SATURDAY
Clare v Roscommon, Croke Park, 3.45pm
Mayo v Kildare, Croke Park, 6pm
SUNDAY
Cork v Limerick, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 1.30pm
Armagh v Donegal, Clones, 4pm
ONLINE
Live tracker on Saturday and Sunday on RTÉ Sport Online and RTÉ News Now app.
TV
Live coverage of Cork v Limerick and Armagh v Donegal on RTÉ 2 and RTÉ Player on Sunday from 1pm. Live coverage of Croke Park double-header of Clare-Roscommon and Mayo-Kildare on Sky Sports Arena on Saturday.
RADIO
Live commentary and updates from all four games on Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.
Listen to the RTÉ GAA Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Croker and that's that
To the chagrin of many, the GAA swiftly announced on Monday that Clare-Roscommon and Mayo-Kildare would form a Croke Park double header. While there was much grumbling online as well as dire prophesies of a dead atmosphere, there was no full-scale revolt on this occasion.
The fact that it was understood before the draw that these ties were always to be played at a neutral venue took the sting out of the complaints somewhat.
For historical reasons, the Rossies may be most enthused about the prospect of a winnable game in GAA HQ. The county hasn't won a championship match in Croke Park since the 1980 All-Ireland semi-final against Armagh. The six Connacht titles they've won in the intervening decades have all been followed by defeat in the next round (they did draw with Mayo in 2017 before being hammered in the subsequent Bank Holiday Monday replay).
While officially pegged as underdogs before the Connacht final, Anthony Cunningham's side seemed to be tipped by the large majority of pundits and podcast contributors in advance of the decider, in recognition of both their league final success and a recent history of high profile ambushes in Salthill.
In that context, their decisive loss to Galway - they were highly flattered by a three point margin in the finish - was a letdown.
On Saturday, they face a Clare team, who overcame Meath in Cusack Park last weekend, finally bringing the curtain down on the Andy McEntee regime.
They made heavier weather of it than they needed to, with Meath keeper Harry Hogan saving a penalty from David Tubridy. Despite their dominance, Clare appeared to be in the process of kicking away victory until late points from Keelan Sexton and Manus Doherty deservedly saw them over the line.
While Roscommon wound up winning the Division 2 title, the pair couldn't be separated in their league clash in Hyde Park, drawing a turgid encounter 0-09 apiece in blustery conditions.
They met at this stage of the championship in Pearse Stadium in 2016, Clare winning handily, though the relevance of that game is pretty limited. Roscommon's chaotic managerial situation was exposed afterwards, the co-management team of Kevin McStay and Fergal O'Donnell being broken up acrimoniously with the latter departing.
Mayo and Kildare feeling their way back to health
The second game of the double header is the more high profile, Mayo meeting Kildare in the famed 2018 encounter. Despite reasonable league campaigns, neither team are perceived to be in especially rude health following championship setbacks.
On the evidence of summer 2022, Mayo's forward line is as uninspiring as Kildare's defence is leaky.
Under Jack O'Connor in 2021, Kildare were berated for excessive caution in their Leinster final loss to a stumbling Dublin side. They could perhaps have done with more of that caution in 2022.
Kildare's almost Kevin Keegan-esque approach to defending left themselves desperately exposed against Dessie Farrell's apparently rejuvenated team and they shipped five goals in a barely believable first half hour. With victory assured, the Dubs eased off the throttle in the second half and Kildare were able to put in a more respectable 35. But it was still a deeply damaging loss. Down in Killarney, Jacko might have quietly taken the first half debacle as vindication of his approach in the second Covid campaign.
All the evidence is that Mayo lack the scoring thrust up front to inflict similar pain. They were without 2021 scorer-in-chief Ryan O'Donoghue against Monaghan and it remains to be seen whether he'll be available on Saturday. Tommy Conroy is already destined to be a spectator for the duration of the summer. Cillian O'Connor notched 1-06 but all bar a single point were from placed balls.
In better news, Mayo were bolstered by the return of Paddy Durcan, who sallied forward to rattle over a trademark point to seal the win late on. Matthew Ruane, out of sorts against Galway, delivered an improved performance. Their running power from deep remains their core strength, with Durcan, Ruane, Lee Keegan and Eoghan McLaughlin all registering scores.
In the closing stages against Galway - and even in the third quarter in last year's All-Ireland final - they demonstrated their ability to establish an absolute stranglehold in the middle third. Capitalising fully on that dominance remains an issue. It is assumed that the big field in Croker should suit their running game.
We meet again...
There was some confusion when Armagh and Donegal were allowed face each other again. Rather bizarrely, repeat pairings are permitted for the last-12 stage but not for the quarter-finals.
Donegal won decisively when the sides met in Ballybofey in April but the psychological conditions pertaining to Sunday's game are somewhat different.
Armagh should be emboldened after dumping out the All-Ireland champions and their bitter rivals last weekend. McGeeney, in contrast to his dismal managerial record in the provincial championships, has a history of leading teams back to the business end via the qualifiers, notably Kildare in 2010 and Armagh in 2017.
Donegal, meanwhile, could be expected to be downcast after their latest flop in a big game. From the Super 8 losses to Tyrone (2018), Mayo (2019), the 2020 Ulster defeat to Cavan, the 2021 loss to Tyrone, it's become a lamentable pattern.
Kevin McStay observed on the RTÉ GAA podcast that Donegal couldn't afford to lose this year's Ulster final or else they'd find it hard to pick up the baton again in the last-12. They failed again.
Even in Ballybofey, the eventual margin (7 points) covered up the fact that Armagh wasted a blizzard of chances early in the second half just prior to Paddy McBrearty's critical goal. It was in retrospect a game that could have taken off in another direction.
Between league and championship, Armagh are stuck in a long losing streak against Donegal which stretches back in 2010, with only a draw in the 2021 Allianz League breaking up the defeats.
With their experienced head still knocking around, Declan Bonner's side may still have the muscle memory to keep Armagh at bay. Martin McHugh this week said he expected Donegal to alter their approach from the lateral, fearful approach in Clones. But Armagh have the wind at their back as they seek to end a horrible run in the fixture.
Opportunity knocks down south
Cork, the most routinely maligned football team since time immemorial (even when they were good), have a chance to reach an All-Ireland quarter-final. Even if they do manage to get that far, it will likely be taken as evidence of the softness of their route rather than any improvement on their end.
Intriguingly, Munster, supposedly the weakest of the weak provinces, has provided four of the last-12 in the Sam Maguire race.
John Cleary, former All-Ireland winning U21 manager, has steadied the ship since taking over after Keith Ricken's illness. He presided over the preservation of their Division 2 status with crucial wins over Down and Offaly and, with expectations as low as they could possibly get, they mounted a game effort against Kerry before wilting in the final quarter.
The aftermath of last weekend's four-point win over Louth was dominated by discussion of the visitors' negative tactics, with little time left over for praise of Cork's efforts. Still, there was no guarantee beforehand that they'd win against a fellow Division 2 side. Brian Hurley showed his worth again, scoring 1-03 from play, while Stephen Sherlock racked up 0-08, 0-07 from placed balls.
Limerick were already in bonus territory after their promotion to Division 2 and their progression to the Munster final but the brutally one-sided nature of their defeat in Killarney may have taken some of the sheen off their season. At the very least, it was a sobering reminder of their ultimate place in the pecking order and their distance from the elite.
The game is fixed for Páirc Uí Chaoimh with the pair long having a home-and-away arrangement from the Munster championship. Whoever comes through won't have to face Kerry in the quarter-finals but the other three would probably be content to draw either one of them.
Implications for quarters
With repeat pairings disallowed for the quarters, we will not have a fully 'open' draw for the last eight.
Neither Mayo nor Roscommon can face Galway in the quarter-finals. Thus if both progress, Padraic Joyce's team will only have two possible opponents heading into Monday's draw. Likewise, Kerry cannot play the winners of the Cork-Limerick game, while Derry will not be eligible to play Donegal, should they overcome Armagh. If Kildare lose, then Dublin will be free to face any of the four to emerge.
No draw will be required beyond the quarters. It's set in stone that it's Kerry/or qualifier v Dublin/or qualifier in one semi-final, with Galway/or qualifier v Derry/or qualifier in the other.
Watch Cork v Limerick (1.30pm) and Armagh v Donegal (4pm) 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. Highlights of all the weekend's action on The Sunday Game, RTÉ2, from 9.30pm.
