unrefereeable. Is there a need, like in rugby, to have a TMO high in the stands who will adjudicate on the marginal decisions? Such questions around technology and the future roles of officials on the pitch won't be full answered this weekend, but hopefully we will know which team will face Kerry in this year's All-Ireland final come 6.45pm on Saturday evening.
In reflecting on last weekend's stalemate, Dubs manager Jim Gavin told RTÉ Sport: "That game will do us a world of good, we haven’t played a game like that all season."
Gavin, however, will be disappointed that his side did let a seven-point lead slip going down the stretch. Anhd while the Dubs did a lot of good work in limiting the influence of Aidan O'Shea and making Mayo shoot from distance, their discipline did see them concede 1-08.
RTÉ pundit Kevin McStay has often praised Mayo resilience "in coming back for more" in the wake of recent heartaches. Such resolve was seen to good effect last Sunday as they reeled in the Dubs late on. In many respects it was an act of defiance from the Red and Green - a surge in the last eight minutes that had Dublin on the ropes - a revival that the stemmed from a more positive approach.
I mentioned at the outset that replays can take on a different life. No two games are the same, but tactics are again expected to play a huge part and this second installment may be devoid of free-flowing football.
All round, Dublin would appear to be the better unit and have more natural score-getters in their team. However, Mayo's mental toughness has to be applauded. It's such a hard game to call. When push comes to shove, however, another look through the Dublin side would indicate that they have the personnel to edge them clear if, as expected, the game is on a knife edge at the death.
Verdict: Dublin
Kilkenny v Galway - All-Ireland SHC final
It's nine weeks since these last sides met in the Leinster final. Kilkenny prevailed by seven points, but Galway boss Anthony Cunningham confidently told Brian Cody afterwards that their respective sides would meet again. The only place they could meet was in the All-Ireland final. Cunningham's confidence was well-placed and now he stands 70 minutes way from avenging the loss to the Cats in the replayed decider of 2012.
Since they last lifted the Liam MacCarthy Cup in 1988, the Tribesmen have endured five defeats in finals. For Cunningham, the sense of disappointment and underachievement that has lingered around Galway hurling has fuelled the fires of the current side.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport ahead of Sunday's big game, he said: "It’s gone so long since we’ve won - these guys really are on a mission. There’s great self-belief and a great work ethic. They work probably as hard off the training pitch as they do on it on the nights that they’re not involved in collective training."
Yet, the Tribes boss also pointed out that that they will have earn the plaudits that may come their way on Sunday afternoon.
"There’s a lot of people who would say you deserve an All-Ireland, but deserving it doesn’t put any ball over the bar for you. You’re playing in an All-Ireland final and no bigger opponent than Kilkenny. We’ve trained hard all year and we’ve improved in every match, and we’ve got to improve from the Tipperary match."
That Tipperary match in the All-Ireland semi-final was the game of the year so far and while Galway conceded three goals to the brilliant Seamus Callanan, their response each time was impressive, as was their final tally of 0-26. That earned them a one-point victory, but there was no denying that the westerners were deserving victors.
Brian Cody is aiming for an 11th All-Ireland title as Cats boss. He's well used to the routine at this stage, but recognises that every final is different. "Each All-Ireland is special and each one is different because of the challenge. There is always someone throwing something different at you," he revealed to RTÉ Sport.
“We played Galway in the Leinster final and we won that match, but it was really competitive right up to the very end.
“We pulled away a small bit in the end. If you look at Galway since then. They completely dominated against Cork. Against Tipperary everybody realises the quality of that game."
As to who'll win the 2015 final, the smart money may be on Kilkenny, but I think Galway are capable of really putting it up to the Cats. The nature of the win against Tipperary will bring them on and the way they went about dismantling Cork before that was impressive. They are a team on a mission this year - a year in which Joe Canning has yet to fire.
Verdict: Galway
