Saturday
Munster SFC semi-finals
Tipperary v Cork, Semple Stadium, 2pm
Tipperary battled out a five-point win over Waterford at the quarter-final stage. Their league form was patchy, winning three, losing two and drawing two in Division 4. Cork finished top of Division 2, winning six of their seven games to return to the top flight for the first time in a decade. Despite losing the final to Meath, there is little to suggest the Rebels will slip up against Tipperary here. Cork put 4-16 on Limerick last time out and have the potential to raise a few green flags here as well. Verdict: Cork
Clare v Kerry, Cusack Park, 2pm – Live on GAA+
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Clare can only hope Kerry’s league final kickback will be put in cold storage until later in the summer because the Banner will be up against it in Ennis to curtail the Kingdom attack. Clare’s last championship win over Kerry was in 1992. Before that, they hadn’t beat them since 1949. When they met in the provincial final last year, Kerry won by 11 points. It doesn’t look like a historic result is on the cards at Cusack Park. Verdict: Kerry
Connacht SFC semi-final: Leitrim v Galway, Pairc Seán MacDiarmada, 3.30pm – Live on GAA+
Though Leitrim pulled off a huge upset with their victory over Sligo last time out, they face a much more daunting challenge here. Galway finished joint fourth in Division 1 and are All-Ireland contenders. Leitrim finished second from bottom in Division 4 and would have not beaten Galway since 1994. This could get away from Leitrim early. Verdict: Galway
Ulster SFC quarter-final: Fermanagh v Armagh, Brewster Park, 5.30pm – Live on GAA+
The big shock of Armagh’s week has already happened. Losing Ben Crealey to a broken ankle for the rest of the season is a huge blow and Callum O’Neill is going to be out for a while too. Kieran McGeeney was already using his squad sparingly – his four extra-time subs against Tyrone were all players who had started the game. They’ve lost just one game to Fermanagh in the past 20 years and should come through here, but it’s been an expensive week. Verdict: Armagh
Sunday
Ulster SFC quarter-final: Donegal v Down, Letterkenny, 3pm – Live on GAA+
Down come into this as Division 3 champions and will be aggrieved at the general level of dismissal they’ve been subjected to. They have a significant body of work behind them under Conor Laverty and are unrecognisable from the rabble he took over in late 2022. It’s their misfortune to be drawn against Donegal in the quarter-final – they’d have fancied themselves on the other side of the draw. Donegal have lost just once in 21 Ulster championship games under Jim McGuinness and that was in 2013. Hard to see a second one happening here. Verdict: Donegal
Connacht SFC semi-final: Mayo v Roscommon, MacHale Park, 4pm – Live on RTÉ2
The league clash between the sides was almost certainly not a fair barometer of where these teams are in relation to each other. Mayo won their March encounter by 21 points, but Roscommon were understrength for that fixture and there is more to Mark Dowd’s men than we got to see that afternoon. Still, such a trimming is hardly ideal, coming as it did on the back of a 0-22 to 1-6 Connacht league loss to their neighbours in January.
Mayo were the highest scoring team in the country during the national league – finishing with a total of 178 points to Roscommon’s 153. But Mayo were also meaner at the back, conceding 152 points compared to Roscommon’s 170. The loss of the suspended Daire Cregg, who was the third highest scorer in Division 1, is also a significant setback to Roscommon’s chances in Castlebar. Verdict: Mayo
