SATURDAY 23 APRIL
Ulster SFC quarter-final
Antrim 0-10 Cavan 1-20
SUNDAY 24 APRIL
Ulster SFC quarter-final
Donegal v Armagh, Ballybofey, 2pm
Leinster SFC preliminary round
Louth v Carlow, Páirc Tailteann, 2.30pm
Wexford v Offaly, Chadwicks Wexford Park, 3pm
Wicklow v Laois, Aughrim, 3.30pm
Connacht SFC quarter-final
Mayo v Galway, Hastings MacHale Park, 4pm
ONLINE
Live blogs on RTÉ Sport Online and RTÉ News Now app.
TV
Live coverage of Donegal v Armagh on BBC One NI from 1.50pm. Mayo v Galway will form part of The Sunday Game Live, RTÉ2, from 1pm.
On GAAGO, Donegal v Armagh and Mayo v Galway available to watch worldwide.
Highlights of all the weekend's action on The Sunday Game, RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player, from 9.30pm.
RADIO
Live commentaries on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1 and in Irish on Raidió na Gaeltachta.
WEATHER
Today is set to be dry with sunny spells in most areas but it will be a little cloudier in the southwest where there will be some patchy light rain and drizzle at times. Highest temperatures of 13 to 16 degrees, in mostly moderate easterly winds. For more go to met.ie.
Things cranking up
The opening weekend saw Tyrone, as expected, get their campaign up and running with a comfortable win in the end against Fermanagh, though the Ernesiders were more than competitive in the opening period.
Connacht provided us with two entertaining quarter-finals, with London erasing Leitrim's eight-point lead to the bare minimum late on and then pressing for the leveller in Ruislip. On the counter, Ryan O'Rourke coolly found the net for the visitors to repel the surge. No time for any more drama. In the Bronx, New York certainly gave Sligo their fill of it, hitting the woodwork three times in their quest to get their noses in front down the stretch. A few unfavourable bounces of the ball also did little to help the hosts cause.
Late points from Niall Murphy and Patrick O'Connor helped Sligo in their escape.
And so New York, at the quarter-final stage, Fermanagh, London, and now Antrim after their loss to Cavan, are the early participants in the Tailteann Cup. More will join them them this afternoon, while the All-Ireland qualifier series will see the first of the names in the hat for round one. Yes, the provincial race will be over for either Donegal/Armagh and Mayo/Galway, a quartet with firm designs on lifting silverware and entering the All-Ireland series without any worries about a back door that could be shut straight in their face.
There will be an edge to the action in Ballybofey and Castlebar; it will be spicy alright.
After the Letterkenny melee comes a championship battle in Ballybofey
It's 14 years since Armagh last won Ulster. On the back of a Division 1 campaign where they more than held their own, finishing alongside Donegal and Tyrone on seven points, there is more than just hope that they can win back the Anglo Celt Cup. Wins over Dublin and Tyrone were statements of sorts in late January and early February; McGeeney's team have come on from last year. A season in the top flight helping their progression.
As for that final game against Donegal in Letterkenny, will things got a bit heated late on. Suspensions were handed down on both sides. On appeal, the Armagh duo of Rian O'Neill and Stefan Campbell had theirs suspended. Ciaran Mackin withdrew his case against a one-match suspension at Central Hearings level last week.
A fourth player, Rian O'Neill, was suspended by the Central Competition Controls Committee (CCCC) for his involvement on review but he was subsequently cleared on a procedural issue relating to how the CCCC brought the case against him.
Donegal's Neil McGee and Odhrán McFadden-Ferry, were also cited for contributing to a melee but accepted the one-match suspensions.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, Colm O'Rourke can see issues down the line for Armagh GAA regarding future appeals.
"It undermines the whole disciplinary process, where one body rescinds the decision of another one. It will be interesting to see what the referees will do now. Will they intervene in melees at all anymore? If they feel they are not going to be backed up at central level, they may say 'why would be bother'? It will also be interesting to see what Armagh county board do at club level if there are melees because they wouldn't have the moral authority any more after getting their players off in this case."
And so the pot is stirred even more ahead of this clash by the Finn. Donegal, a side capable of giving us more but not delivering, against opposition who finally believe that they are at a point where they can take more than just one scalp. Pressure then on Declan Bonner and Stephen Rochford to deliver here. They have key men in Michael Murphy, Paddy McBrearty and Ryan McHugh to help Donegal edge another also contest. Playing at Ballybofey is also an advantage. Armagh will be well primed for this clash, though.
The winner plays either Antrim or Cavan in the semi-final.
- Armagh are seeking their first championship win over Donegal since 2010. Donegal have won the fixture three times since then.
- Donegal haven't lost their first game in the Ulster championship since 2010 when beaten by Down after extra-time in the quarter-final.
Opening jousts in Leinster
Three games to be sorted in the preliminary round. The winner of Wexford v Offaly will next face Dublin. A chance then to have a cut off a side whose invincibility has waned a little, but not enough to suggest they won't win a 12th consecutive title.
Offaly were perhaps a little unlucky to get relegated to Division 3. They could easily have beaten Meath and Cork; the mood music would be a lot different now. Wexford were seen as genuine contenders to escape from Division 4 but they raised little if any gallop across their seven games.
- Offaly won their opening Leinster championship games in 2021 and 2020, ending a bad run. Between 2007 and 2019, they won only one first round game.
- Wexford beat Wicklow in the Leinster first round last year, ending a losing run which saw them lose their first game in each of the previous six seasons.
Louth's rise under Mickey Harte continued with a place in Division 2 next year and the guarantee that they'll remain in the Sam Maguire race even if they don't make a Leinster final. They should be too strong for Carlow at Páirc Tailteann.
- They last met in the Leinster championship in 2018 when Carlow won by 11 points in a game where Paul Broderick scored 1-8 for the winners.
- Louth enjoyed a very successful league campaign this year, earning promotion from Division 3 as champions after winning six, drawing one and losing one of eight games. Sam Mulroy was their top scorer on a very impressive 3-57 (0-42 frees, 0-9 '45s).
And then we have Wicklow v Laois in Aughrim; the two sides who made the drop to Division 4 last month. Billy Sheehan's troops were comfortable winners in the league clash on 13 March, enough to suggest that they can advance here.
- Wicklow's last win over Laois in the championship was in 1986. Laois were National League champions at the time but lost by four points in what became known as the 'Battle of Aughrim'.
Is it now Galway's turn?
Share and share alike. In 2016, 2017 and 2018, Galway had the upper hand when they met their rivals in provincial combat. Starting with an All-Ireland qualifier win at the Limerick Gaelic Grounds in 2019, Mayo then regained the initiative and followed that up with Connacht final victories in '20 and '21.
This is a quarter-final, yet a loss for either would not necessarily be the end of the world. Both are well capable of navigating the qualifying route and reaching the All-Ireland quarter-final, this despite Mayo's injury list.
We already know that Tommy Conroy is out for the season with a cruciate ligament injury. Jordan Flynn (foot) and Fionn McDonagh (hamstring) are set to miss the Castlebar clash, while there is a doubt about Paddy Durcan as he continues to recover from his hamstring woes.
Cillian O'Connor (pictured) will make his first start for Mayo against Galway on Sunday since sustaining an Achilles injury against Clare in an Allianz League match last June.
O'Connor, who did see some game time in the Division 1 league final against Kerry on 3 April, has been named in the full-forward line.
In all Mayo boss James Horan has made four changes to the side from that heavy loss to the Kingdom.
In defence, Oisin Mullen replaces Rory Brickenden at full-back with Eoghan McLaughlin named at wing-back in place of Enda Hession.
Aidan O'Shea moves to midfield from centre-forward to replace the injured Jordan Flynn and will now partner his club mate Matthew Ruane. Kevin McLoughlin comes into the team in place of Jack Carney at wing forward with Ryan O'Donoghue named at centre-forward and Conor Loftus on the other wing.
Enda Hession, Rory Brickenden, Diarmuid O'Connor, Jack Carney and Aiden Orme are all named on the bench.
Mixing some good displays; the away demolition of Derry comes to mind, with performances that were less than eye-catching, notably the home win over Offaly, Galway still secured promotion back to the top flight. They then lost out narrowly to Roscommon in the Division 2 decider, scoring 0-22. Shane Walsh's introduction inspiring a Tribes' resurgence in the second period when the Rossies built up a five-point cushion.
Damien Comer and Paul Conroy are also key for Galway and how Mayo thwart their influence could be decisive. What role will Cillian O'Connor play, if any? Will Aidan O'Shea be stationed just in front of the house to put pressure on the Galway kickers? Will Padraic O'Hora be the man to keep tabs on Comer? Countless match-ups; countless questions.
Pádraic Joyce needs a big championship. His Galway side wilted in the heat of Croke Park last summer. The now Hastings MacHale Park will be a cauldron of sorts with crowds back to see whether Mayo have genuine All-Ireland credentials after the Kerry hiding.
Galway will turn up eager to show that they also possess similar credentials.
- This will be the 92nd championship game between the counties with results as follows: Mayo 44 wins; Galway 41 wins; Draws 6. It's their 25th clash in Castlebar with Galway having won 13 times to Mayo’s 11 of the previous 24.
- 100% - Mayo manager James Horan has led Mayo to six victories in his six championship games against Galway. The wins were in 2011-2013-2014- 2019-2020-2021. As a player, he lined out against Galway four times, winning three and losing one.
- Close calls - other than last year when Mayo won by six points, their recent clashes with Galway have been very close. In the previous five games only one score separated them each time.
