Limerick's worst fears confirmed

The details of the fourth and final round of the All-Ireland football qualifiers have confirmed Limerick's worst fears - their meeting with Derry goes ahead this Saturday, just six days after losing the Munster football final.

When finalising the dates and venues yesterday, the Games Administration Committee (GAC) were unable to facilitate the 13-day break granted this season to beaten provincial finalists simply because the Munster final had gone to a replay.

So Limerick must quickly regroup to travel to Dr Hyde Park in Roscommon, which was set as the venue for their first championship meeting with Derry (throw-in 3.30).

One other fourth round game, the all-Ulster meeting of Fermanagh and Donegal, also goes ahead this Saturday in Clones, with a 4 p.m. start. The two other fourth round games will be played as a double-bill in Croke Park on Sunday week, August 1st, with Dublin back on home turf for their meeting with Roscommon (2.15 throw-in). Following that at 4.15 will be All-Ireland champions Tyrone against the losers of the Leinster final replay between Laois and Westmeath, fixed for this Saturday.

As a result, the losers of the Laois-Westmeath replay will also be out in the qualifiers a week after losing a provincial final - and possibly a fourth successive weekend if a second replay is necessary. Both Donegal and Roscommon, who lost the Ulster and Connacht finals on schedule, will benefit from the 13-day recovery.

There was also confirmation yesterday of the revised timetable for the All-Ireland quarter-finals. Unlike the past three editions, where they were played on the Sunday and Monday of the August Bank Holiday, they will be spread over the first two Saturdays in August - the 7th and 14th.

This announcement appears to have caught some people by surprise, but according to GAC chairman Tony O'Keeffe, the move had always been anticipated. With the beaten Leinster and Connacht finalists given the 13-day break before their fourth round qualifier, the first weekend in August was needed for the fourth round of the qualifiers.

"It's a further streamlining of the whole fixtures issue with the 13 days given after the provincial finals," said O'Keeffe. "Next year the provincial finalists that draw each other in the All-Ireland semi-finals will have their finals on the same days.

"So that you will have another sequence, and people will know in advance when they're playing the quarter-finals. That will also guarantee a 14-day break for each team before their All-Ireland semi-final. And the whole idea was to establish a sequence where everyone was on the same footing."

This year then, the first two of the All-Ireland quarter-finals will be played on Saturday, August 7th, and will feature the Connacht champions Mayo and the Ulster champions Armagh against two winning teams drawn from the fourth round qualifiers.

Similarly, the second two quarter-finals will be played on Saturday August 14th, and will feature the Leinster champions, either Laois or Westmeath, and the Munster champions Kerry against the other two successful teams from the fourth round of the qualifiers.

As things stand, however, there is the potentially unequal interval between All-Ireland quarter-finals and semi-finals for different teams - depending on which teams emerge and any previous meetings. The champions of Connacht and Ulster (or the teams that defeat them in the quarter-finals) are out on August 22nd, with a similar case for the Leinster-Munster pairing out a week later.

While O'Keeffe sympathised with Limerick's plight of having to come out six days after losing a provincial final replay - and thus a third successive weekend - there was little the GAC could do.

"The two round four games involving the losing Munster and Ulster finalists were always going to go ahead this weekend," said O'Keeffe. The revised timetable means that the All-Ireland football quarter-finals will now be played on the same weekend as the All-Ireland hurling semi-finals - with Waterford's date set for Sunday, August 8th and Wexford's for the 15th.

First up, though, are this Sunday's two All-Ireland hurling quarter-finals in Croke Park, with Cork playing Antrim at 2 p.m. and Kilkenny playing Clare at 4 p.m. Should Kilkenny beat Clare, then they must play Waterford in the semi-final as they've already met Wexford. Similarly, Cork would play Wexford as they've already met Waterford.

The dates were also announced for the minor football quarter-finals. On July 31st at Breffni Park, Galway play Down (2 p.m.) and Tyrone play Roscommon (3.45). On the same day in Limerick, Laois play Cork (2.0) and Kerry play Kildare (3.45). The two hurling quarter-finals go ahead this Saturday at 3.0, with Galway against Antrim at Parnell Park, and Dublin against Tipperary in Carlow.

SATURDAY

Football Qualifiers: Round Four: Derry v Limerick, 3.30, Hyde Park; Fermanagh v Donegal, 4.0, Clones.

SUNDAY

All-Ireland Hurling Championship - Quarter Finals: Antrim v Cork, 2.0, Croke Park; Kilkenny v Clare, 4.0, Croke Park.

AUGUST 1st

Football Qualifiers - Round Four: Roscommon v Dublin 2.15, Croke Park; Tyrone v Laois/Westmeath, 4.15, Croke Park.