Westmeath footballer Ronan Wallace with the Delaney Cup during the 2025 Leinster GAA Senior Football Championship launch at Cedral St Conleth's GAA Park in Newbridge, Kildare. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile.
Saturday 12 April
Leinster SFC quarter-final
Kildare V Westmeath, Cedral St Conleths Park, 7pm (GAA+)
These two teams moved in opposite directions in the League this year with Kildare winning promotion from Division Three and Westmeath relegated from Division Two.
You might think Kildare are the team with the greater momentum for that reason, but there is context to consider.
The Lilywhites lost three of their last four matches in the competition including the final against Offaly as their promising early season form tailed off.
And, while Westmeath didn’t win a match in Division Two, they were very competitive in every game they played against opposition of a higher calibre than Kildare faced and ended on a relative high by drawing with League finalists Roscommon.
Kildare have created a lot of chances in their recent matches but their shot conversion has been very poor.
If that trend continues, then you’d fancy Westmeath. If the Lilywhites can be more clinical when opportunities present themselves, they’re capable of winning.
Kildare: Cian Burke; Harry O'Neill, Mark Dempsey, Brian Byrne; Kevin Flynn, David Hyland, James McGrath; Kevin Feely, Callum Bolton; Colm Dalton, Alex Beirne, Ben McCormack; Niall Kelly, Darragh Kirwan, Brian McLoughlin. Subs: Didier Cordonnier, Ryan Burke, Mick O'Grady, Jack McKevitt, Tommy Gill, Ryan Houlihan, Aaron Masterson, Cathal Hagney, Paddy McDermott, Darragh Swords, Ryan Sinkey.
Westmeath: Conor McCormack; Jamie Gonoud, David Giles, Conor Dillon; Nigel Harte, Ronan Wallace, Sam McCartan; Ray Connellan, Fionn O'Hara; Kevin O'Sullivan, Danny McCartan, Matthew Whittaker; Robbie Forde, Luke Loughlin, Brian Cooney. Subs: Kieran Martin, Sam Smith, Brian Guerin, Joseph Moran, Eoghan McCabe, Brandon Kelly, Jonathan Lynam, Lorcan Dolan, Daniel Scahill, Stephen Smith, Shane Ormsby.
Ulster SFC quarter-final
Antrim v Armagh, Corrigan Park, 12.30pm (BBC NI)
Antrim will be highly motivated to produce a big performance in Corrigan Park having battled for the right to play this game there.
Adrenalin will only get you so far, though. Ultimately this is a team that got relegated from Division Three of the Allianz League against the All-Ireland champions.
Armagh’s own League form was a bit up and down but when they hit their straps they were very impressive in their victories over Tyrone, Dublin, and Derry.
Ethan Rafferty has been preferred in goal to Blaine Hughes and it’ll be interesting to see how much they involve him in the play when they get into Antrim’s half of the field.
Antrim: Michael Byrne; Eoghan McCabe, Eunan Walsh, Kavan Keenan; James McAuley, Jack Lenehan, Dermot McAleese; Conor Hand, Eunan Quinn; Patrick McBride, Niall Burns, Fionn Nagle; Ryan McQuillan, Ruairi McCann, Dominic McEnhill. Subs: Luke Mulholland, Adam Loughran, Conhuir Johnston, Conor Stewart, James McDonnell, John Morgan, Marc Jordan, Patrick Finnegan, Peter King, Ronan Boyle, Ryan Murray.
Armagh: Ethan Rafferty; Paddy Burns, Barry McCambridge, Tomás McCormack; Ross McQuillan, Greg McCabe, Connaire Mackin; Callum O'Neill, Ciaran Mackin; Darragh McMullan, Rory Grugan, Peter McGrane; Tiernan Kelly, Andrew Murnin, Stefan Campbell. Subs: Blaine Hughes, Gareth Murphy, Ciaran Higgins, Aidan Forker, Jarly Óg Burns, Cian McConville, Jemar Hall, Shane McPartlan, Oisin O'Neill, Sean Conlon, Ciaron O'Hanlon.
Thóg sé am breise ar Thír Eoghain an ceann is fearr a fháil ar an gCabhán anuraidh. An amhlaidh a bheidh sé Dé Domhnaigh?
Sunday, April 13
Ulster SFC quarter-final
Tyrone v Cavan, Healy Park, 4.15pm – (RTE & BBC NI)
When these two teams met in last year’s Championship Tyrone needed extra-time to finally come out on the right side of result and another tight match is likely here.
Tyrone were unfortunate to be relegated from Division 1 after accumulating seven points, but will take heart from how they finished their campaign with wins over Donegal and Dublin.
Their team is starting to settle down and is particularly strong from midfield up where the partnership of Brian Kennedy and Conn Kilpatrick is as good as what’s out there and forwards like Mattie Donnelly, Darren McCurry, Darragh Canavan, and Peter Harte pose a significant threat.
They also have impactful players to come off the bench like Ruairí Canavan, Cathal McShane, Eoin McElholm, Joseph Oguz, and Frank Burns, so Tyrone have the wherewithal to finish a game with a flourish.
Don’t write off Cavan, though. They’ve been scoring heavily this year and forwards like Gearoid McKiernan, Dara McVeety, and Oisin Kiernan can trouble a Tyrone defence that still has a few question marks over it.
Tyrone: Niall Morgan; Aidan Clarke, Peter Teague, Niall Devlin; Michael McKernan, Rory Brennan, Kieran McGeary; Brian Kennedy, Conn Kilpatrick; Aodhan Donaghy, Mattie Donnelly, Ciaran Daly; Darren McCurry, Peter Harte, Darragh Canavan. Subs: Oisin O'Kane, Nathan McCarron, Cormac Quinn, Frank Burns, Shea O'Hare, Ben McDonnell, Joseph Oguz, Seanie O'Connell, Eoin McElholm, Cathal McShane, Ruairi Canavan.
Cavan: Gary O'Rourke; Cian Reilly, Brian O'Connell, Jason McLoughlin; Padraig Faulkner, Ciarán Brady, Niall Carolan; James Smith, Gerard Smith; Gearoid McKiernan, Oisin Kiernan, Dara McVeety; Barry Donnelly, Cormac O'Reilly, Sean McEvoy. Subs: Liam Brady, Killian Brady, Luke Fortune, Killian Clarke, Ryan Donohoe, Evan Crowe, Luke Molloy, Cian Madden, Ryan O'Neill, Peter Devine, Thomas Edward Donohoe.
Leinster SFC quarter-finals
Louth V Laois, Cedral St Conleths Park, 3pm
Laois come into this match with decent momentum after a convincing first-round win over Wexford.
They dominated possession that day and their attack moved well, with Mark Barry and Ronan Coffey especially prominent.
They’ll fancy their chances of pulling off an upset here, but Louth are a battle-hardened outfit by now and have been playing better quality opposition all year.
The injury absence of Sam Mulroy is a blow, but forwards like Ryan Burns, Ciaran Downey, Conor Grimes, and Andy McDonnell still carry a punch.
The Wee County look to have a stronger bench that Laois too with the likes of Liam Jackson, Craig Lennon, and Daire McConnon ready to be called on, and that could be a decisive factor.
Louth: Niall McDonnell; Emmet Carolan, Dermot Campbell, Donal McKenny; Daire Nally, Peter Lynch, Conal McKeever; Tommy Durnin, Fearghal Malone; Paul Matthews, Ciaran Downey, Andy McDonnell; Conor Grimes, Kevin McArdle, Ryan Burns. Subs: Tiarnan Markey, Liam Jackson, Leonard Grey, Craig Lennon, Ciaran Byrne, Dara McDonnell, Daire McConnon, Conor Branigan, Sean Reynolds, Dylan McKeown, Liam Flynn.
Laois: Killian Roche; Ben Dempsey, Trevor Collins, Patrick O'Sullivan; Pa Kirwan, Simon Fingleton, Liam Knowles; Conor Heffernan, Seamus Lacey; Mark Barry, Kevin Swayne, Daniel O'Reilly; Ronan Coffey, Niall Corbett, Brian Byrne. Subs: Conor Brown, Ryan Brady, John Brennan, Benny Carroll, Jamie Conway, Josh Hogan, Fionn Holland, Jonah Kelly, Damon Larkin, Cathal Lee, Seán O'Neill.
Meath v Offaly, Pairc Tailteann, 2.30pm
Underdogs Offaly will fancy their chances of pulling off an upset here.
They played some great football to beat Kildare in the Allianz Football League Final and are a well organised, highly motivated team.
Forwards like Keith O’Neill and Jack Bryant are in good form, midfielders Jack McEvoy and Jordan Hayes are motoring well, and all-action defenders like Cormac Egan and Lee Pearson typify the energy in the team.
Meath come into the game with a win in the Championship over Carlow under their belts, but a management backroom reshuffle and some inconsistent League form means it’s hard to be sure of them.
When they did play well in the League they played very well, most notably when they defeated Roscommon at Pairc Tailteann.
Home advantage could be a factor here too and if Meath can get a good supply of ball into forwards like Matthew Costello, Eoghan Frayne, and Ruairi Kinsella they certainly have the firepower to come out on top.
It’s going to be a fascinating game that’s likely to be decided by fine margins.
Offaly: Paddy Dunican; Lee Pearson, Aidan Bracken, Daire McDaid; Fory Egan, John Furlong, Cormac Egan; Jack MeEvoy, Jordan Hayes; Kyle Higgins, Cathal Flynn, Keith O'Neill; Dylan Hyland, Jack Bryant, Shane Tierney. Subs: Sean O'Toole, Cillian Bourke, Marcas Dalton, David Dempsey, Cathal Donoghue, Nigel Dunne, Shane O'Toole Greene, Aaron Leavy, Ruairi McNamee, Eoin Sawyer, Morgan Tynan.
Meath: Billy Hogan; Seamus Lavin, Seán Rafferty, Brian O'Halloran; Eoin Harkin, Donal Keogan, Ciarán Caulfield; Jack Flynn, Bryan Menton; Conor Duke, Ruairi Kinsella, Keith Curtis; Aaron Lynch, Matthew Costello, Eoghan Frayne. Subs: Seán Brennan, Seán Ryan, Ronan Ryan, Adam O'Neill, Seán Coffey, Shane Walsh, Cathal Hickey, Diarmuid Moriarty, Thomas O'Reilly, Jason Scully, Cillian O'Sulivan.
Wicklow v Dublin, Echelon Park, Aughrim, 2pm
Wicklow had a decent League campaign and will be highly motivated to give a good account of themselves in front of a packed Echelon Park.
If Dean Healy and Jack Kirwan can give them a foothold in the middle third of the pitch and ensure a decent supply of ball into forwards like Oisin McGraynor, Kevin, Quinn, and Mark Kenny then they could ask some questions of the Dublin defence.
You’d imagine though that as the game progresses that Dublin’s dominance will grow and greater class will tell.
It’ll be interesting to see to what extent their midfield partnership of Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne and Tom Lahiff can prove there’s life after Brian Fenton and James McCarthy.
The half-forward line of Niall Scully, Sean Bugler, and Ciarán Kilkenny are likely to be a key trio, and it could be a day of heavy scoring too for full-forward Con O’Callaghan.
Wicklow: Mark Jackson; Tom Moran, Craig Maguire, Malachy Stone; Joe Prendergast, Patrick O'Keane, Matt Nolan; Dean Healy, Jack Kirwan; John Paul Nolan, Padraig O'Toole, Darragh Fee; Oisin McGraynor, Kevin Quinn, Mark Kenny. Subs: Cathal Fitzgerald, Jacques McCall, Gavin Fogarty, Cathal Baker, Conor Fee, Christopher O'Brien, Liam O'Neill, Adam Arslan, Lorcan Smith, Eoin Darcy, Andy Maher.
Dublin: Evan Comerford; David Byrne, Theo Clancy, Conor Tyrell; Brian Howard, Cian Murphy, Sean MacMahon; Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne, Tom Lahiff; Niall Scully, Sean Bugler, Ciarán Kilkenny; Ross McGarry, Con O'Callaghan, Colm Basquel. Subs: Stephen Cluxton, Cormac Costello, Davy Keogh, Kevin Lahiff, James Madden, Greg McEneaney, Killian McGinnis, Lorcan O'Dell, Eoghan O'Donnell, Brian O'Leary, Paddy Small.
