SATURDAY 15 APRIL
Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 2 final
Armagh v Laois, Croke Park, 3pm
Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 1 final
Galway v Kerry; Croke Park, 5pm
SUNDAY 16 APRIL
Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 4 final
Antrim v Leitrim, Parnell Park, 2pm
Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 3 final
Clare v Kildare, Parnell Park, 4pm
ONLINE
Live blog of Galway v Kerry on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News app.
RADIO
Updates on Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.
TV
The Division 1 and 2 finals live on TG4 from 2.30pm on Saturday. Division 3 and 4 finals live on Spórt TG4 YouTube.
WEATHER
Saturday: A dry and sunny start tomorrow, however cloud in the southwest will slowly spread across the country during the day with patchy outbreaks of rain and drizzle following. Driest in the east and southeast. Moderate southerly winds developing.
Sunday: A dull start with patchy outbreaks of light rain and drizzle along with lingering patches of mist and fog. Some sunny spells will develop along with scattered showers. Mild, with highest temperatures of 14 to 17 degrees generally, possibly reaching 18 degrees, with light to moderate southerly breezes. For more go to met.ie.
Galway v Kerry
The sides met on 26 March in the final round of group fixtures. Kerry gained a psychological edge on that occasion with a 3-11 to 0-17 victory and the Kingdom, who finished on top of the Division 1 standings, have made two changes in personnel following that win.
Mary Ellen Bolger comes in to replace Ciara Butler in goal, with Hannah O’Donoghue named in place of Fiadhna Tangney in the full-forward line.
Galway have opted for five changes to their starting team, with Alanah Griffin in goal earning a start in place of Karen Connolly, while Kate Geraghty, Eimile Gavin, Aoife Molloy and Roisin Leonard are in for Chellene Trill, Aoife Ní Cheallaigh, Hannah Noone and Aoife O’Rourke further out the field.
Kerry, who were the Division 2 champions last year, are gearing up for a first Division 1 final since 2008, when they lost out to Cork. The county has a 11 top-tier titles to their name but last won it in 1991, while Galway are chasing a first-ever Division 1 crown, having lost six previous finals, the most recent in 2019.
Kerry’s All Star Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh, who has been one of the stars of this league campaign, and scored 2-03 when the counties met recently.
That was Galway’s first defeat of the campaign but they’ll have had their eyes firmly fixed on Croke Park prior to that dress rehearsal.
A win for Kerry would see them emulate the exploits of Meath, who followed up a Division 2 title in 2021 with a Division 1 crown last year.
Ní Mhuircheartaigh for Kerry is out in front in the scoring stakes with 4-29 to her name, with team captain Síofra O’Shea contributing 6-11 along the way.
For Galway, Róisín Leonard is their leading attacker, with 0-21 registered to date in 2023.
Curiously, Galway were only the fourth-highest scorers during the group stages, behind Cork, Kerry and Dublin, but their defensive record was the best in the Division.
Galway: A Griffin; K Geraghty, S Ní Loingsigh (capt), E Gavin; C Cooney, N Ward, A Molloy; A Davoren, S Divilly; L Coen, L Ward, O Divilly; E Noone, R Leonard, K Slevin.
Kerry: M.E. Bolger; E Lynch, K Cronin, C Murphy; A O’Connell, E Costello, C Lynch; L Scanlon, M O’Connell; N Carmody, N Ní Chonchúir, A Galvin; H O’Donoghue, S O’Shea (capt), L Ní Mhuircheartaigh.
Armagh v Laois
Armagh will start as favourites after winning all seven of their group fixtures and they also enjoyed a big win over Laois in last year's Division 2 semi-final.
Rather than dwelling on that result, the midlanders got back down to business and embarked on an All-Ireland intermediate campaign that saw them crowned champions.
That success has ensured senior football for the county in 2023.
This final against Armagh will provide Laois with a real indication of where they stand and when the teams met at the Athletic Grounds in the group stages, just five points separated them, as the Ulster side ran out 0-10 to 0-05 winners.
Armagh had secured their place in the final before the final round of group fixtures but they still managed to do Saturrday's opponents a big favour, beating Tipperary to ensure that victory for Laois over Roscommon also sent them through.
Armagh were the leading scorers in the group stages and Aimee Mackin has been in scintillating form once again this year, contributing 6-22 en route to the decider
For Laois, Mo Nerney is scorer-in-chief and the 2022 Intermediate Players' Player of the Year has carried that form into this season, bagging 5-15 for the Leinster outfit to date.
Armagh have won Division 2 titles on two previous occasions – 2005 and 2015 – while Laois are also aiming for a third Division 2 title on Saturday, following previous successes in 2006 (when they lasted contested a second-tier decider) and 2001.
Armagh: A Carr; S Grey, C McCambridge, L Kenny; G Ferguson, L McConville, C Towe; N Coleman, E Lavery; B Mackin, A Mackin, E Druse; N Marley, K Mallon (capt), A McCoy.
Laois: E Barry; S Farrelly, C Dunne, A Kelly; S Havill, E Healy (capt), L Nerney; A Healy, A Moran; E Galvin, O Hennessy, E Fitzpatrick; M Nerney, S A Fitzgerald, L M Maher.
Clare v Kildare
On paper at least, there will be little to separate these two sides.
Kildare topped Division 3 after seven rounds, with six wins and a draw, while Clare's high-scoring exploits against Longford in the final round of group fixtures saw them through in second place on scoring difference, ahead of Wexford and Down, who also finished on 15 points.
When Clare and Kildare met in early February, the latter had the upper hand but only just, as they won out by 0-09 to 0-07.
The Banner have won the Division 3 title on two previous occasions – 2006 and 2011 – while the Leinster outfit have yet to crack the code in the third tier.
Kildare contested Division 3 finals in 2021 and 1999 – losing out on both occasions to Louth and Cork respectively.
With a haul of 4-31 to date in the league, Róisín Byrne is Kildare’s leading scorer, while Neasa Dooley has been excellent, too, chipping in with 6-17.
Clare, meanwhile, will look to the likes of Fidelma Marrinan and Chloe Moloney for attacking inspiration.
Marrinan has racked up 4-14 to date, with Moloney contributing 1-17 for the girls in saffron and blue.
Clare: A Lenihan; O Devitt, S Ní Chonaill, G Harvey; L Griffin, C Harvey (capt), Á Keane; A Reidy, C Moloney; E Keane, F Marrinan, A Sexton; L Roche, C Blake, C McCarthy.
Kildare: M Hulgraine; L Burke, L Lenehan, A Clifford; L Gilbert, R Sargent, S Munnelly; G Clifford (capt), A Rattigan; C Sullivan, R Byrne, T Duggan; C Price, N Dooley, L Curran.
Antrim v Leitrim
2022 in Division 4 of the Lidl National League was a case of what might have been for both of Sunday's finalists.
Leitrim contested a semi-final against eventual winners Offaly but lost out in an epic encounter after extra-time.
Antrim finished third in their group behind Fermanagh and Leitrim, failing to make the semi-finals, but the Saffrons would show much better form as the season progressed, which ended with a memorable TG4 All-Ireland junior win.
In their respective semi-finals, Leitrim got the better of Fermanagh by two points after extra-time, as Antrim impressed yet again in victory over Limerick.
The Ulster county have won all five of their Division 4 fixtures to date while Leitrim are also unbeaten, having won three and drawn one of their group matches prior to the semis
In Orlaith Prenter and Gráinne McLaughlin, Antrim possess the division's two leading scorers, while captain Michelle Guckian has been most prominent for Leitrim in the scoring stakes to date.
Victory would hand Antrim a very first Division 4 title, following final losses in 2019, 2016 and 2014, as Leitrim, runners-up in 2021, aim for a second crown, following victory back in 2010.
Antrim: A McCann; D Coleman, E Ferran, N McIntosh; O Corr, C Brown, S O'Neill; A Mulholland, Á Tubridy; T Mellon, C Carey (capt) L Dahunsi; B Devlin, O Prenter, G McLaughlin.
Leitrim: M Monaghan; J Maye, C Tyrrell, M Murphy; R Rooney, C Bruen, C Le Guen; M McGovern, A Quinn; L O’Dowd, M Guckian (capt), A Clancy; V Egan, L Fox, E Bruen.
