SATURDAY 1 FEBRUARY
Division 1
Armagh v Tyrone, BOX-IT Athletic Grounds, 6pm
Donegal v Dublin, MacCumhaill Park, 7.30pm
Division 4
Tipperary v Longford, Clonmel, 2.30pm
Waterford v Carlow, Fraher Field, 6pm
SUNDAY 2 FEBRUARY
Division 1
Derry v Kerry, Celtic Park, 12.30pm
Mayo v Galway, Hastings Insurance MacHale Park, 2.30pm
Division 2
Down v Cork, Páirc Esler, 1pm
Louth v Roscommon, Integral Gaelic Grounds, 2pm
Meath v Cavan, Páirc Tailteann, 2pm
Monaghan v Westmeath, St Tiernach's Park, 2pm
Division 3
Sligo v Kildare, Markievicz Park, 2pm
Clare v Leitrim, Cusack Park, 2pm
Fermanagh v Antrim, Ederney, 2.30pm
Laois v Offaly, Laois Hire O'Moore Park, 4pm
Division 4
London v Wicklow, McGovern Park, 12.30pm
Limerick v Wexford, Mick Neville Park, 2pm
ONLINE
Live blogs each day on RTÉ Sport Online and RTÉ News app.
RADIO
Live commentaries and updates on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport.
TV
On Saturday there will be live coverage of Armagh v Tyrone on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 5.30pm with another Division 1 clash, Donegal’s meeting with Kerry, on TG4 from 7.15pm.
On Sunday, TG4 will show Derry’s home encounter with Kerry from 12 noon as well as the Connacht derby between Mayo and Galway from 2.20pm.
Highlights from the weekend on Allianz League Sunday from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
WEATHER
Saturday: Breezy and rather dull on Saturday with outbreaks of light rain or drizzle mainly in the west and south. Heavier, more persistent rain will move into the west and southwest by evening. Highest temperatures of 8-12C in a moderate to fresh southerly wind.
Sunday: Wet in the east on Sunday morning. The rain will quickly clear eastwards leaving dry and bright conditions for the rest of the day, but some cloud and drizzle may linger near the southeast coast. Highest temperatures of 8-10C with light west to southwest winds.
For more, visit met.ie.
After an opening weekend where the rules took centre stage and scoreboard operators were left with sore thumbs, it’s quickly back to the action as teams try to take a foothold in their respective divisions.
Return of a legend in blockbuster Division 1 weekend
Everywhere you look in Division 1, there are storylines to keep you glued to the action all weekend.
Armagh against Tyrone and Mayo versus Galway speak for themselves, two massive GAA rivalries and especially in the case of the first, often played at boiling point.
Derry against Kerry is significant for the Paddy Tally factor, given he had signed up to another season alongside Jack O’Connor - moving into a new performance coach role in his fourth season in the Kingdom - but that was before the Oakleaf came calling.
Perhaps most eyes will be on Ballybofey to see if Michael Murphy makes his Donegal return against Dublin after last week’s Kerry postponement and, if he does, to see where he will feature.
SIX OF THE BEST: PLAYER COMEBACKS
Tir Chonaill boss Jim McGuinness was keeping things under wraps wherever possible in early-season challenge games but it’s believed that the Glenswilly man had a brief spell in goals, but it was very much an experimental move rather than any longstanding tactical adjustment.
Instead, the former Football Review Committee member, whose involvement may be hampered by a hamstring issue, is more likely to find himself possibly benefiting from the new rules he helped create by exploiting the extra space in attack.
McGuinness’ panel is stronger this season not just due to Murphy's return, but also because of the readdition of Odhran McFadden Ferry, Finbarr Roarty, Eoin McHugh and Eoghan McGettigan.
Roarty in particular will have good will behind him from the Donegal faithful after last year’s messy McKenna Cup saga that saw the talented defender play while only 17 when you needed to be 18, leading to a proposed eight-week suspension for his manager, overturned on appeal.
Dublin looked sprightly in their entertaining win over Mayo in round one, with Seán Bugler chipping in with a remarkable seven points from play.
It was confirmed this week that while Stephen Cluxton will be back in blue this season, Paul Mannion and Jack McCaffrey will not be involved in 2025. With James McCarthy and Brian Fenton both away as well, that’s an awful lot of absent Celtic Crosses.
All-Ireland champions Armagh looked short of sharpness as they went down to Galway last Saturday, although Oisin Conaty enjoyed another day’s work torturing the Tribe County.
They welcome a Tyrone side buoyant under new manager Malachy O’Rourke. They opened up with a derby win over Derry with 2021 All-Ireland winners Rory Brennan and Peter Teague, who scored the crucial second goal, returning under the new boss.
The short trip to the Cathedral City might see Errigal Ciaran’s prodigious Canavan brothers, Darragh and Ruairi, making a return after their club exploits – and Orchard boss Kieran McGeeney has said he wouldn’t be surprised if they were involved.
On a weekend of massive tallies in Division 1, even factoring in the wind, the 0-09 Armagh managed in Salthill was concerning.
They’ll be without their three main sources of two-pointers too with Rian O’Neill not on the panel at present, his older brother Oisin not fully fit, while Niall Grimley is suspended after striking Daniel O’Flaherty last week.
Another of their noted long-range kickers came off the bench last week, and it would not be a major surprise to see Ethan Rafferty in goals tomorrow.
Galway looked decent in that game, putting the match beyond their opponents with a series of two-pointers in the third quarter.
Cillian Ó Curraoin impressed while Shane Walsh looked sharp in a cameo after his nightmare All-Ireland final against the same opposition last July.
Mayo may have lost at Croke Park, but Kevin McStay must have been impressed with so many facets of their play as they really showed character having conceded 1-01 in the opening minutes.
Perhaps most eye-catching was the performance of goalkeeper Colm Reape who kicked their first point and pushed forward brilliantly, particularly in the first half.
Still though, all six forwards may have scored by the interval but their shooting at times was terrible, with a raft of shots dropping short. They’ll need to tidy that up sharpish.
Meanwhile, Kerry will be without David Clifford for the trip to Derry but Micheál Burns could link up with the squad following his return to the panel.
The player was deemed surplus to requirements previously but his incredible form for Dr Crokes, who won Munster, couldn’t be ignored. Given the lateness of his return, any minutes here appears unlikely.
Derry continue to have problems in defence, with Conor McCloskey and Paidi McGrogan still out, while Gareth McKinless was clearly injured in Ballinderry’s dramatic All-Ireland Intermediate final loss last week.
Rebels aim to build on fast start
Given the ridiculous number of players Cork lost in the off-season and their horrible opening day league record, their fans were fearing the worst as Meath rocked up in round one – but the Rebels won out 2-19 to 0-21 in a highly entertaining contest.
The Munster side had failed to win any of their seven round one games but they make the long trip to Newry to face Down knowing that another two points would suddenly have them marked as possible promotion candidates.
Down had led for long swathes against Roscommon but the concession of a goal when keeper John O’Hare was way up the pitch sparked a turnaround. Interestingly, O’Hare was substituted late on with outfielder Danny Magill going into goals as the Mourne County tried to take advantage of the new rules.
Like Cork, Monaghan had been tipped as another team that may struggle, especially after Conor McManus’s retirement, but a round one win – an always-welcomed victory at Kingspan – has changed their possible trajectory.
Gabriel Bannigan had big performances from new captain and nephew Micheál Bannigan while the extremely talented Davy Garland hit 1-04, and maybe this will be the season where he really makes the breakthrough. Rory Beggan, one of six goalkeepers to score from play last week, left the pitch with a superb 0-06 to his name.
They welcome a Westmeath side to Clones who will be smarting from their opening day loss to Louth, with a late Sean Reynolds goal proving decisive, even if the brilliant Luke Loughlin nearly came close to rescuing something.
New manager Dermot McCabe has signed up to the goalkeeping revolution, with outfielder Conor McCormack moving into nets, and that should continue against the Oriel County.
Louth made 10 changes for that win from the side listed and manager Ger Brennan said that Storm Éowyn needed to take a share of the blame for that - giving journalists a nice headline.
Those gales did facilitate the return of Andy McDonnell – and in doing so he became the only player from the famed 2010 Leinster final – when Joe Sheridan touched down – to still be playing inter-county football.
The visit of Roscommon is a meeting of two promotion candidates, with the visitors showing plenty of heart to fight back against Down last week.
They looked slightly behind other counties in terms of work in the bank, but when you can bring on Ciaran Murtagh, Ben O’Carroll and Donie Smith, you’re likely to finish strongly. The trio scored 1-04 from the bench.
The final game will see a cross-province derby as Meath and Cavan search their first points.
The Breffni County were without Gearoid McKiernan and Paddy Lynch last week but they are nearing a return – although Navan may yet be too soon.
Some of Meath's players - including sharpshooter Eoghan Frayne - saw their Sigerson campaigns come to an end midweek as Maynooth lost out to Ulster University, so they could be back involved.
Lilywhites looking alright
Kildare’s destruction of Fermanagh last weekend was a signal to the rest of the division that they are the team to beat.
Yes, both goals were avoidable from an Erne perspective - Lee Cullen perhaps could have deflected the first away after goalkeeper Ross Bogue had been caught out of position while the second came from horrible reaction times a to Kildare fisted effort dropping short – but the result was never in doubt as Kildare hit 2-24.
Fermanagh were expected to be one of their toughest challenges and they passed it with flying colours, and they’ll be hoping for the same as they head to Sligo which, on paper, seemed possibly their hardest outing.
Tony McEntee’s side were surprisingly swatted aside by Offaly last weekend though as they got pummelled on the kick-out.
FRC head Jim Gavin was in Tullamore to watch a winning start for Mickey Harte and Declan Kelly’s side, and with Laois likely not to be razor sharp as their clash with Leitrim was postponed last weekend.
That means it’s a first outing too for Steven Poacher with his new team as Leitrim travel to a Clare side that lost to Antrim last weekend.
Poacher’s right-hand man Ryan Jones completed his transfer from Fermanagh club Derrygonnelly to Leitrim Gaels this week, as did brothers Garvan, a current Erne star, and Conall, who also previously played for Fermanagh.
Garvan will be hoping to help Fermanagh bounce back from their Kildare loss as Antrim come to Ederney with a bit of a spicy rivalry developing between the two in recent times.
London calling for Wicklow
After a false start last week with their game against Waterford postponed, Oisín McConville’s Wicklow fly out to London on Saturday to face the Exiles.
Former NFL hopeful Mark Jackson is with the Garden County this season but injury will keep him out for the foreseeable.
Michael Maher is in year six with London and they endured a tough start as Wexford tore them apart last weekend – 18 points the difference in the end with Donegal native Ciarán Diver accounting for 1-04 of his side’s 2-04 tally.
The Model County took advantage of the new rules with four two-pointers with Niall Hughes, outstanding on the day for Wexford, kicking one of those.
They travel now to face a Limerick side who let a point slip against Longford last week as their opponents kicked a last-gasp two-point free. Cormac Woulfe and Danny Neville could be set for a return.
Waterford are getting their first competitive outing with the new rules after last week’s opener was called off and Carlow are the visitors to Fraher Field.
Shane Curran’s side drew with Tipperary last weekend but felt they should have earned a chance at both points with the final kick as some felt the Premier County had broken the 'three up’ rule.
The Premier County showed plenty of resolve, though. Trailing by eight points in the first half and by five in the second, they continually fought back with Sean O’Connor, who finished with 1-05, leading the charge.
Tipp are on home soil this Saturday with Longford visiting.
The sides met at the same stage last year, albeit on Longford turf, and it was Tipperary who came out on top with two points to spare.
Watch Armagh v Tyrone in the Allianz Football League on Saturday from 5.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch Allianz League Sunday from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on all matches on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to updates around the country on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
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