SATURDAY 15 JULY
Dublin v Monaghan, Croke Park, 5.30pm
SUNDAY 16 JULY
Kerry v Derry, Croke Park, 4pm
ONLINE
Live blogs on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News app. Highlights also available across the weekend.
TV
Live coverage on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player from 5pm on Saturday and 3.15pm on Sunday. Also live on BBC2 NI, from 4.55pm on Saturday and 3.30pm on Sunday.
RADIO
Live commentary and updates on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport - and on Ráidió na Gaeltachta's Spórt an tSathairn and Spórt an Lae.
WEATHER
Saturday: An increasingly windy day on Saturday with showers or longer spells of rain in the west transferring eastwards during the day. Fresh and gusty west to northwest winds will continue through the day and will be strong at times, especially near the coast. Highest temperatures of 15 to 19 degrees.
Sunday: Staying wet and rather windy as showers continue to feed in across the country. Some of the showers will be heavy and thundery during the afternoon and evening. Staying windy too with moderate to fresh westerlies and highest temperatures of 15 to 19 degrees. For more go to met.ie.
No lack of motivation for the Ulster duo
And so just four remain.
This most open of football championships could yet have a novel pairing on final day, or will it be the case of the 'old firm' taking centre stage again on 30 July.
If you were to judge the anticipation level ahead of the semi-finals on a scale 1 to 10, it would probably register at 6. It just hasn't captured the imagination.
And dare I say it, is it a case of that many out there expect the aforementioned 'old firm' to give us our finale in a fortnight's time. Form would suggest that that is how things may indeed pan out, but the Ulster duo will have their say.
Monaghan have been dining near to the top table for close to a decade now. In 2018, they reached their last All-Ireland semi-final and were unlucky to lose to Tyrone. Derry are back-to-back Ulster champions and, having flopped in last year's defeat to Galway at this stage, will feel that they can now put things right against green-and-gold opposition.
In his column on these pages, Lee Keegan highlighted a possible "Tyrone-like siege mentality" in the Monaghan and Derry camps, given all the talk of a Dublin-Kerry decider.
The contenders from Ulster are no mugs. Monaghan are well past the stage of us patronising them, saying that they are punching above their weight. Dick Clerkin is right, though some will disagree, that the county should be in semi-finals more often.
Where the likes of Dublin and Mayo have fallen through the trap door, the Farney have been ever-present in Dvision 1 for a decade. What will disappoint is a lack of silverware since their last Ulster success in 2015 - the squads under Malachy O'Rourke and Seamus McEnaney were good enough to add to the county's Anglo-Celt Cup haul.
Derry's rise from Division 4 to Division 1 was notable - a county where all stakeholders are now pulling in the same direction. Events in 2023 could have derailed them: Rory Gallagher's withdrawal from the set-up, and the situation surrounding Ciaran McFaul's assault trial in the States. But they've stood firm, with Ciarán Meenagh now guiding the ship. Apart from a Division 2 final defeat to Dublin, Derry remain unbeaten in all other games played this year.
Kerry, however, are on a higher level to anything the Oakleafers have met so far. Jack O'Connor, speaking at the Kerry press night, said that Derry will be a "tough nut to crack". True, in that many don't envisage a high-scoring semi-final - but can Derry put themselves in a position where it's Kerry that have to solve the puzzles?
Now that would be a statement of Ulster intent, a year on their fade-out at the same juncture.
Dubs looking to kick on after impressive dismissal of Mayo
Dublin have kept faith with the side that ran out impressive winners over Mayo. The Dubs kicked 1-04 without reply just after half-time and effectively won a game that was evenly poised in the opening half, though the Connacht side should have been in front at the short whistle.
"In the second half, they had all the hallmarks of the great Dublin team that won six in a row" - Peter Canavan reflects on Dublin's win over Mayo
There was a lot to like about Dessie Farrell's side when they found their groove in that second period. In their first seven attacks they had six shots and six scores.
Colm Basquel turned in a player-of-the-match performance.
Stephen Cluxton, Jack McCaffrey (on the bench on Saturday), Paul Mannion and Con O'Callaghan are now back involved and with the likes of Ciarán Kilkenny and Dean Rock to call on from the bench, Dublin are in much better shape than they were in '21 and '22. Pat Gilroy's return to the set-up is also viewed as a positive as the side strive to get back to a final.
Dublin's workrate in that second half against Mayo was most impressive. They were determined not to concede a goal, forcing the westerners into aimless deliveries, sucking the life out of them.
They will look to put Monaghan on the back foot early, try and build up a score where they are four or five ahead at the break. Monaghan's tactics may have to change, more kicking in an effort to counteract the press. A high-risk game, however.
Ryan O'Toole comes in as an indirect replacement for Darren Hughes - the only change on the Monaghan starting XV from the side that prevailed after penalties against Armagh.
Conor McManus again starts on the bench. How soon Vinny Corey brings him on will be a barometer as to how things are going.
As a marauding wing-back, Conor McCarthy has been instrumental in Monaghan's run so far; he kicked over the winning point against Kildare and had 0-03 to his name the last day. Gary Mohan and Jack McCarron are also chipping in with scores, but Monaghan, whose highest tally was 2-17 in their Ulster opener against Tyrone, will need to hit something similar and more if they are to cause a surprise.
Such a surprise would finally give this side a statement win at Croke Park.
Teams
Dublin: Stephen Cluxton; Eoin Murchan, Michael Fitzsimons, David Byrne; James McCarthy, John Small, Lee Gannon; Brian Fenton, Brian Howard, Paul Mannion, Sean Bugler, Niall Scully; Cormac Costello, Con O'Callaghan, Colm Basquel.
Subs: Evan Comerford, Ciaran Kilkenny, Tom Lahiff, Sean MacMahon, Jack McCaffrey, Cian Murphy, Daire Newcombe Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne, Lorcan O'Dell, Dean Rock, Paddy Small.
Monaghan: Rory Beggan; Ryan O'Toole, Kieran Duffy, Ryan Wyllie; Karl O'Connell, Conor Boyle, Conor McCarthy; Karl Gallagher, Killian Lavelle; Stephen O'Hanlon, Michael Bannigan, Ryan McAnespie; Jack McCarron, Gary Mohan, Dessie Ward.
Subs: Darren McDonnell, Kieran Hughes, Conor McManus, Sean Jones, Darren Hughes, Shane Carey, Kevin Loughran, Conor Leonard, Francis Hughes, Colm Lennon.
Stat check
- Dublin have averaged 2-20 in their seven championship games to date, ranging from a high of 5-21 against Louth to a low of 1-11 against Roscommon.
- Monaghan have averaged 1-15 in their seven games, ranging from a high of 1-23 against Clare to a low of 0-12 (at the end of normal time) against Armagh.
- Dublin beat Monaghan by ten points in their last championship meeting (2017 All-Ireland quarter-final) but since then the Ulster men have done well against their city rivals.
- They have met four times in the Allianz League, with Monaghan winning three while one was drawn. Their 3-13 to 1-18 win in 2022 sent Dublin into Division 2.
More in the Kingdom armoury
Kerry, it would seem, have timed their run to perfection. There were doubts before the game with Tyrone: was their midfield up to the job? It certainly was. How would their defence stand up, mindful of the goals they conceded the last time they met the Red Hand? The stood up with telling effect. Their tackling was ravenous.
Truth be told, this wasn't even Kerry at their very best, yet they still tore an out-of-sorts Tyrone asunder, with goals from Diarmuid O'Connor and Sean O'Shea. The Munster champions were terrific in the second half, outscoring Tyrone by 2-09 to 0-06.
O'Shea finished with 1-05 for Kerry while O'Connor registered 1-02 from midfield with David Clifford, despite hitting 0-05 overall, surprisingly wasting seven good scoring opportunities over the 70 minutes. However, the latter left his mark on the game and was heavily involved in the move for Kerry's second goal.
Chrissy McKaigue will no doubt be entrusted with keeping tabs on Clifford, and will have looked at how Padraig Hampsey kept the Fossa clubman relatively quiet a fortnight ago.
Elsewhere, Jason Foley will be tasked with shutting down Shane McGuigan, who may decide to turn it on after a quietish performance against Cork.. Along with Tadhg Morley, Foley is the rock that binds the Kingdom defence together.
Will Eoghan McEvoy or Padraig McGrogan pick up O'Shea?
In midfield, Jack Barry-O'Connor v Conor Glass-Brendan Rogers battle will be keenly observed. The Kerry duo had a good day against Tyrone but may face a tougher duo here, a combination that have scored 1-13 between so far in the championship.
On closer examination it would seem that Kerry have more in defence and attack to get the job done there. They will have observed at how Donegal and Cork got in behind Derry for scores.
'The match ups on the Kerry side stack up more favourably'
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 13, 2023
Ciarán Whelan reckons that Kerry are just too strong for this Derry team #RTEGAA pic.twitter.com/A36y64quU8
In previewing the game, Ciarán Whelan believes the All-Ireland champions will get the job done and in referencing the above he told RTÉ Sport: "I feel that Derry need to win all those battles to win this game, that they need everything to go their way, but with Kerry, even if Clifford is shut out, they still have Sean O'Shea, Paul Geaney and a forward organisation that can get the scores.
"This game isn't going to be as straightforward as people think, it’s going to be tighter and more attritional but I feel that Kerry are going to find a way to win this game."
Both Kerry are Derry are unchanged for this semi-final.
Kerry: S Ryan; G O'Sullivan, J Foley, T O’Sullivan; P Murphy, T Morley, G White; D O’Connor, J Barry; D Moynihan, S O’Shea, A Spillane; P Clifford, D Clifford, P Geaney.
Subs: S Murphy, T Brosnan, M Breen, B O Beaglaoich, BD O’Sullivan, R Murphy, M Burns, S O’Brien, D O’Sullivan, D Casey, S O’Brien.
Derry: O Lynch; C McKaigue, E McEvoy, C McCluskey; C Doherty, G McKinless, P McGrogan; C Glass, B Rogers; N Toner, Paul Cassidy, E Doherty; C McFaul, S McGuigan, N Loughlin.
Subs: T Mallon, D Cassidy, B Heron, S Downey, L Murray, B McCarron, P McNeill. Padraig Cassidy, C McGuckian, M Doherty, D Baker.
Flashback
The last time that Derry won back-to-back Ulster titles in 1976, they faced Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final. In the end it was an emphatic win for the Munster men.
Stat check
- Derry have averaged 1-18 in their seven games, ranging from a high of 3-17 against Fermanagh to a low of 0-14 against Monaghan in the round robin series.
- Kerry have averaged 2-20 in their six games, ranging from a high of 5-24 against Louth to lows of 1-14 against Cork and 0-17 against Mayo.
