SATURDAY 29 APRIL
Munster SHC
Limerick v Clare, TUS Gaelic Grounds, 7pm
Leinster SHC
Wexford v Antrim, Chadwicks Wexford Park, 6pm
Dublin v Westmeath, Parnell Park, 6pm
Christy Ring Cup
Derry v Meath, Owenbeg, 2pm
Nickey Rackard Cup
Armagh v Wicklow, Box-It Athletic Grounds, 3pm
Lory Meagher Cup
Cavan v Lancashire, Kingspan Breffni, 1pm
SUNDAY
Leinster SHC
Kilkenny v Galway, UPMC Nowlan Park, 2pm
Munster SHC
Cork v Waterford, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 4pm
Christy Ring Cup
Mayo v London, Hastings MacHale Park, 12.30pmTyrone v Sligo, Carrickmore, 2pm
Nickey Rackard Cup
Roscommon v Donegal, Athleague, 2pm
Louth v Fermanagh, Darver, 2pm
Lory Meagher Cup
Monaghan v Warwickshire, Cloghan, 1pm
Leitrim v Longford, Drumshanbo, 2pm
TV
Limerick v Clare live on GAAGO. Kilkenny v Galway and Cork v Waterford live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
Highlights of the weekend's action on The Sunday Game, 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
ONLINE
Live blogs on Munster and Leinster matches, live scores on all games.
RADIO
Live commentaries and reports on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport.
WEATHER
Saturday: After a cloudy start, better sunny spells will develop through the day, sparking off scattered showers in the afternoon. Showers will be quite heavy with a chance of isolated thunderstorms and hail locally along with the chance of some surface water flooding associated with the more intense showers. Highest temperatures 15 to 19 degrees in light south-easterly or variable breezes.
Sunday: Showery rain on Sunday morning will clear eastwards to leave a day of sunny spells and widespread showers, some heavy. Highest temperatures of 15 to 18 degrees, coolest along Atlantic coasts as light south-westerly breezes gradually increase moderate westerly.
For more see met.ie
It's only round two of the provincial hurling championships but some teams are already feeling the heat.
After their opening-day defeat to Tipperary, Clare travel to All-Ireland champions Limerick on Saturday night knowing that another defeat would severely damage their chances of escaping Munster.
Banner boss Brian Lohan has recalled Eibhear Quilligan in goal after a couple of expensive mistakes by debutant Eamonn Foudy in the 5-22 to 3-23 loss the last weekend.
The form of Aidan McCarthy (1-13 against Tipp) is a positive and Tony Kelly is likely to get a little more room to manoeuvre against a team who rarely employ the man-marker tactic that Cathal Barret implemented so effectively last weekend.
Limerick manager John Kiely has omitted Gearóid Hegarty from his starting XV after his dismissal in the tumultuous win over Waterford but the All-Star forward is still on the bench as there is no suspension for the first two double-yellows in a calendar year.
Captain Declan Hannon has also been named at 6 despite going off early with a groin injury last Sunday so some late changes could be in store.
Seamus Flanagan is free to start however. The forward's high shoulder on Stephen Bennett was deemed accidental by referee Liam Gordon rather than missed at the time so the Central Competitions Control Committee could not issue a sanction, luckily for him.
Half-time: Waterford 0-10 Limerick 1-11
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) April 23, 2023
Stephen Bennett needed attention towards the end of a feisty first half at Semple Stadium.
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Clare pushed Limerick very close last year. The champions needed an injury-time Diarmaid Byrnes free to escape from Ennis with a draw and only won an epic Munster final after extra-time.
But Clare failed to match that level last weekend and, ominously for the visitors, an off-colour Limerick got by Waterford last weekend even though they played the final 30 minutes with 14 men.
If they approach anything close to their best tomorrow, Clare's wait for a win in the fixture will likely stretch to five years, leaving them needing to beat Cork and Waterford and hope other results go their way.
Limerick: Nickie Quaid; Sean Finn, Dan Morrissey, Barry Nash; Diarmaid Byrnes, Declan Hannon, Kyle Hayes; Darragh O'Donovan, William O'Donoghue; Cathal O'Neill, Cian Lynch, Tom Morrissey; Aaron Gillane, Seamus Flanagan, Peter Casey.
Subs: Jamie Power, Conor Boylan, Mike Casey, Ronan Connolly, Colin Coughlan, Richie English, Gearóid Hegarty, Graeme Mulcahy, Barry Murphy, Donnacha Ó Dálaigh, David Reidy.
Clare: Eibhear Quilligan; Adam Hogan, Conor Lleary, Paul Flanagan, Diarmuid Ryan, John Conlon, David McInerney; David Fitzgerald, Cathal Malone; Peter Duggan, Tony Kelly, Aidan McCarthy; Ian Galvin, Shane O'Donnell, Mark Rodgers.
Subs: Eamonn Foudy, Cian Nolan, Ryan Taylor, Shane Meehan, Aron Shanagher, Aaron Fitzgerald, Robin Mounsey, Rory Hayes, Cian Galvin, Jack Kirwan, Seadna Morey.
LAST FIVE CHAMPIONSHIP MEETINGS
2022: Limerick 1-29 Clare 0-29 aet (Munster final)
2022: Limerick 1-21 Clare 0-24 (Munster 'round robin')
2020: Limerick 0-36 Clare 1-23 (Munster quarter-final)
2019: Limerick 1-28 Clare 0-13 (Munster ‘round robin’)
2018: Clare 0-26 Limerick 0-15 (Munster ‘round robin)
Dublin will have been relieved to escape with a draw from Antrim in round one.
The hosts led for most of the game until Donal Burke's 67th-minute goal edged the Dubs in front. Antrim retook the lead but Cian O'Sullivan secured a draw.
Michéal Donoghue will expect to get properly up and running at home to a Westmeath team missing Killian Doyle and Niall Mitchell that managed only seven points to Kilkenny's 29 last week.
Dublin: Sean Brennan; Paddy Doyle, Eoghan O'Donnell, Paddy Smyth; Conor Donohoe, Conor Burke, Daire Gray; Mark Grogan, Chris O’Leary; Danny Sutcliffe, Donal Burke, Cian Boland; Ronan Hayes, Cian O’Sullivan, Paul Crummey.
Subs: Eddie Gibbons, John Bellew, James Madden, Ronan Smith, Darragh Power, Cillian Costello, Alex Considine, Fergal Whitely, Dara Purcell, Joe Flanagan, Sean Currie
Westmeath: Noel Conaty; Darragh Egerton, Conor Shaw, Johnny Bermingham; Tommy Doyle, Robbie Greville, Charlie McCormack; Jack Galvin, Gary Greville; Shane McGovern, Joseph Boyle, Kevin Regan; Eoin Keyes, Ciaran Doyle, Davy Glennon.
Subs: Conor Bracken, Aaron Craig, Niall Mitchell, Niall O’Brien, Derek McNicholas, Jack Gillen, Adam Ennis, Shane Clavin, Cormac Boyle, Jack Gallagher, Darragh Clinton.
Antrim will travel to Wexford with big ambitions to record a first championship victory over the Yellow Belliies in six attempts.
The hosts started brilliantly in Salthill last weekend with two early goals against Galway but were outscored 23 points to 10 over the remainder.
Doubts remain over the fitness of captain Lee Chin, named on the bench as he recovers from a shoulder injury, while vice-skipper Damien Reck hurt his hamstring in the warm-up last week and is ruled out.
Shane McGrath, a former Tipperary team-mate of both managers, thinks a statement win for the Saffrons could be on the cards.
"People who might not fully get it might say 'weren't Antrim great to draw with Dublin?'. But Antrim were devastated," he told the RTÉ GAA podcast. "They were the better team for the whole game in Corrigan Park.
"While it was important they got the point, they will say: 'No more moral victories. We're not going to be this team that everybody is marking off as a two-pointer. We finally have to get this win that we’re threatening to do for three or four years'.
"Can Antrim do it on the road? When they travel they don't seem to have the same flair or form. But this is their chance. Wexford are down a few bodies. Maybe the confidence is low there. This has the potential to be a serious game.
"I think they have never had a better chance than they have this weekend to say 'We're in the Liam MacCarthy and we beat one of the stronger teams'."
Wexford: James Lawlor; Shane Reck, Liam Ryan, Conor Devitt; Matthew O'Hanlon, Conor Foley, Simon Donohoe; Diarmuid O’Keeffe, Conor Hearne; Oisin Foley, Jack O’Connor, Liam Óg McGovern; Rory O’Connor, Conor McDonald, Cathal Dunbar.
Subs: Cian Byrne, Ross Banville, Lee Chin, David Clarke, Mikie Dwyer, Kevin Foley, Richie Lawlor, Charlie McGuckin, Niall Murphy, Joe O’Connor, Damien Reck.
Antrim: Ryan Elliott; Paddy Burke, Ryan McGarry, Niall O’Connor; Gerard Walsh, Eoghan Campbell, Conal Bohill; Michael Braadley, Seaan Elliott; Keelan Molloy, Joe Maskey, James McNaughton; Conal Cunning, Neil McManus, Conor Johnston.
Subs: Tiernan Smyth, Stephen Rooney, Conor Boyd, Caolan McKernan, Scott Walsh, Enda Og McGarry, Eoin O’Neill, Paul Boyle, Seamie McAuley, Rian McMullan, Domhnall Nugent.
On Sunday, it's a round-two clash of the big guns in Leinster.
Kilkenny legend Henry Shefflin takes his Galway side to play a championship match in Nowlan Park for the first time - they won on their last visit here in 2019.
The Cats have a new manager in the dugout, Shefflin's former team-mate Derek Lyng, and are aiming to reassert their superiority in the province after reaching last year's All-Ireland final and the Allianz Hurling League decider.
Galway edged Kilkenny by a point in the round-robin last year before the Cats reversed the result in a provincial final that was as memorable for the post-match handshake as the quality of the game. We'll hope for more excitement on the pitch on Sunday.
The hosts didn't learn much against Westmeath though the return of TJ Reid was welcome. The Ballyhale superstar scored 0-09 (four from play) last weekend while Adrian Mullen (0-06) and John Donnelly (0-04) also filled their boots, though it was notable they failed to raise a green flag.
The Tribesmen's defence responded admirably to that early double-whammy from Wexford and only conceded 12 points in the entire match.
The superb Evan Niland added seven points from play to six from placed balls and was named Hurler of the Week.
Both teams can realistically afford to lose this and still make the Leinster final so it could be more about setting down a marker and allowing more breathing space to rest and rotate in the latter rounds.
Kilkenny: Eoin Murphy; Mikey Butler, Huw Lawlor, Tommy Walsh; David Blanchfield, Richie Reid, Padraig Walsh; Darragh Corcoran, Paddy Mullen; Timmy Clifford, Adrian Mullen, John Donnelly; Billy Ryan, TJ Reid, Eoin Cody.
Subs: Darren Brennan, Conor Delaney, Cillian Buckley Conor Heary, Conor Fogarty, Alan Murphy, Cian Kenny, Martin Keoghan, Niall Brennan, Tom Phelan, Shane Walsh.
Galway: Eanna Murphy; Jack Grealish, Gearoid McInerney, TJ Brennan; Padraic Mannion, Daithi Burke, Joseph Cooney; Cianan Fahy, Ronan Glennon; Cathal Mannion, Conor Cooney, Kevin Cooney; Conor Whelan, Brian Concannon, Evan Niland.
Subs: Darach Fahy, Fintan Burke, Darren Morrissey, Eoin Lawless, Sean Linnane, Declan McLoughlin, Jason Flynn, Liam Collins, John Cooney, Donal O'Shea, Martin McManus.
LAST FIVE CHAMPIONSHIP MEETINGS
2022: Kilkenny 0-22 Galway 0-17 (Leinster final)
2022: Galway 1-24 Kilkenny 3-17 (Leinster 'round robin')
2020: Kilkenny 2-20 Galway 0-24 (Leinster final)
2019: Galway 3-20 Kilkenny 2-22 (Leinster round robin)
2018: Galway 1-28 Kilkenny 3-15 (Leinster final replay)
Cork are the last team into Liam MacCarthy action, in the later game on Sunday.
The Rebels are the only county alongside Limerick to have emerged from the three editions of the group format to date and they begin with a fixture against Waterford that is expected to attract a big crowd to Páirc Uí Chaoimh. They had six points to spare over the Déise last year.
One of the key points of interest concerns how new manager Pat Ryan's plans to use championship all-time top scorer Patrick Horgan (Second-placed TJ is 11 points behind on 571).
He has named the talisman to start rather than last year's impact sub role and the Glen man will presumably also be on the frees after Shane Kingston deputised in his absence during the league. Robbie O'Flynn is on the bench having missed most of the spring with an ankle injury.
The Rebels are missing Eoin Downey after the red card he was shown following a melee in the league semi-final loss to Kilkenny.
Waterford were much closer to Limerick than expected but still came away with nothing and suffered the huge blow of a season-ending Achilles injury to Tadhg de Burca. Tom Barron replaces him in the XV.
Despite the disappointment, Davy Fitzgerald will know that his team could have won if their shooting had been more accurate and a win in Cork would put them firmly back in contention to emerge from Munster.
Cork: Patrick Collins; Niall O'Leary, Robert Downey, Damien Cahalane; Tommy O’Connell, Ciaran Joyce, Ger Mellerick, Brian Roche, Darragh Fitzgibbon; Seamus Harnedy, Conor Lehane, Declan Dalton; Luke Meade, Patrick Horgan, Shane Barrett.
Subs: Ger Collins, Cormack O’Brien. Tim O’Mahony, Brian O’Sullivan, Ethan Twomey, Conor Cahalane, Brian Hayes, Sean Twomey, Robbie O’Flynn, Padraig Power, Shane Kingston.
Waterford: Billy Nolan; Conor Gleeson, Conor Prunty, Mark Fitzgerald; Tom Barron, Calum Lyons, Jack Fagan; Darragh Lyons, Jamie Barron; Neil Montgomery, Dessie Hutchinson, Michael Kiely; Colin Dunford, Stephen Bennett, Jack Prendergast.
Subs: Shaun O’Brien, Conor Ryan, Padraig Fitzgerald, Carthach Daly, Peter Hogan, Kevin Mahony, Austin Gleeson, DJ Foran, Patrick Fitzgerald, Patrick Curran, Paddy Leavey.
LAST FIVE CHAMPIONSHIP MEETINGS
2022: Cork 2-22 Waterford 1-19 (Munster 'round robin')
2020: Waterford 1-28 Cork 1-24 (Munster semi-final)
2019: Cork 2-30 Waterford 2-17 (Munster 'round robin’)
2018: Cork 1-23 Waterford 1-20 (Munster ‘round robin’)
2017: Waterford 4-19 Cork 0-20 (All-Ireland semi-final)
The Joe McDonagh Cup has a break weekend before leaders Offaly host second-placed Kerry next weekend.
It's all fairly even heading into the third round of games in the Christy Ring Cup.
Derry lead Tyrone on score difference after they drew first day out. That pair both have three points but even fifth-placed Sligo have two.
The Oak Leafers host Meath on Saturday while pointless Mayo welcome London. Tyrone play Sligo, who lost by 20 points to Derry in round two.
In the Nickey Rackard Cup, Wicklow and Donegal have 100% records after two games.
The Garden plays The Orchard (2 points) on Saturday while Donegal travel to Roscommon (2) and either Louth or Fermanagh will get their first points of the campaign.
Lancashire were the only team in the Lory Meagher Cup to win their first two games.
They travel to Cavan, who lost to Warwickshire but beat Leitrim. Those two face off while six-placed Leitrim host second-placed Longford, though just a point separate them.
Watch Kilkenny v Galway and Cork v Waterford in the Leinster and Munster Hurling Championships on Sunday from 1.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on the RTÉ News app or RTÉ.ie/Sport and listen to live commentary on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch highlights of the weekend's football and hurling championship action on The Sunday Game, 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
