SATURDAY
All-Ireland SFC qualifiers round one
Cork v Louth, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 2pm
Mayo v Monaghan, Hastings Insurance MacHale Park, 4pm
Clare v Meath, Cusack Park, 6pm
Tailteann Cup quarter-final
Offaly v New York, Bord na Móna O'Connor Park, 2pm
SUNDAY
All-Ireland SFC qualifier round one
Armagh v Tyrone, Athletic Grounds, 1.30pm
Tailteann Cup quarter-finals
Carlow v Westmeath, Netwatch Cullen Park, 2pm
Leitrim v Sligo, Avant Money Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada, 3pm
Fermanagh v Cavan, Brewster Park, 4pm
ONLINE
Live tracker on Saturday and Sunday on RTÉ Sport Online and RTÉ News Now app.
TV
Live coverage of Sunday's All-Ireland qualifier between Armagh and Tyrone on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
GAAGO will stream the All-Ireland qualifiers between Cork and Louth and Clare and Meath on Saturday along with the Tailteann Cup quarter-final between Offaly and New York. On Sunday they will stream the Tailteann Cup clash between Leitrim and Sligo.
Live coverage of Saturday’s All-Ireland qualifier between Mayo and Monaghan on Sky Sports Arena.
Highlights on The Sunday Game, RTÉ2, 9.30pm.
RADIO
Live commentary and updates on RTÉ Radio 1 Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport, with coverage starting at 1.30pm on Radio 1 Extra.
WEATHER
Saturday will be dry and sunny across most of the country, although a few showers may push in to southern coastal counties at times. Highest temperatures of 14 to 20 degrees, coolest along the east coast. Winds remaining light to moderate northeasterly.
There is some uncertainty on Sunday, but indications are that rain will extend northwards across the country, turning heavy in places. Highs of 14 to 19 degrees, coolest in the east and southeast, with light to moderate easterly breezes.
For more, see met.ie.
Mayo out to avoid rare early exit
We know that there will be one change in tradition this season with the All-Ireland quarter-finals moved from their usual August bank holiday spot to late June, but will Mayo be able to maintain their tradition of showing up when the big boy stuff throws in?
With no backdoor in 2020 and 2021, last-eight encounters were not necessary but with two Connacht titles nabbed in those Covid-hit seasons, the Westerners would have been involved had they been able to go ahead.
Take out 2018, when Kildare turned them over in that famed 'Newbridge or Nowhere’ qualifier, and the Green and Red have been involved in the All-Ireland quarter-finals from 2011 onwards – which just happened to be the first year of the James Horan project. A good omen should they win on Saturday is that they have not exited at the quarter-final stage in that period, Roscommon coming closest when forcing a replay five years ago.
It has been remarkably consistency from Mayo, but their record faces a real challenge against fellow Division 1 side Monaghan on Saturday afternoon in Castlebar.
Games between these sides have been relatively close, with winning margins of two points, nine points, three points, one point and two points in their last five meetings. In the nine-point win for Monaghan in 2020, the Farney County were just ahead in the final 10 minutes when Mayo had Jordan Flynn sent off, Padraig O’Hora following him to the line a few minutes later.
It seems almost inevitable that this will be added to the close encounters list, with one big team set to fall at a very early juncture.
Mayo have enjoyed recent championship clashes with Ulster opposition at MacHale Park. They’ve won all four – Fermanagh (2016), Derry (2017), Donegal and Armagh (both 2019) – since moving into the leading pack from 2011 onwards.
All brought a bit of peril however. Against Fermanagh, they trailed by six points at the break, Derry brought them to extra-time, Armagh missed a series of late chances to do likewise, and they needed to dig in for a crucial Super Eight win against Donegal.
The threat of Monaghan will require similar characteristics to shine through, although word is that a challenge match with Cavan recently didn’t go to plan – albeit Horan was without a raft of players.
Injuries could be a kingmaker on Saturday. Oisin Mullin is expected to be fit after hurting a hamstring in the loss to Galway while Ryan O’Donoghue and goalkeeper Rob Hennelly remain doubts.
Monaghan boss Seamus McEnaney couldn’t have picked a much tougher draw after their Ulster semi-final loss to eventual champions Derry. It may be his third season in charge, but it’s Banty’s first qualifier game since Monaghan’s hammering of Wexford in 2017. However, McEnaney was wearing the Wexford bainisteoir bib that day.
The Derry match would have left the management and players perplexed. If they had been told they would have scored 0-17 against a defensive set-up pre-match they would have been delighted, but the concession of 3-12 was criminal.
McEnaney had said after their heavy win over Down that he wasn’t concerned by the two goals the Mourne County nabbed, but that’s five in two championship games and it goes without saying that if they concede two or three on Saturday they have little chance of progressing.
Retention attention
On Sunday afternoon, the Athletic Grounds should be packed to the rafters for the all-Ulster qualifier between Armagh and Tyrone.
These traditional rivals don’t need too much ammunition to get stuck into each other but there are a few extra reasons why this could be hot and spicy.
For one, the Red Hands travel as All-Ireland champions and it would give the Orchard County no shortage of pleasure if they could end their reign and claim their first home championship win over Tyrone since 1990 (they have only played there twice since in Ulster, the sides drawing in 1993 before Tyrone prevailed in 2012).
Then there is, of course, the infamous Allianz League meeting between the sides back in February.
Armagh were five points clear and cruising to two big points when a melee broke out in the final moments.
Referee David Gough sent off Armagh’s Greg McCabe, booked Aidan Nugent and then, incredibly, lined up Tyrone’s Padraig Hampsey, Kieran McGeary, Michael McKernan and Peter Harte and produced four reds. All five dismissals were unsuccessfully appealed.
The whole affair went down badly in both camps, especially in Tyrone where there was bewilderment at the red ratio of 4:1 for a fairly even-looking wrestling bout. Both Ulster sides also felt annoyed that a similar, albeit less intense, incident in Kerry’s win over Dublin the night before received very little media attention.
For both camps, you can be sure that one word will be on the mouth of their managers – discipline.
Tyrone bosses Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher will also be probing their players, asking whether they really mean it when they said they wanted to become the first Red Hand team to defend the Sam Maguire.
Against Derry, it looked like they didn’t and that’s the question Eamonn Fitzmuarice wants answered.
"I remember hearing [Tyrone captain] Kieran McGeary the night he got the Player of the Year award," Fitzmaurice said on the RTÉ GAA podcast.
"He was being interviewed by Joanne [Cantwell] and he said they were 'hungry for more', they were mad for more success and I remember smiling to myself thinking 'you don't know that yet, Kieran'.
"Absolutely, you want more success of course, but you don't know until the gun is to your head and you're under pressure in a big game."
There has been mixed squad news heading into the game that should tip the balance more towards the champions.
From the side that recently won the All-Ireland U20 Championship, Ruairi Canavan, Niall Devlin, Steve Donaghy, and Michael McGleenan have been drafted in. Mattie Donnelly may also be fit to appear. Brian Kennedy is suspended after being sent off against Derry.
Armagh lost midfielder Ciaran Mackin to an eye injury ahead of their Ulster game with Donegal and they felt it as they were well beaten. Fellow midfielder Niall Grimley was added to the long-term injury list with a neck injury last week while Tiernan Kelly, one of their best players this year, will miss out due to a blood clot issue.
Big versus Wee
Cork against Louth has the potential to be one of the games of the weekend, even if it’s set to be played in front of a tiny crowd at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
Any Wee County fans will travel with confidence that they can make a mockery of landmass by defeating the biggest county in the country.
Mickey Harte’s side have already achieved their key goal of the season, promotion to Division 2, and a final win over Limerick at Croke Park was a real bonus. They followed that up by hitting five goals against Carlow in Leinster although they were very poor against Kildare as they lost 2-22 to 0-12.
Eoghan Callaghan started wing-back against the Lilywhites but he will miss out here. Tommy Durnin suffered concussion that day too and only recently returned to training, but Harte has named him in his team for this clash.
When it comes to personnel though, the one name on everyone’s lips from the Wee County will be Sam Mulroy, widely regarded as one of the most in-form players in the country. The attacker has scored 5-67 in 10 games, an average of over eight points per game.
Cork defender Kevin Flahive would have been the man tasked with picking him up, but his season is over after picking up an injury in their Munster semi-final defeat to Kerry. Scan results showed ligament damage and he will miss inter-county and club action in 2022.
The Rebels were competitive for the majority of that 0-23 to 0-12 defeat to the Kingdom, but being outscored 0-12 to 0-01 down the stretch was a real hammer-blow to their confidence.
One man not impressed was Tyrone’s Sean Cavanagh when speaking to The Sunday Game.
"I don't really buy in to this morale-boosting, they put in an effort," he said.
"Look, they lost by 12 points to their bitter rival. They made a big hullaballoo about bringing the match to Páirc Uí Rinn in the first place because they knew they'd get destroyed in a wide-open Killarney.
"Effort should be the minimum standard for Cork going up against Kerry and I thought Kerry kept them in the game with some cheap frees."
Hard to split
Clare and Meath in Ennis is the sort of fixture that would cause predictors to come out in a sweat.
Their league form adds to the weight that there is very little between these sides. Both played seven, won two, drew two and lost three. Even their direct meeting saw little to split them with James Conlon popping up with a 73rd-minute winner for the Royals.
Surprisingly then, for two sides who seem neck and neck, Clare have now lost five in a row against Meath. That included a qualifier two years ago although again the Royals again only had a point to spare. Colm Collins will hope his side can turn the tide.
There is pressure on Royal County boss Andy McEntee too. This is the biggest game – so far, he hopes – of a season that’s always had a bit of a cloud hanging over it ever since he had to survive a vote to continue in the role back in October.
The league was a mixed bag and after a comfortable Leinster win over Wicklow, they were steamrolled by Dublin in the provincial semi-final with 15 points between the side at the break and 13 at the finish. Thirteen was also the number of players they had left on the field at the end as Jack Flynn and Jordan Morris picked up red cards. Both appealed, but only Morris earned a reprieve.
Start spreading the word, we’re nearing Croke Park
New York’s bye to the Tailteann Cup quarter-final earned plenty of debate, but they’re in Ireland now for their quarter-final clash with Offaly in Tullamore on Saturday.
It’s the first time that they have played a championship game in Ireland since a Connacht Championship loss to Roscommon in 2001 and they’ll be hoping to build on their fine performance against Sligo a few weeks ago when they were edged out after extra-time.
Johnny McGeeney’s side are training in Silverbridge in Armagh today, a few miles from his home village of Culloville. Expectations will be low as they head to take on John Maughan’s charges, but they’ll give it a good rattle.
.@NewYorkGAA touched down in Dublin Airport today ahead of their first senior football championship fixture on Irish soil since 2001 #GAA pic.twitter.com/SjZPnQsjde
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) June 2, 2022
Elsewhere, Derby duels create two other intriguing quarter-finals.
Cavan are the competition favourites, and they eased past Down in the first round to reaffirm that belief. A trip to Enniskillen to face Fermanagh should be a much tougher assignment.
Kieran Donnelly, an All-Ireland B winner with Fermanagh in 1996, is in charge of the Erne County and the fact that he spent a number of seasons in charge of Cavan Gaels means that he will be familiar with what to expect from the Breffni County.
Leitrim have their eyes on a Croke Park semi-final when they host Sligo. Andy Moran’s charges were far too good for a disappointing Antrim last time out, cutting through the middle at ease.
Like against New York, Tony McEntee’s Sligo needed extra-time to get past non-Irish opposition as they just edged out London last week. A tally of 21 wides means that he doesn’t have to look too far for what needs improving.
The final clash on Sunday will see Carlow host Westmeath. Niall Carew’s side did maybe more than any official promotion could for the competition following their wild celebrations after their first-round win over Tipperary.
Tipp had won their Division 4 clash by 11 points, but Niall Hickey’s goal proved enough for a fine reversal, 1-12 to 1-10.
Westmeath had to come back against Laois, a result all the more impressive given that they lost Kevin Maguire to a red card in the first half. The county were this week considering an appeal.
The four quarter-final winners will head for Croke Park for a pair of matches to be shown live on RTÉ.
Watch Armagh v Tyrone live on RTÉ2, listen live on RTÉ Radio 1's Sunday Sport and follow live updates on RTÉ Sport Online or the RTÉ News app
