Compiled by Jackie Cahill
THE 2024 TG4 All-Ireland Junior and Intermediate Final line-ups will be confirmed on Sunday.
In a Parnell Park double-header, Leitrim face Wexford in the Intermediate semi-final at 2pm, followed by the Junior semi-final clash between Carlow and Louth at 4pm.
At St Tiernach’s Park, Clones, there’s an all-Ulster Intermediate semi-final between Down and Tyrone (2pm), as Limerick and Fermanagh, who met in the last four of the Junior championship last year, renew acquaintances at the penultimate stage of the 2024 Championship at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park in Longford (2pm).
On Saturday, Leinster teams Laois and Kildare will battle it out at Netwatch Cullen Park in Carlow (1.30pm) for the right to play Senior Championship football again in 2025.
All five weekend fixtures will be streamed live on the Spórt TG4 YouTube channel.
Saturday July 13
TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship – relegation play-off
Laois v Kildare; Netwatch Cullen Park, Carlow, 1.30pm – Live on Spórt TG4 YouTube
IT’S the last chance saloon for Laois and Kildare in a Senior Championship relegation play-off.
Laois were TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate winners in 2022, a feat matched by Kildare last year, but now one of these teams will return to that grade.
The reward for the winners of this tie is Senior Championship fare again in 2025, while the losers will drop back to Intermediate level.
Kildare lost out narrowly by a point against Donegal in their relegation qualifier, as Tipperary comfortably got the better of Laois.
When the counties met in the Leinster championship, it was Kildare who came out on top, with two points to spare.
Laois: E Barry; K Jacob, S Farrelly, G Lalor; M Cotter, A Moore, L Kearney; A Moran (capt.), A Fitzpatrick; K Donoghue, A Ryle, G Moran; M Nerney, O Hennessy, E Lacey.
Kildare: A Dunlea; F Troute, A Reynolds, A Clifford; E O’Toole, R Sargent, L Gilbert; G Clifford (capt.), L Doran; C Sullivan, N Dooley, M Doherty; E Dowling, R Byrne, A Rattigan.
All-Ireland U16 Finals
A – Cavan v Mayo; Duggan Park, Ballinasloe, Galway, 2pm
This fixture pits champions Cavan against Mayo, who are set to appear in an All-Ireland U16 A Final for the first time since 1996.
Last year, Cavan were crowned A champions for the first time since 1977 and they had to really earn it after being pushed all the way by Cork.
A gripping first game ended in a draw and there was more drama to come in the replay, before Cavan got their hands on the silverware.
Now, if the Breffni County are to achieve back-to-back titles, they’ll have to get past the stern challenge of Mayo, who are chasing history of their own.
Mayo’s one and only All-Ireland U16 A title win was achieved in 1976 and that victory over Kilkenny was the very first All-Ireland U16 final in LGFA history.
In their respective semi-finals, Cavan and Mayo showed really good form, getting the better of Dublin and Kerry to reach Saturday’s Final.
Cavan: F Higgins; K McSeain, A Crowe, H Forde Peat; K Comaskey, C Crowe, G McCabe; E Mussi (capt.), E Gannon; B Quaile, A Reilly, S McAvinney; N McCaffrey, M Smith, K McGahern.
Mayo: K Hughes; C Dowling, I Basquille, C Cullen; A Doherty, E Higgins (capt.), S Tieran; S Dempsey, L Hession; A McNamara, L McHale, S McGuinness; K Byrne, E Stagg, K Hughes.
B – Armagh v Waterford; Kinnegad, Westmeath, 1pm
The B Final between Armagh and Waterford gets the action underway in Kinnegad.
This is Armagh’s first time in an All-Ireland U16 B Final and the Orchard County have shown good progress to reach this stage as they were All-Ireland U16 C winners two years ago.
Waterford are no strangers to All-Ireland U16 Finals. The Déise are five-time A champions, the last of those victories achieved in 1998, while they have appeared in three previous B finals (2015, 2017 and 2019), winning this particular competition twice, in 2015 and 2017.
At the semi-final stage, Armagh and Waterford got past the challenges of Roscommon and Wexford respectively to advance.
Armagh: C Havern; A Hagan, M McGrane (capt.), E Owens; B Carragher, E Melanophy, A Lavery; E McCafferty, E Hart; L McBennett, A McDonald, E Meabh Duffy; R Murphy, A O’Neill, C Gollogly.
Waterford: G Corcoran; R Power, C Cullinan, E Campbell; A McHugh, J Whelan, K Winkle; R Browne, A Tobin; S Peters, T Ní Chrotaigh, A Power; C Power, M McCusker, E Power.
C – Antrim v Limerick, Kinnegad, Westmeath, 3pm
Antrim are aiming for back-to-back All-Ireland U16 C titles.
In the 2024 Final, the Saffrons will pit their wits against Limerick, the 2011 B Shield winners who are set to grace an All-Ireland U16 cup final for the very first time.
In their respective semi-finals, Limerick and Antrim recorded victories over Leitrim and Offaly.
Antrim: O Lynch; A Mitchell, S Scullion, A McDonnell; S Bradley (capt.), S McGurk, A Annett; A Rice, L Scullion; L McCann, A Monaghan, C Boyd Munce; A Fitzsimons, E Stewart, J Darragh.
Limerick: G Carmody; A MacNamara, C Hennessy, E Fitzgerald; K O’Donnell, E Cleary, T Hynes; G Hunt (capt.), O Barrett; C Moriarty, G Fitzgibbon, M O’Mahony; M English, M Murphy, A O’Connor.
Sunday July 14
TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Championship – semi-finals
Leitrim v Wexford; Parnell Park, Dublin, 2pm – Live on Spórt TG4 YouTube
Sunday’s Parnell Park double-header gets underway with the Intermediate semi-final between Leitrim and Wexford.
These counties are current provincial champions in Connacht and Leinster and brimming with confidence.
Indeed, at the All-Ireland quarter-final stage, Leitrim and Wexford were pitted with Roscommon and Westmeath again in what were provincial final repeat pairings.
Results on the day went the way of Leitrim and Wexford again and now both sides find themselves just a step away from Croke Park.
The sense of motivation in both camps ahead of Sunday is huge.
Wexford were beaten semi-finalists last year, and they contested the 2021 and 2022 Finals, losing out on both occasions.
The Slaneysiders have been knocking hard at the door in recent times in the quest for the Mary Quinn Memorial Cup, a trophy named after the late Mary Quinn, from Aughawillan in Leitrim.
This is a competition that Leitrim have won back in 2007 (when they beat Wexford in the final), while Wexford have yet to taste All-Ireland Intermediate glory.
Leitrim: M Monaghan; E Quigley, C Tyrrell, C Owens; S Reynolds, K Bruen, E Bruen; N Tighe, M Guckian (capt.); O Flynn, L O’Dowd, M Devaney; A Clancy, S Quinn, Á Redican.
Wexford: S McCarthy; K English, M Byrne, S Harding Kenny; C Banville, A Halligan, A Power; R Murphy (capt.), B McDonald; C Donnelly, C Foxe, A Cullen; C Ní Nualláin, K Kearney, T Doyle.
Down v Tyrone; St Tiernach’s Park, Clones, Monaghan, 2pm – Live on Spórt TG4 YouTube
There’s surely to be a keen edge to proceedings as Ulster teams Down and Tyrone battle it out at the semi-final stage.
Down were TG4 All-Ireland Junior champions last year and they’re now aiming for more national silverware in the form of the Mary Quinn Memorial Cup.
It’s a decade since Down were crowned All-Ireland Intermediate champions and they’d certainly love a repeat of that.
Back in 2021, Tyrone were relegated from the Senior ranks and they’ve been building back up steadily since then.
2024 has already been an encouraging season for the Red Hands, who claimed promotion to Division 1 of the Lidl National League, while also contesting a Division 2 Final against Kildare at Croke Park.
Come Ulster Championship time, it was Down who claimed the provincial silverware on offer, as Tyrone fell at the semi-final hurdle against Monaghan.
Fast forward to the All-Ireland series and both teams have been in really good form. Down topped Group 1 and Tyrone finished as runners-up in Group 4 to reach the quarter-finals.
In their respective last-eight clashes, Down beat Monaghan in what was an Ulster Final repeat, as Tyrone got the better of last year’s All-Ireland Finalists, Clare, to advance to the semi-finals.
Down: A McGivern; A Greene, C Byrne, E Sands; C Mulvenna, N McKibbin, O Duffy; M Doherty (capt.), A Laverty; A McAlea, N McClory, L Duffy; S Dougherty, N Ferris, N King.
Tyrone: A Coyle; J Lyons, J Barrett, E Quinn; M Mallon, M Corrigan, C Daly; Á Grimes, A McHugh (capt.); E.J. Gervin, A Horisk, E McNamee; M Canavan, E Conroy, C McCaffrey.
TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship – semi-finals
Fermanagh v Limerick; Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, Longford, 2pm – Live on Spórt TG4 YouTube
There’s a real sense of history repeating as Fermanagh and Limerick get set to battle it out at the semi-final stage once again, as they did at the same venue last year.
On that occasion, Limerick got the better of Fermanagh to advance to the Final at Croke Park, where they lost out against Down.
There will be a huge sense of motivation in both camps. For Limerick, the goal is to get back to Croke Park and make up for last year’s Final defeat, as Fermanagh look to atone for their 2023 semi-final loss against the Shannonsiders.
Remarkably, this is a fifth successive Junior semi-final appearance for Limerick and Sunday’s opponents also met in semi-finals in 2020 and 2022, with Fermanagh winning on both occasions. It’s delicately poised as two teams who know each other very well prepare to renew acquaintances.
In Group A of the round-robin series, Fermanagh were impressive, winning all four of their games to top the table, as Limerick finished second behind Louth in Group B to advance to the last four.
Fermanagh can boast the leading scorer across all three grades of the All-Ireland series in Eimear Smyth, who has racked up an astonishing 6-31 to date, and the Derrygonnelly Harps star will take some stopping.
Fermanagh: M Maguire; C Clarke, M McGloin, E Keenan; S McQuade, C Murphy, C Bogue; B Bannon, L Maguire; D Maguire, J Doonan, N McManus; B Bogue, E Smyth, B Smyth.
Limerick: S Hennessy; J McGuire, Y Lee (capt.), R Browne; G Lee, C Mee, M MacNamara; R Ambrose, L Coughlan; K O’Leary, D Murphy, C McGrath; E Woulfe, K Kennedy, F Bradshaw.
Carlow v Louth; Parnell Park, Dublin 4pm – Live on Spórt TG4 YouTube
The TG4 All-Ireland Junior semi-final pits Louth against Carlow, in what is a repeat of the Leinster Final between the counties, won by Louth in May.
Carlow are preparing for their fourth successive TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship semi-final, and hoping to vault a hurdle that has proven problematic for them in recent years.
Louth, meanwhile, are aiming to get back to Intermediate Championship football at the first attempt, having suffered relegation last year.
In Group B of the round-robin series, Louth were impressive, winning all three of their games to top the table, as Carlow finished second behind Fermanagh in Group A to advance to the last four.
Carlow: N Hanley; A Carroll, A Roche, S McCullagh; R Bermingham (capt.), N Murphy, N Forde; E Hayden, R Bailey; M Townsend, R Sawyer, S Doyle; E Molloy, T Lyons, C Ní Shé.
Louth: R Lambe Fagan; A Whyte, E Murray, E Hand; L Byrne, Á Breen (capt.), C Nolan; A Halligan, E Byrne; M Rooney, A Russell, S Matthews; N Rice, K Flood, C McDonald.
