SATURDAY
Division 1A
Wexford v Cork, Chadwicks Wexford Park, 5pm
Division 1B
Offaly v Carlow, Glenisk O'Connor Park, 2pm
Westmeath v Laois, TEG Cusack Park, 2pm - POSTPONED
Dublin v Antrim, Croke Park, 5.15pm
Division 2
Down v Kildare, Ballycran, 2pm
Meath v Donegal, Trim, 2pm
Tyrone v Derry, O’Neill’s Healy Park, 4pm
Division 3
Mayo v Cavan, Hastings Insurance MacHale Park, 1pm - POSTPONED
Division 4
Louth v Fermanagh, Dowdallshill, 2pm
Longford v Warwickshire, Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, 2pm
Lancashire v Leitrim, Abbottstown, 2pm
SUNDAY
Division 1A
Clare v Kilkenny, Cusack Park, 2pm
Galway v Tipperary, Pearse Stadium, 3.45pm
Division 3
Sligo v Wicklow, ATU Sligo, 1pm
London v Roscommon, McGovern Park, 1pm
ONLINE
Live blogs each day on RTÉ Sport Online and the RTÉ News app.
RADIO
Live commentaries and updates on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport.
TV
On Sunday, TG4 will be showing live coverage of the clash of Galway and Tipperary in Salthill.
The meeting of Clare and Kilkenny will be live on the TG4 Player or deferred on TG4.
Highlights on Allianz League Sunday at 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
WEATHER
Saturday: Early sunshine will be replaced by cloudier skies, as showery rain move in from the Atlantic during the afternoon and early evening. Some hail is expected with isolated thunderstorms. A rather cold day with highest temperatures of 3 to 7 degrees. Southerly winds will freshen through the day too.
Sunday: Wet and windy, with a band of rain gradually spreading north-eastwards through the morning and afternoon, some of it heavy and possibly thundery. Scattered showers will follow. Highest temperatures of 6 to 10 degrees. For more, visit met.ie.
Cork treasure hunting as Division 1A begins
Cork’s progress during Pat Ryan’s two seasons in charge has been fairly obvious, but there is one thing working against them – no silverware.
The Rebels will have their eyes on the biggest prize of all having come so close in 2024, but a league title – which would be their first since 1998 incidentally – wouldn't be sniffed at to get that particular monkey off their back.
Ryan’s side started slowly last term, losing their first two games, but their trip to Wexford Park really should be yielding two points against the absent-hit hosts.
Twelve of the Cork players, including nine started, that featured at Croke Park in July are down to start with Cormac O’Brien, Brian Roche and Pádraig Power the other three.
Model boss Keith Rossiter said he will be fielding an experimental side given so many players are out, with Liam Óg McGovern the latest to announce his retirement this week. Diarmuid O’Keefe and Matt O’Hanlon had already departed while Conor McDonald (injury) and Lee Chin (travelling) are other notable absentees.
Clare host Kilkenny in a repeat of last year’s final and that victory propelled the Banner onto even greater heights.
Diarmuid Ryan (foot) and Conor Cleary (shoulder) will miss out for the hosts and perhaps new faces in the panel Ian McNamara, Daithí Lohan, Shane Woods and Rian Considine might come into the reckoning as Brian Lohan hunts for that extra edge.
It’s straight in at the deep end for the Cats with their bye week not coming until the final round and heading away to last year’s bogey team isn’t the easy of starts.
As well as that league final, Clare also beat Kilkenny in the group stage as well as the All-Ireland semi-final.
There’s a notable name on Derek Lyng’s starting 15 and that’s at wing-back where former Kerry star Fionán Mackessy comes in for his competitive debut.
Goalkeeper Aidan Tallis gets a chance to impress in goals after showing well for Lisdowney in the club championship. Eoin Murphy is not in the squad.
The opening Division 1A weekend is rounded off with Tipperary’s trip to what should be a blustery Pearse Stadium to face Galway.
This game will mark the return of Micheál Donoghue who is readying for his second stint in charge of the Tribe having replaced Henry Shefflin.
Some big names are no longer with the panel, Gearóid McInerney, Joseph Cooney and Adrian Tuohey amongst them, and Donoghue seems to be making it clear that he’s shaking things up after a few lacklustre seasons out West.
He took 57 players in initially to have a look at over the winter so you have to fight for your spot on this panel.
Tipperary will be without the retired Patrick 'Bonner’ Maher and Dan McCormack while Cathal Barrett and Barry Heffernan are no longer involved.
Liam Cahill is opting for youth as he tries to revive the county’s fortunes with a number of the side that reached last year’s Under-20 All-Ireland final involved. Darragh McCarthy, their top scorer in that final loss to Offaly, is one of those.
Cahill has always taken the league seriously wherever he has been. Expect no different here.
Davy’s northern promise ahead of competitive Division 1B
No possibility of the top honour for Division 1B sides this year given the league restructure, but there’s still a cup to play for and no shortage of intrigue.
Inevitably, a lot of that will centre around Davy Fitzgerald whose shock appointment as Antrim manager begins with a trip to HQ to face Dublin.
The Saffrons aren’t on anybody's radar when it comes to the business end of the season, but Fitzgerald loves a challenge.
"Most of the teams I've had in management, if you look at my club record and probably college record, it came from teams that haven't won," he told RTÉ Sport recently.
Despite his extraordinary performances for Cushendall last term, Neil McManus is sticking to coaching duties, an even bigger shame as it’s believed Fitzgerald was trying out a more direct style in recent challenge games.
While Antrim is fresh to Fitzgerald, Dublin must seem brand sparkling new to Niall Ó Ceallacháin given his focus was on the club scene until Na Fianna claimed the Tommy Moore Cup last weekend.
It’s an unusual situation, but Ó Ceallacháin has consistently praised the management team around him and said that it’s been a fairly straightforward process.
They had 20 points to spare when they met Antrim in Leinster last season but given all the various threads, this should be much more competitive fare.
Last weekend’s challenge match with Tipperary was certainly competitive for Dublin anyway with Conor Donohue sent off after a shemozzle broke out.
There's a Leinster derby on Saturday as Offaly host Carlow.
The Faithful County have already booked their return to the Leinster SHC and they’ll be keen to add in top-tier league hurling for 2026.
Johnny Kelly looks set to be without emerging star Adam Screeney who is nursing a hamstring injury, a blow not only to Offaly fans but neutrals who have enjoyed watching his spellbinding performances at underage.
Conor Lawlor and Jack Kavanagh have retired from Carlow duty.
Westmeath's clash with Laois has been postponed due to a frozen pitch.
Division 2 set for first of many Ulster derbies
Division 2 contains four Ulster teams so there will be plenty of derbies, including when Tyrone host Derry this weekend.
Stephen McGarry has been hit by a few retirements such as Bryan McGurk and Sean Og Grogan, so an already difficult challenge has become even harder for the home side.
Derry lost last year’s Christy Ring Cup final to Kildare and Slaughtneil’s brilliant Ulster title showed just how much talent is in the county – and a number of those players are set to feature in Omagh.
Ronan Sheehan is one of hurling’s longest-serving managers and his seventh season starts in Ballycran as Kildare travel to take on his Down side.
Down made it to the 2B semi-final last year and McKenna Park is a devil of a venue for visiting teams, so Brian Dowling’s side will have to be at their best.
Naas have been the standard-bearers in Kildare hurling having won the last six county titles and they have three new players on the squad - Killian Harrington, Liam O’Reilly and Evan Ó Briain.
New Meath boss Johnny Greville has named just one debutant for his first competitive game in charge with James Cooke coming in at left half-back.
Donegal are without goal-getter Oisin Grant who is now in Australia while Richie Ryan, another key scorer, is a long-term injury victim.
Exiles looking to bounce back in Division 3
London are the highest ranked team in Division 3 with their status confirmed following a final-day loss to Donegal last season with Tyrone beating Wicklow to take advantage.
Neil Rogers has lost a number of players from last season, an issue every year for the Exiles, most notably free-scoring Jack Goulding, last year's Christy Ring Player of the Year.
They welcome Roscommon to Ruislip with visiting manager Kevin Sammon saying that it has been much easier to get players to commit compared to his first season in charge. As a result, there are 14 new players on the panel.
Sligo nearly caused an upset as they pushed Mayo all the way in the Division 3B final last year but the wind has been taken out of their sails somewhat ahead of their opener against Wicklow with 11 players unavailable from last year.
Wicklow operated at a higher division last year and Jonathan O'Neill will be hoping for a steadier season after having to answer an SOS call when manager Casey O’Brien stepped away on the eve of last year’s league season.
Mayo's clash with Cavan has been postponed due to the weather.
Division 4's heavy-hitters set for early meeting
Louth and Fermanagh will both have ambitions of topping the table so there’s plenty on the line when the Erne County arrive at Dowdallshill.
Louth boss Trevor Hilliard has made it clear that promotion is what they are seeking and Fermanagh counterpart Joe Baldwin will be thinking along similar lines. Sanction players Darragh Rogers (Down) and Fergal McKinstry (Antrim) should bolster the Erne options.
Longford made a late appointment with Diarmuid Cahill coming in after Christmas, but they should have too much for a Warwickshire side that also was late getting going for the 2025 campaign.
Lancashire travel to Dublin for their ‘home’ match with Leitrim with Liam Óg Knocker in charge for a third season.
Mike Wall is a new man at the helm for Leitrim and he’ll be keen for a fast start.
Watch Galway v Armagh in the Allianz Football League on Saturday from 4.45pm 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.
