THE scene is set for the 2025 Lidl National League Finals – with eight counties targeting national silverware.
FIXTURES
Saturday, 12 April
Division 2 final: Cork v Galway; Croke Park, 3pm
Division 1 final: Armagh v Kerry; Croke Park, 5pm
Sunday, 13 April
Division 3 final: Cavan v Wexford; Integral GAA Grounds, Drogheda, 2pm
Division 4 final: Antrim v Fermanagh; St. Tiernach's Park, Clones, 3pm
ONLINE
You'll find score live score updates and match reports on RTÉ Sport Online and RTÉ News app.
RADIO
Updates on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport.
TV
The Division 1 and 2 finals will be live on TG4 on Saturday, while Sunday's Division 3 and 4 deciders will be streamed live on Spórt TG4 YouTube.
WEATHER
Saturday: The mist and fog will clear in the morning and while there will be some sunshine at times, it will become cloudier generally. Many areas will hold dry for a good part of the day, though a few showers are possible at any stage in southeastern and eastern coastal parts, while a band of rain and drizzle will start to move in from the west later in the afternoon and evening. Highest temperatures of 12 to 17 to 18 degrees with light to moderate southerly or variable breezes, gradually veering westerly, and becoming a little fresher at times in western coastal parts.
Sunday: Scattered showers in the west will spread eastwards over the country in the morning with sunny spells in between. There'll be a continued mix of sunshine and showers for the rest of the day.
Some of the showers could turn heavy with hail and the chance of the odd rumble of thunder. It'll be a noticeably cooler day with highest temperatures of just 9 to 12 degrees in mostly moderate southwest to west winds, increasing fresh and gusty at times, especially in western and southern coastal parts.
Familiar foes collide in Divison 1 decider
For the third time in four seasons, Armagh and Kerry meet in a league final at Croke Park.
The score is currently tied at one apiece, following victory for Kerry in the 2022 Division 2 decider and for Armagh in last year's Division 1 showpiece.
The fact that Armagh and Kerry were contesting a Division 1 final just two years after meeting in a second tier decider represented clear evidence of the rapid progress of both sides.
Indeed, Kerry appeared in successive TG4 All-Ireland senior finals in 2022, 2023 and 2024, finally getting their hands on the coveted national silverware last year.
And their 2024 Championship semi-final opponents were Armagh at Glenisk O’Connor Park in Tullamore, with the Kingdom prevailing by 1-08 to 0-07 in a tense, low-scoring affair.
Bearing in mind that Armagh were Lidl NFL Division 1 holders and Kerry TG4 All-Ireland senior champions ahead of the new season, the sides were pitted together in the opening round of this year's league campaign.
Both sides were naturally rusty at the start of the year but Armagh turned on the style at Austin Stack Park in Tralee in the second half to claim a 3-11 to 1-13 victory.
An intriguing rivalry has developed between Sunday’s opponents in recent times and these are two sides that will be live contenders for the TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship title.
Armagh will hope that brilliant forward Aimee Mackin, who has yet to feature this year, will return from injury during the Championship season but the Orchard County have coped well in her absence.
There has been a healthy spread of scorers throughout the campaign to date, with Niamh Reel leading the way with 0-27.
Blaithín Mackin (2-06), Niamh Henderson (3-03) and Eve Lavery (0-12) have also been prominent up front, as Armagh won five games on the spin to claim a spot in the final, before defeats to Waterford and Meath followed in Rounds 6 and 7 respectively.
The manner of the Waterford loss, by ten points, will have concerned the Armagh camp but there may have been an element of taking the foot off the gas towards the end of the group phase.
In seven games, Armagh have racked up 12-84, or a scoring average of just over 17 points per game.
In contrast, Kerry’s average scoring return per game is slightly lower, at just under 15 points per game.
There’s a stand-out attacker in the Kingdom ranks this season, with Síofra O’Shea accounting for 5-26 of Kerry’s 13-65 tally.
Danielle O’Leary (4-07) has also contributed strongly but Kerry will need more forwards to step up as they move towards the summer, and without Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh, who retired from inter-county duty after landing a coveted TG4 All-Ireland senior medal last year.
On Sunday, Kerry will target a 13th Division 1 title, which would take them one clear of Munster rivals Cork at the top of the roll of honour, as Armagh aim to retain the top flight silverware they won for the first time last year.
Armagh: A Carr; M Ferguson, C McCambridge (capt.), L Kenny; L McConville, C Towe, R Mulligan; N Coleman, C O’Hanlon; E Druse, B Mackin, E Lavery; N Reel, A McCoy, N Henderson.
Kerry: M.E. Bolger; R Rahilly, D Kearney, E Lynch; A O’Connell, K Cronin, A Dillane; M O’Connell, A Galvin (capt.); C Evans, N Ní Chonchúir, N Carmody; D O’Leary, S O’Shea, J Lucey.
Cork and Galway both seeking cherry to put on top of promotion
Just like the Division 1 decider which throws in a couple of hours later on Saturday at Croke Park, there’s a familiar feel to the pairing for the second tier finalists.
Cork and Galway are teams that know plenty about each other, having met in Round 2 of the group phase.
That game resulted in a 2-08 to 0-12 win for Galway, in what was the first competitive meeting between the sides since the 2024 TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-final.
Galway won that one, before falling to Kerry in the final, after Cork had beaten Galway in the round-robin phase of the Championship.
Those 2024 Championship tussles came on the back of a desperately disappointing League campaign for both counties last year, when they were relegated from Division 1.
Cork and Galway were favourites to make an instant return to the top flight, however, and so it proved.
Galway won seven from seven to top the table, with Cork winning six of their seven games - a sole blip coming at the hands of Galway.
Having contested a TG4 All-Ireland senior final last year, Galway will be pleased to get back to Croke Park so quickly and have the chance to savour a winning feeling here.
The goal at the start of the League campaign for both of Saturday’s finalists will have been promotion and the chance to capture a trophy now is a lovely bonus.
Championship may be just around the corner but Cork and Galway will give it everything as they chase the win.
Cork are the proud holders of 12 Division 1 titles but they’ve also won the Division 2 crown on three occasions – 2003, 1992 and 1988.
On Saturday, Galway go in search of their third Division 2 title win, following previous successes in 2014 and 2002.
Cork: S Murphy; D Kiniry, S Kelly, M Duggan; E O’Shea, S Leahy (capt.), R Corkery; A Corcoran, A Healy; A O’Mahony, L O’Mahony, E Cleary; H Looney, L Coppinger, K Quirke.
Galway: D Gower; M Jordan, S Ní Loingsigh, K Geraghty (capt.); H Noone, N Ward, C Trill; L Ward, S Divilly; O Divilly, S Hynes, A Davoren; L Noone, R Leonard, K Slevin.
Cavan on crest of wave but face formidable challenge
These are good times for Cavan Ladies Football.
Rising young stars from the Breffni County were crowned ZuCar All-Ireland Under-18 A and U16 champions in 2024, while U16 A glory was also annexed in 2023.
Last year, Cavan also contested an All-Ireland U14 Platinum final while, more recently, Bailieborough Community School were crowned Lidl All-Ireland Post-Primary Schools champions on the double, in the Junior C and Senior C grades, while Loreto College appeared in a Senior A final.
The future is extremely bright for Cavan but the present isn't too bad either.
At the Integral GAA Grounds in Drogheda on Sunday, the chance to capture Lidl National League Division 3 silverware presents itself.
The primary objective for Cavan has already been achieved, with promotion back to Division 2 secured at the first attempt, following relegation last year.
Standing in Cavan’s path as they look to claim the trophy is a formidable opponent.
Cavan won six of their seven Division 3 games to top the standings but that sole defeat came against Wexford.
Grace Donovan scored a goal midway through the second half which ultimately proved decisive as Wexford ran out 2-05 to 0-09 winners.
And so Wexford will have absolutely no fear of Cavan, despite their rising tide on numerous levels.
Wexford were promoted on merit and they’re in Sunday’s final on merit where they will be aiming to win this competition for the third time.
Cavan: E Baugh; L Crowe, S Kelly, E Corcoran; M Sheridan, S Lynch (capt.), S Greene; M Fitzpatrick, E Brady; K McCormack, L McVeety, C Dolan; N Keenaghan, A Sheridan, A Gilsenan.
Wexford: S Cloake; S McCarthy, M Byrne, A Tormey; C Banville, A Halligan, K English; C Donnelly, R Murphy (capt.); B McDonald, C Murray, O Byrne; A Neville, C Ní Nualláin, C Foxe.
Antrim and Fermanagh free to have a crack at final after respective progression
Antrim and Fermanagh are no strangers to contesting national finals.
Two years ago, Antrim were crowned Lidl National League Division 4 winners, while Fermanagh's last Division 4 title win was achieved in 2019, when they defeated Antrim in the final.
2024 represented a sliding doors moment for both counties, however, as they moved in opposite directions in the Championship ranks.
Fermanagh’s TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship final win against Louth secured Intermediate fare for the Erne County this year, while Antrim suffered relegation from the Intermediate grade.
Winners in 2022, Antrim will start as one of the strong contenders for Junior glory this year, while Fermanagh will look to consolidate at Intermediate level.
Before all of that, there’s national silverware at stake on Sunday.
Having gained promotion with semi-final victories over Leitrim and Sligo respectively, Antrim and Fermanagh can play with freedom in Sunday’s final.
For both counties, promotion will have come as a huge relief.
Antrim have bounced back to Division 3 at the first attempt, while Fermanagh atoned for last year’s semi-final loss to Carlow.
Antrim’s form so far this year has been scintillating. The Saffrons scorched through the group phase with seven wins from seven outings, with Fermanagh in second place with six wins out of seven.
Fermanagh’s only defeat came at the hands of Antrim and that was in a cracking game.
Antrim: A Devlin; N McIntosh, M Blaney, M Mulholland; S O'Neill, C Brown, D Coleman; A Mulholland, Á Tubridy; T Mellon, L Dahunsi, A Kelly; B Devlin (capt.), N Jones, M O’Neill.
Fermanagh: A Haren; E Murphy, C Clarke, E Keenan; N Boyle, C Murphy, C Bogue; S Feeley, M McGloin; B Smyth, C Martin, L Maguire; J Doonan, E Smyth, A McCabe.
