SUNDAY
All-Ireland SHC semi-finals
Loughrea v Sleacht Néill, Parnell Park, 1.30pm
Ballygunner v St Martin's, FBD Semple Stadium, 3.30pm
TV
Both games will be broadcast live on TG4.
ONLINE
Live updates of both games on RTÉ.com/sport, followed by reports and reaction on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News app.
RADIO
Live commentaries and updates on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1 and Spórt an Lae on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta.
WEATHER
Cooler than recent days with showery rain moving in across the country on an easterly breeze, with the chance of the odd wintry shower. Highest daytime temperatures of 4 to 8 degrees.
For more, visit met.ie
With one All-Ireland title and just two final appearances between them, Sunday’s All-Ireland hurling semi-finals may appear novel on the surface, but they bring with them a fair bit of familiarity too.
Waterford’s Ballygunner are making their fifth appearance at this stage in just eight years – and Covid saw the competition nixed in 2020.
Derry’s Sleacht Néill are undoubtedly the kings of Ulster and this is their sixth attempt at reaching a first ever final in the last decade. They’ve come incredibly close on a number of occasions.
Galway’s Loughrea were here last season although it is at least a new experience for Wexford’s St Martin’s.
Gunner using media for ammunition
When Ballygunner eased past Éire Óg in the Munster final to set up a semi-final with St Martin’s, Dessie Hutchinson picked up his latest player of the match award and told TG4 afterwards that "a certain Clareman said we were a dying team".
Sherlock Holmes didn’t need to be drafted in to solve that one, with Anthony Daly the obvious culprit. To be fair to 'Dalo’, the quote wasn’t just as pointed as he pondered "are Ballygunner the team they were? They looked to be against Sarsfields but I would argue that they are not quite" before that game with the Clare champions.
Daly also listed it a 60-40 final in favour of Ballygunner, but they made a mockery of that with a 0-21 to 1-09 victory to move to the top of the provincial roll of honour.
There is no doubting Ballygunner’s brilliance, but five previous Munster wins have been converted into just one All-Ireland title – and even that took that incredible goal from Harry Ruddle in the 2022 final win over Ballyhale.
Of the teams just below them in the Munster roll of honour, Blackrock have won three All-Ireland titles from five provincial successes, St Finbarr's two from four and Glen Rovers two from three. Much healthier conversion rates.
Manager Jason Ryan will have been targeting the Tommy Moore Cup from the moment he joined the club, even if that remains an internal thought. Some criticism in the media – perhaps even if taken in a slightly different way than intended – can't hurt.
That motivation, of course, is supplemented by extreme talent with Hutchinson in supreme form. Since opening his championship season with 1-09 against Abbeyside in July, he has racked up 9-70 in 11 games.
Philip Mahony is perhaps the best sweeper in the club game while Patrick Fitzgerald is firing at the right time. Paddy Leavey has been a revelation and the team’s ability to dominate the puc-out has been critical to their success.
Ballygunner have never faced Wexford opposition competitively before, but perhaps Ryan – a former Model County football boss – may have a valuable insight or two on the county.
St Martin’s won’t be overawed
St Martin’s will head to Thurles to face Ballygunner fully convinced that they can end the season of another big-hitter.
Ballyhale were the victims last time out as the Wexford side claimed a first-ever Leinster title, and it shouldn’t be forgotten that they took out All-Ireland champions Na Fianna in the provincial quarter-final.
Both those wins came by a point – so their grit certainly can’t be questioned.
Ben Stafford was the hero last time out, the player coming off the bench to grab the sensational winner against Ballyhale having also plundered a late, late score in the closing surge against Na Fianna.
"Ben Stafford, number 21!"
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) December 6, 2025
A phenomenal late score has won the Leinster title for St Martin's. What an incredible game at Croke Park. Ballyhale are beaten. pic.twitter.com/b78nqhdB9u
The O’Connor brothers have been in sensational form too in what has been a busy period for the siblings with Rory marrying former Kilkenny camogie star Grace Walsh a week after the Ballyhale match as Jack took on the best man duties.
'I do’ last week, ‘I believe’ this week, with Rory O’Connor making it very clear that they are not satisfied with their lot.
"I think it’s a coming of age for our team," he said ahead of this semi-final.
If there was one concern for manager Daithí Hayes, it’s that their goal-scoring rate has plummeted in the Leinster series with three games bringing just one green flag – Barry O’Connor against Na Fianna.
In Wexford, they had managed 17 in eight games, so they’ll hope that touch returns at Semple Stadium.
Sleacht Néill chasing that final step
Sleacht Néill have swept all before them in Derry with 13 straight titles, and they have superseded the Antrim fraternity as Ulster’s top dogs with six of the last nine provincial crowns, but 2025 has always been about scratching one particular itch – making it to an All-Ireland final with Loughrea standing in their way this time around.
Some of the squad, including the returning Chrissy McKaigue, have been there twice with the club’s footballers, but when it comes to the small ball, it’s been a series of entertaining losses – no consolation, of course.
A Con O’Callaghan-inspired Cuala suggested they were maybe out of their depth on their first visit to this stage in 2016, but 12 months later they gave Na Piarsaigh their fill of it.
Ballyhale, Ballygunner and Sarsfields – with Mark McGuigan missing a golden chance at the death to win it - have all been pushed to the pin of their collar in the intervening years and there is a sturdiness about the Robert Emmet’s this term that should worry their opponents.
Manager Paul McCormack, a Sam Maguire winner with Armagh in 2002, will understand the significance of McKaigue’s return, one of nine players with six Ulster medals.
Part of the Derry football coaching staff, McKaigue has been operating in a much more advanced role than he is accustomed to with fellow dual stars Shane McGuigan and Brendan Rogers providing plenty of class coming from deep. Watch out for Ruairí Ó Mianáin too, a ferocious young talent.
This is their first time facing Galway opposition. Three of the last four Ulster sides to reach the final have managed it by beating Tribe opposition at this stage.
Loughrea aiming to make amends
Twelve months ago, Loughrea hadn’t been behind in their All-Ireland semi-final with Na Fianna for the first 56 minutes. When the whistle went a few minutes later, they’d be one point short.
That the Dublin side went on to lift the Tommy Moore Cup – and in comfortable fashion too against Sarsfields – would have been hard to stomach, but the passage of time would have allowed them to turn that feeling into the positive notion that they are not far away.
The Galway Championship is one of the most competitive about with five All-Ireland winning clubs involved in 2025 – Portumna and Kiltomer didn’t feature in Senior A this term – so to go back-to-back is a real achievement, especially as it was the first time in the club’s history.
They had to come through the preliminary quarter-finals after a group defeat to Craughwell, and there was a one-point quarter-final win over Clarinbridge. Drama in the county final too, as Darren Shaughnessy’s late goal saw them past St Thomas’ as they retained the Tom Callinan Cup for the first time.
Loughrea have played Ulster opposition once – back in the 2007 semi-final with Vinny Maher securing safe passage with a late goal.
They've had a long wait without competitive action for their second meeting with a side from up north, and they'll need to be sharp from the off against game opposition.
