SATURDAY 2 DECEMBER
FOOTBALL
Leinster SFC final
Kilmacud Crokes (Dublin) v Naas (Kildare), Croke Park, 2pm
HURLING
Leinster SHC final
O'Loughlin Gaels (Kilkenny) v Na Fianna (Dublin), Croke Park, 4.05pm
SUNDAY 3 DECEMBER
FOOTBALL
Connacht club SFC final
St Brigid's (Roscommon) v Corofin (Galway), Dr Hyde Park, 1.30pm
HURLING
Munster club SHC final
Ballygunner (Waterford) v Clonlara (Clare), Thurles, 3.30pm
Ulster club SHC final
Slaughtneil (Derry) v Cushendall (Antrim), Pairc Esler, 2pm
TV
On Saturday, RTÉ will show the Croke Park double header where the football (2pm) and hurling (4.05pm) Leinster finals are down for decision.
TG4 will also have a double helping on Sunday, starting with the Connacht football decider (1.30pm) before turning attention to the Munster hurling showpiece between Ballygunner and Clonlara from Semple Stadium (3.30pm). TG4 will also show deferred coverage of the Ulster hurling decider from 5.30pm.
RADIO
Updates on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday and Sunday Sport
Croke Park double bill
A double helping of Leinster finals action starts with the football offering of Dublin powerhouse Kilmacud Crokes taking on Kildare champions Naas.
Crokes enjoyed some close shaves in the Dublin championship – most notably when they edged out Raheny at the semi-final stage in a penalty shootout – and have at times looked to be playing well within themselves, most notably in the comfortable quarter-final victory over Eire Óg.
A late Shane Walsh goal puts the seal on a comfortable 1-12 to 0-04 Leinster quarter-final win for Kilmacud Crokes over Éire Óg. pic.twitter.com/no4wjTu9yq
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) November 4, 2023
Inter-county stars Paul Mannion and Shane Walsh combined for a combined for 0-10 last time out against St Mary's, but it has been their defence which has shone all year, most notably Dan O'Brien, Cian O'Connor and Andrew McGowan.
Any side with Darragh Kirwan to call upon will cause defences serious trouble, yet a Naas win would upset the odds. The Kildare side, however, are well used to facing the Stillorgan-based club, with their Leinster ambitions ended by Crokes in the last two years.
Both those games saw Crokes run out comfortable winners, with Kildare player Eoin Doyle saying that it’s crucial to keep the game in the mix coming down the stretch if they are to stand any chance of denying their opponents a provincial three-in-a-row.
The size of the challenge facing Naas is demonstrated by the fact that since the All-Ireland holders won a first Dublin SFC in eight years in 2018, they have played 49 championship games, losing just four games.
After that it will be the turn of the hurlers of O’Loughlin Gaels and Na Fianna in something of a novel pairing.
The Kilkenny club are still on a high after downing holders Ballyhale Shamrocks in a county final. Having only landed the first of five county titles back in 2001 – they lost to Clarinbridge in 2011 in their only All-Ireland final appearance – this will be just a second ever run out at Croke Park.
Yet their opposition, from nearby Mobhi Road, make their hurling debut at the venue having landed the Dublin SHC for the first time in October.
Dublin star Donal Burke will again be absent through injury, but the Currie brothers, Sean and Colin, have been instrumental in their run to the decider.
Gaels are looking for a third Leinster crown.
There will be the opportunity for a Dublin club double at Croke Park on Saturday though Na Fianna will have it all to do against 2003 and 2010 provincial winners O'Loughlin Gaels.
Connacht rivalries renewed
Based on what we have seen in the championship to date, and their previous history, the meeting of Corofin and St Brigid’s could be an early festive cracker in Salthill.
The Galway champions dethroned Moycullen in the final, and have showed some scintillating football in attack along the way to the final, most notably last time out against Ballina Stephenites.
The evergreen Gary Sice continues to pull the strings, while teenager Jack McCabe has been playing like a seasoned pro up front.
19-year-old Jack McCabe has been kicking in style today, this the pick of the bunch so far off his weaker foot
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) November 18, 2023
📺 Watch live coverage of Corofin and Ballina Stephenites on
@rte1 and @rteplayer pic.twitter.com/KnSXocIX3t
However they will face a side who are battle hardened, having edged out Boyle by a point in the county decider and surviving a scare from Mohill last time out.
A 2006 clash – a game Brigid’s won by a point – saw an altercation between Frankie Dolan and Gary Sice’s father Jimmy for which Dolan was hit with a two-month ban. Eight bookings and two reds were brandished, while their next meeting five years later saw no fewer than 15 players booked as the Rossies again prevailed.
In 2016 and 2017 they crossed paths again, with Corofin righting some previous wrongs to win both encounters, the second of which went to extra-time.
After the 2016 meeting, Sice said Dolan's comments in the build-up to the clash had fuelled Corofin's motivation.
"There was an awful lot of talk in the papers," he said. "I think Frankie embarrassed himself during the week. He said that it really didn't matter what we did, they were better than us.
"I hope he's slightly quieter this evening going home than he was during the week."
Munster bragging rights
When Ballygunner claimed a Munster title in 2018, it ended a 17-year wait for provincial glory. Now they seek a three-in-a-row that has never been achieved previously in hurling, with the 10-in-a-row Waterford champions almost unaccustomed to defeat.
Their lowest winning margin in the county campaign was eight points, and they demolished Cork champions Sarsfields 2-20 to 0-09 in their Munster opener.
Na Piarsaigh was a sterner test, but leading by eight points with as many minutes of regular time remaining, they made harder work of a 0-16 to 1-9 win than was necessary.
The Mahonys, Stephen O'Keeffe and Dessie Hutchinson will be expected to lead their latest charge for glory.
Looking to deny them is a Clonlara buoyed by a one-point semi-final win over Kiladangan that was their first ever in the competition. The Banner representatives will look to John Conlon again for inspiration.
Two days after winning his second All-Star award, Conlon was player of the match in victory over Kiladangan.
The veteran will be ably assisted by Ian Galvin, Colm Galvin, and Michael O'Loughlin in attack, but they will have their work cut out to outgun the Déise kingpins.
Ulster glory awaits
By the time the hurlers of Slaughtneil and Cushendall take to the field on Sunday afternoon, they will know who awaits the victor in an All-Ireland semi-final.
To say that the Derry champions have been waiting patiently would be something of an understatement.
Slaughnteil's reward for landing an 11th consecutive county title was a bye to the provincial decider.
Manager Michael McShane has described the 77-day gap as "scandalous", especially given the fact that should they win, it’s just two weeks out from an All-Ireland semi-final with St Thomas’ of Galway.
It seemed that the Down champions were on course for a shock win in normal time when leading by five late on and three deep in stoppage time thanks to their ability to find the net, but as he has done countless times before, Neil McManus - who led the way with 1-14 - buried a last-gasp free to force extra-time where Joe McLaughlin hit two majors of his own and set up Alex Delargy for another.
Slaughtneil have collected four Ulster titles since 2016, appearing in eight of the last 10 finals, with captain and football All-Star Brendan Rogers - pictured above - leading the way for their latest tilt at provincial honours.
The sides last met in 2015, with the Antrim club prevailing by the bare minimum after extra-time before going on to claim Ulster, a feat they last managed in 2018.
