SATURDAY
Ulster SFC semi-final
Armagh v Monaghan; St Tiernach's Park, Clones, 2.15pm
Leinster SFC Round 1
Westmeath v Dublin; TEG Cusack Park, Mullingar, 1.30pm
ONLINE
Live scores and reports on RTÉ Sport Online and RTÉ News Now app
RADIO
Live updates as part of Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1 and in Irish on Raidió na Gaeltachta.
WEATHER
A mostly cloudy day with outbreaks of rain or drizzle. Persistent and heavy rain at times will develop over Ulster. Highest temperatures of 11 to 15 degrees, with southwest winds; fresh in the north and light or moderate in southern parts.
Last year's TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship runners-up Dublin get their 2022 campaign underway on Saturday when they take on Westmeath in the round-robin stages of the TG4 Leinster Senior Championship.
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1034 days have passed since the last ball was kicked in the Leinster championship. On 30th June 2019, Dublin won their eighth consecutive Leinster SFC title, defeating Westmeath by 4-11 to 1-07 in Netwatch Cullen Park.
In Cusack Park this Saturday, the sides get to renew rivalries after an extended lay-off owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. Dublin were beaten in the last kick of the game in this year's National Football League semi-final against Donegal and will be eager to get their Championship campaign off to a winning start.
There are three senior teams in Leinster this year, with Dublin and Westmeath joined by league and All-Ireland champions Meath, who get their campaign underway on Saturday 7 May against the Dubs.
The provincial championships are being run for the first time since 2019 and will serve to decide seeding for the four groups of the All-Ireland senior championship.
AFLW stars Sinéad Goldrick and Lauren Magee make a welcome return to Mick Bohan's starting XV, while recent Team of the League stars Leah Caffrey, Orlagh Nolan and Hannah Tyrrell also start.
Carla Rowe will begin her first game as Dublin captain from centre forward, while Grainne O'Driscoll has been handed a start following confirmation that former skipper Sinead Aherne picked up a knock in training on Thursday evening.
Westmeath had a difficult National League campaign that culminated in relegation to Division Two for 2023. However, they will have had chance to learn some lessons from that campaign, and will undoubtedly be ready to face life in the senior championship after their All-Ireland Intermediate success last September.
Kelly Boyce Jordan captains the home side and she is named to start alongside 2021 TG4 Intermediate Players’ Player of the Year Sarah Dillon. Vicky Carr is set to partner Tracey Dillon in the centre of the field while the full-back line of Melek Fagan, Muireann Scally and Fiona Coyle will be set to keep Dublin’s attacking line quiet.
With just three teams in the Championship, every game will count and none more so than this weekend.
Westmeath: A O’Donnell; M Fagan, M Scally, F Coyle; A O’Malley, A Alford, C Kelly; V Carr, T Dillon; C Thornton, S Dillon, K Boyce-Jordan (C); C Smullen, K Giles, L Power.
Dublin: C Trant; J Tobin, L Caffrey, T Quinn Corbally; S Goldrick, A Kane, O Nolan; J Dunne, L Magee; C O’Connor, C Rowe (C), N Owens; G O'Driscoll, H Tyrrell, S Wylde.
Ulster champions Armagh will hope to bounce back from their Lidl NFL Division 2 Final disappointment and book a place in another provincial decider.
They’ll start as favourites too and when the sides met in the League, Armagh ran out winners by seven points.
A boost for the Orchard County is the return of captain Kelly Mallon to the starting line-up. She did feature during the second half of the League Final but is now back to full fitness following a lengthy injury lay-off.
Despite losing that League Final, Armagh are touted by many as potential Championship dark horses but they’ll want to lay down a marker in Ulster first.
The winners of this one will play the winners of the Cavan v Donegal semi-final, which is fixed for Sunday, 8 May.
Having lost a number of experienced players in recent times, including former TG4 Al Star Ciara McAnespie, transitional Monaghan will look to continue their encouraging 2022 form.
The Farney girls gave a fine account of themselves too in the Division 2 semi-final loss to Kerry, losing out by just three points.
The second semi-final between Cavan and Donegal has been confirmed for St Tiernach's Park, Clones, on Sunday 8 May, and it will form part of a double-header alongside the men’s fixture between the two counties.
Armagh: A Carr; C Towe, C McCambridge, S Grey; G Ferguson, L McConville, T Grimes; B Mackin, C O’Hanlon; E Lavery, A McCoy, N Coleman; A Mackin, K Mallon (capt.), A Lennon.
Monaghan: O Kelly; S Brady, E Treanor, L Garland; C Treanor, A McCarey, A Burns; M Atkinson (capt.), L Jones; R Courtney, E Clerkin, A Garland; J Drury, J McQuillan, S Capaldi.
