Football Championship: All You Need to Know

SATURDAY 5 APRIL

Connacht SFC quarter-final

London v Roscommon, McGovern Park Ruislip, 2.30pm

Leinster SFC preliminary round

Wexford v Laois, Chadwicks Wexford Park, 6.00pm

Munster SFC quarter-finals

Limerick v Cork, TUS Gaelic Grounds Limerick, 6pm

Tipperary v Waterford, FBD Semple Stadium Thurles, 6pm

SUNDAY 6 APRIL

Ulster SFC preliminary round

Donegal v Derry, Ballybofey, 2pm

Leinster SFC Round 1

Meath V Carlow, Páirc Tailteann, 3pm

Longford V Wicklow, Glennon Bros Pearse Park, 3.30pm

Connacht SFC quarter-finals

Mayo v Sligo, Hastings Insurance MacHale Park, 3.30pm

New York v Galway, Gaelic Park, 3pm (8pm Irish time)

ONLINE

Live blogs each day on RTÉ Sport Online and RTÉ News app.

TV

Donegal v Derry is live on RTÉ2, RTÉ Player, and on BBC NI. London v Roscommon, Mayo v Roscommon and New York v Galway, all streamed live on GAA+. Highlights of the weekend's action on The Sunday Game from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.

RADIO

Live commentary and updates on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport. Also live updates on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta's Spórt an tSathairn and Spórt an Lae.

WEATHER: It will be dry, sunny and very pleasant by day with no more than moderate easterly winds. For more go to met.ie

And away we go again

Championship 2025 comes bedecked with more than just a couple of new playing rules. And the stage is now ready for them to be given even more expression on days when the sun beats down and the pitches are harder. That said, the weather has been in a settled frame of mind for the last month or so. Will many be caught out by the bounce of the ball?

Of course, one wonders what the late Mick O'Dwyer made of all the changes to a game that he adorned as a player and later manager.

Micko: A true giant who built an unforgettable legacy

Maybe he would have just got on with it. He loved the game, as exemplified by this quote: "I've packed everything I wanted to into the years I’ve spent on this planet, I’ve enjoyed every moment of it. I’ve done everything I wanted to do. I’ve no more to do. I did it all. I got great enjoyment out of it and I wouldn’t change it for the world."

The opening weekend sees preliminary round and quarter-final provincial action in three countries, with London and New York also playing host to games.

Across six weekends it will all be played to a conclusion, making way then for the All-Ireland and Tailteann Cup series. And it will be the final time - for now - that such a round-robin series will form part of the high-summer entertainment.

So from 2026 on the race for Sam Maguire (16 teams), the eight provincial finalists would be drawn at home against one of the other eight, with the eight winners progressing to round 2A, where they would be drawn against each other, producing four winners that would progress to the quarter-finals.

The eight first round losers would pair off in round 2B to produce four winners, who would then be pitted against the four round 2A losers in round 3. The four round 3 winners would then complete the All-Ireland quarter-final line-up.

But as for the here and now and the provincial battles to come, well some things are a bit more clear cut.

Ciaran Keenan finding the net for Louth in last year's Leinster final

In Leinster, Dublin are aiming for a 15th consecutive title. In last year's decider Louth were more than competitive and you'd hope that Ger Brennan's men, Kildare, Meath, and Offaly can do their bit to heighten the competitive aspect even more.

Down in Munster, Kerry look well placed to hold sway again. Limerick or Cork await in the semi-final, while on the other side Clare will fancy themselves to make the final again - and with it a place in the Sam Maguire field.

Out west, Galway would appear to be a little bit ahead of Mayo and Roscommon in the pecking order. Kevin McStay's men, on paper, should be good enough to make the battle for the Nestor Cup itself on the May Bank Holiday weekend.

And then to Ulster; the most competitive of the provincial species. Donegal are the holders but will have to beat Derry and Monaghan just to make a semi-final. On the other side, All-Ireland champions Armagh could collide with Tyrone at that same juncture.

Roscommon doubts

As predicted by many beforehand, Roscommon did claim their ticket back to Division 1 but they somewhat stumbled over the line in a campaign where they suffered defeats to Meath and Cavan and drew with Westmeath. On Saturday, they eventually would play second fiddle to Monaghan in the divisional final.

The Rossies attack is well stacked with potential score getters. At the other end of the pitch, they look somewhat vulnerable in this return to an era of one-to-one contests. London, who won two of their seven matches in Division 4, should not give them too much trouble. The question is whether they are equipped to fully engage in a shootout against, more than likely, Galway in the semi-final.

Speaking on the RTÉ GAA Podcast earlier this week, Dessie Dolan referenced the stagnant Rossies after the way they finished the league.

Ciaráin Murtagh of Roscommon in action against Monaghan players, from left, Andrew Woods, Conor McCarthy and Gary Mohan in the Division 2 final

"The vibes that are coming out of it (the county) are not unbelievably positive for a team that's after getting promoted," he said.

"I think their style of play is not getting the best out of their players at the minute. And defensively, they do struggle to hold teams when it's man to man and it's pretty much man to man at the minute."

"They're a bit stagnant. And it's a worry for Davy Burke. I know he has great energy and knows a lot about the game but it's a difficult job to reinvigorate lads halfway through a season.

"They have a golden generation. You have the Murtaghs, the Smiths, all of the players going past that 30 mark."

Since entering the Connacht Championship in 1975, London have record just three victories. A fourth is unlikely this year but the Exiles have over time proven to be doughty opponents on their home patch.

Slaneyside venue for opening joust in Leinster

Action in Leinster begins with Wexford hosting Laois. The Slaneysiders went through the regulation phase in Division 4 unbeaten but fell short against Limerick when seeking silverware. Still, John Hegarty's side are on upward trajectory boosted by the presence of Niall Hughes, Páiric Hughes, Mark Rossiter (below) in attack, and Darragh Brooks' ability to ping them over while on the charge from his No 1 berth.

That said they will want a better scoring return from the aforementioned players than was the case against the Treaty.

At one point, Laois looked like they were in the promotion mix from Division 3 but a narrow defeat to Clare, right at the death, cost them dearly.

The winner here plays Louth in the quarter-final.

Can Limerick upturn see them trouble the Rebels?

In Munster, Jimmy Lee's Limerick will hope to use the springboard of promotion from Division 4 and the trophy that goes with it to make life uncomfortable for Cork.

Goals from Darragh Ó Siochrú, Peter Nash (below) and Tommie Childs were key in their win on Jones' Road.

James Naughton was nowhere near as effective as the previous week when he set a National League record by hitting 4-12 in a single game. However there was plenty of variety in the threat that was posed by the Shannonsiders, with Childs frequently interchanging with Emmet Rigter to come forward and offer a physical threat.

It's 22 years since Limerick last defeated the Rebels in the championship.

Cork did enough in their final league game against Cavan to stay in Division 2.

The previous two matches between these Munster counties saw Cork emerge victorious by a combined 19 points. Limerick look to have enough about them now to ensure that things should be competitive at the Gaelic Grounds.

Elsewhere Tipperary host Waterford, looking to avenge last year's reverse against the same opposition at this stage.

SUNDAY

League out of the way.... now Jimmy and co can focus minds

Twelve months on and it's another meeting of Donegal and Derry in Ulster. Jim McGuinness' side went on a goal rush to crush the Oakleafers on a sunny Saturday evening at Celtic Park. Derry's season crumbled from there while Donegal ended up in an All-Ireland semi-final. A narrow loss to Galway left Jimmy frustrated and that awful feeling of what might have been.

Ask people to name an All-Ireland winner in 2025, albeit in a crowded field of contenders, and it's 'Donegal' that keeps cropping up. Early intent and promise was shown in the league before their safety in the top flight was assured.

As for Derry, relegation was their lot. They were unlucky in a few games under new boss Paddy Tally but collectively they have not hit the heights since winning last year's Division 1 crown.

Key players on opposing sides - Conor Glass and Michael Murphy

They did push Donegal hard in Ballyshannon at the start of March but could be without key players for this Ballybofey encounter - and they also shipped 18 goals during the recent campaign.

It points to a Donegal victory, with options in every line of their team to kick scores. Hugh McFadden, in midfield, was one of the standout players in the league.

Donegal have lost their first championship game of the season only once since 2010. That was against Down in 2023, losing the Ulster quarter-final by five points. Otherwise it has been a safe lift-off on 13 occasions beating Tyrone three times. Fermanagh (2), Cavan (2), Antrim (2), Derry (2), Down (1) and Armagh (1)

Lee Keegan, in his column on these pages, is also favouring a win for the home side.

"Donegal's All-Ireland credentials were only strengthened during the league and they had enough of a cushion to give the wider squad a runout in the last couple of weeks. It's hard to envisage a goal-glut on a par with last April - they're not bothered about goals this year it seems - but I'd expect Donegal to get the job done, probably with a degree of comfort."

Mayo on quick turnaround route again

A week on from their somewhat underwhelming showing in the Division 1 final, Mayo are back out on the pitch, with Sligo heading to Castlebar.

And it was all positive ahead of the clash with Kerry; the month of March proving to be an upturn in their fortunes but they ended the month kicking a paltry 1-12 against the Kingdom.

So much so that those in the know are now discounting the Green and Red as a genuine All-Ireland force. Perhaps that should come with a health warning: league form often no indicator of future performance in championship.

Lee Keegan: Mayo and Roscommon have their own issues ahead of Connacht tilt

McStay's men could do with Tommy Conroy being back involved, so as to improve their attacking options, where Aidan O'Shea has certainly not been found wanting so far.

The facial expression of Kevin McStay tells a lot after Mayo were humbled by Kerry

The Mayo boss, who came out with the line that David Clifford engineered some 'soft' frees last Sunday, is nevertheless confident his charges can have a real say in the forthcoming weeks.

He told RTÉ Sport: "You'd like an extra week to prepare into the championship.

"The ideal would be two weeks out from Round 7, have the league final, another two weeks then have the first round of the championship. We knew all this coming in so it's not making excuses.

"What we will do is we'll see a reaction next Sunday."

As for Sligo, they failed to push for promotion from Division 3, this after the progress of last year where they nearly took the scalp of Galway and were unlucky against Down in the Tailteann Cup semi-final.

The loss of forward threat Sean Carrabine is a blow, but the likes of Niall Murphy, Cian Lally, Luke Towey and Paddy O'Connor are able score-getters.

The Keegan view: "I thought they (Sligo) might give promotion a rattle this year but they were slow out of the blocks in Division 3. Aaron Kernan hinted that they were having difficulties securing possession under the new kickout rules early on, and the loss of Sean Carrabine - another gone to Australia for the year - will have hampered them.

"That all being said, it's still a Division 1 team coming up against a Division 3 team. While Mayo's home record in championship is very ordinary (to put it mildly), Sligo themselves are much more of a homebird than the other Connacht sides. Mayo should have seven or eight points to spare in the end, and we know the likes of Cork and Louth in the bottom half of Division 2 will have their fingers crossed for it."

Off to the Bronx

Galway begin their quest for back-to-back Connacht titles at Gaelic Park. A boost for the Tribe is that Peter Cooke has rejoined Pádraic Joyce's panel. The Moycullen clubman last lined out for his county in the loss to Mayo in the 2023 All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final.

Rob Finnerty: 'Healthy panel' has Galway in a good place

Joyce's troops are a genuine contender to finally land Sam for the first time in 24 years. Getting the likes of Cooke, Shane Walsh and Damien Comer on song at the same time will no doubt aid them further in that pursuit.

Peter Cooke in action for Galway against Mayo in June 2023

It's two years since New York's famous win over Leitrim. Creating another shock is most unlikely but they will hope to reap some dividend later in the summer. Their goal is obvious, as captain Shane Brosnan outlined to RTÉ Sport.

"We know Galway's a strong test and they have a lot of good players. We're just hoping that playing a team like them, we can take a few things away from it.

"Just testing ourselves against some of the best that they have in Ireland and seeing where we stand.

"Our main goal for the year is to get a good run in the Tailteann Cup. To push on and try to get a win back in Ireland."

Managerial upheaval

In Leinster, Meath play host to Carlow, this after Joe McMahon and Martin Corey departed the Royal County's set-up and Shane Curran quit as boss of the Barrowsiders, this after a county board statement saying his decision was "...based on player-related issues which he believed were beyond the scope of the management team."

The players responded with captain Mikey Bambrick taking issue with the player issue reasoning. He told RTÉ Sport: "There were a lot of frustrations being built up there in the past few weeks.

"When this happened it was nearly like a release.

"It's tough on a lot of the players, when you hear stuff being said. That's what we wanted to address with that statement. It was more so just for the people of Carlow so that everyone knew what the story was.

"Stuff [players' concerns] was being highlighted, and it was being worked on in fairness, but I think it just wasn't working out.

Mikey Bambrick pictured with the Leinster cup

"Come the end of it, we wanted to just move away mutually, hoping it was an easy departure on both sides, especially into championship. But unfortunately we're in the situation we're in.

"We're just looking to move past it now."

As to what might transpire on the field of play, Meath, two division higher than their opponents, should have too much.

Elsewhere expect a tighter contest as Longford host Wicklow.

Watch Donegal v Derry in the Ulster Football Championship on Sunday from 1.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1

Watch The Sunday Game 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 from around the country on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio

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