Senior footballers bid to retain Leinster SFC title against Meath

Three provincial finals and eight Round 2 qualifiers... that’s the appetising fare on offer in the GAA football All-Ireland championships next weekend.

Roscommon are already through to the All-Ireland quarter-finals as Connacht champions and will be joined next weekend by Cork or Kerry, Dublin or Meath, Cavan or Donegal.

The full line-up is as follows:

SATURDAY

Munster final: Cork v Kerry, Pairc Ui Chaoimh, 7.0

All-Ireland qualifiers (Round 2): Antrim v Kildare, Corrigan Park, Belfast, 3,0; Longford v Tyrone, Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, 5.0; Derry v Laois, Owenbeg, 5.0; Westmeath v Limerick, TEG Cusack Park, 6.0; Leitrim v Clare , Carrick-on-Shannon, 6.0; Monaghan v Armagh, Clones, 7.0; Down v Mayo, Pairc Esler, Newry, 7.0

SUNDAY

Ulster final: Cavan v Donegal, Clones, 2.0.

Leinster final: Dublin v Meath, Croke Park, 4.0

All-Ireland qualifier (Round 2): Offaly v Sligo, Bord na Mona O’Connor Park, 2.0

DUBLIN v MEATH

Dublin are bidding to win the Leinster final for the 14th time in fifteen seasons, having missed out in 2010 only when they lost to Meath in the semi-final.

PATHS TO THE FINAL

Dublin 5-21 Louth 0-10

Dublin 0-26 Kildare 0-11

Top Scorers

Cormac Costello....1-21 (0-12 frees, 0-3 ‘45s’)

Paul Mannion.........0-9

Con O’Callaghan...1-3

Brian Fenton..........1-3

***

Meath 1-13 Offaly 0-14

Meath 2-18 Carlow 0-9

Meath 3-13 Laois 0-11

Top Scorers

Mickey Newman.....2-11 (0-8 frees, 1-0 pen)

Bryan Menton...........2-4

James Conlon............0-9

LAST FIVE CHAMPIONSHIP CLASHES

2016: Dublin 0-21 Meath 0-10 (Leinster semi-final)

2014: Dublin 3-20 Meath 1-10 (Leinster final)

2013: Dublin 2-15 Meath 0-14 (Leinster final)

2012: Dublin 2-13 Meath 1-13 (Leinster final)

2010: Meath 5-9 Dublin 0-13 (Leinster semi-final)

*Meath have beaten Dublin only once (2010) in their last ten championship games.

*Dublin are seeking their 27th successive win in the Leinster championship, with their last defeat coming against Meath in the 2010 semi-final.

*Meath’s last win over Dublin in the Leinster final was in 2001, which was also Dublin’s last defeat in the final.

*Dublin have beaten Meath by a total of 34 points in the last three championship games.

*This will be Stephen Cluxton’s 11th championship game against Meath, Dublin won eight of the previous ten, Meath won one (2010) and there was one draw (2007). He conceded eight goals in those ten games, with Meath scoring five of them in the 2010 Leinster semi-final.

* The winners will advance to the All-Ireland quarter-final (Super 8s) where they will be joined by Connacht champions, Roscommon, the Ulster and Munster runners-up or Round 4 qualifier winners.

CORK v KERRY

After losing the last two Munster finals heavily to Kerry, Cork will be hoping for a change of fortunes when they line up against their great rivals on Saturday evening. Kerry won by 17 points last year and by 11 points in 2017, leaving the combine score for the two games: Kerry 4-41 Cork 2-19.

LAST FIVE CHAMPIONSHIP CLASHES

2018: Kerry 3-18 Cork 2-4 (Munster final)

2017: Kerry 1-23 Cork 0-15 (Munster final)

2015: Kerry 1-11 Cork 1-6 (Munster final) Replay

2015: Kerry 2-15 Cork 3-12 (Munster final) Draw

2014: Kerry 0-24 Cork 0-12 (Munster final)

PATHS TO THE FINAL

Cork 3-18 Limerick 0-6

Top Scorers

Mark Collins ............0-9 (0-5 frees)

Brian Hurley.............2-0

Ruairi Deane............1-0

Eoghan McSweeney...0-3

***

Kerry 1-15 Clare 0-12

Top Scorers

Sean O’Shea..... .........0-5 (0-5 frees)

James O’Donoghue...1-1

David Clifford.............0-3 (0-1 free)

*Kerry are seeking their 81st Munster title while Cork are chasing their 38th. Here’s the Munster Roll of Honour. Kerry (80); Cork (37); Tipperary (9); Clare (2); Limerick (1); Waterford (1)

*Cork haven’t beaten Kerry in the championship since 2012. It’s their longest barren spell against their great rivals since going from 1974 to 1983 without a win.

*Kerry are seeking to win the Munster title for a seventh successive season, something they last achieved in 1975-81. They added another in 1982.

*Cork v Kerry has been by far the busiest championship rivalry in the new Millennium. They have met 29 times since 2000, with Kerry winning 18 to Cork’s five while there were six draws. Six of Kerry’s wins have been in All-Ireland semi-finals/final in Croke, where Cork have never beaten their neighbours.

*Peter Keane is leading Kerry into the Munster final for the first time while Ronan McCarthy is taking Cork into the decider for a second time.

*The winners will advance to the All-Ireland quarter-final (Super 8s) where they will be joined by the Ulster champions, the Connacht and Leinster runners-up or Round 4 qualifier winners.

CAVAN v DONEGAL

Cavan are back in the Ulster final for the first time since 2001, when they lost to Tyrone, while Donegal are contesting the final for the eighth time in nine seasons, missing only in 2017. They won in 2011-12-14-18. This will be the first Ulster final between Cavan and Donegal since 1983 when Donegal won by 1-14 to 1-11.

PATHS TO THE FINAL

CAVAN

Cavan 1-13 Monaghan 0-12

Cavan 0-17Armagh 1-14 (aet) Draw

Cavan 0-23 Armagh 0-17 Replay

Top Scorers

Niall Murray....................0-12 (0-8 frees)

Gearoid McKiernan........0-10 (0-4 frees)

Dara McVeety..................0-7

DONEGAL

Donegal 0-15 Fermanagh 0-9

Donegal 1-16 Tyrone 0-15

Top Scorers

Paddy McBrearty.....0-8 (0-3 frees)

Michael Murphy ......0-7 (0-2 frees, 0-1 ‘45’)

Jamie Brennan..........1-4

LAST FIVE CHAMPIONSHIP MEETINGS

2018: Donegal 2-20 Cavan 1-15 (Ulster preliminary round)

2012: Donegal 1-16 Cavan 1-10 (Ulster preliminary round)

2011: Donegal 2-14 Cavan 1-8 (Ulster quarter-final)

2005: Cavan 1-11 Donegal 1-10 (All-Ireland qualifiers)

2002: Donegal 1-17 Cavan 0-15 (Ulster preliminary round)

*The counties meet in the championship for a second successive year, with Donegal winning a preliminary round game by eight points last year.

*Mickey Graham, who is in his first season as Cavan manager, came on a sub against Tyrone in the county’s last appearance in the final in 2001 and also in the 1997 final against Derry.

*Donegal are seeking to take the Ulster title for the tenth time, having previously won in 1972-74-83-90-92-2011-2012-14-18.

*The winners will advance to the All-Ireland quarter-final (Super 8s) where they will be joined by the Munster champions, the Connacht and Leinster runners-up or Round 4 qualifier winners.

ALL-IRELAND QUALIFIERS ROUND 2

ANTRIM v KILDARE

2019 Championship

Tyrone 2-23 Antrim 2-9

Kildare 0-15 Wicklow 1-10; Kildare 1-21 Longford 3-15 (aet); Kildare 1-18 Longford 0-10 (Replay); Dublin 0-26 Kildare 0-11

They meet in the championship for the third time, having drawn and replayed in the 2010 qualifiers. They drew 0-15 each after extra-time in a Round clash in Newbridge before Kildare won the replay by 1-15 to 0-9 in Casement Park.

Kildare later made it all the way to the All-Ireland semi-final, where they lost to Down. They have since reached the quarter-finals through the qualifiers three times (2011-12-15-18).

Antrim’s win over Louth in Round 1 this year was their first success in the qualifiers since 2015.

WESTMEATH v LIMERICK

2019 Championship

Laois 0-12 Westmeath 0-10; Westmeath 1-22 Waterford 0-7

Limerick 3-11 Tipperary 1-10; Cork 3-18 Limerick 0-6

They have met twice previously in the qualifiers in 2001 and 2006, with Westmeath winning both. They won by 0-17 to 0-7 in 2001 and by 0-13 to 1-9 in 2006.

The last competitive clash between the counties was in 2017 when Westmeath won by 1-18 to 0-12 in the Allianz League (Div 4)

Westmeath’s win over Waterford in Round 1 was their first in the qualifiers since 2012. Limerick’s last win in the qualifiers was against Antrim in 2016.

LONGFORD v TYRONE

2019 Championship

Tyrone 1-19 Derry 1-13; Tyrone 2-23 Antrim 2-9; Donegal 1-16 Tyrone 0-15

Longford 3-15 Kildare 1-21 (aet); Kildare 1-18 Longford 0-10 (Replay); Longford 2-11 Carlow 0-7.

They meet in the qualifiers for the second time having first clashed in 2011 when Tyrone won by 1-17 to 0-15 in Longford.

Tyrone have reached the All-Ireland quarter-finals through the qualifiers on no fewer than seven occasions.

DERRY v LAOIS

2019 Championship

Tyrone 1-19 Derry 1-13; Derry 4-16 Wexford 0-10

Laois 0-12 Westmeath 0-10; Meath 3-13 Laois 0-11

They have met three times in the qualifiers, with Derry winning in 2001 and 2007, while Laois won in 2005. Derry won by 1-8 to 0-8 in 2001 and by 1-18 to 2-11 in 2007. Laois won by 1-11 to 0-11 in 2005.

LEITRIM v CLARE

2019 Championship

Roscommon 3-17 Leitrim 0-12; Leitrim 0-15 Wicklow 0-13

Kerry 1-15 Clare 0-12

They meet in the championship for the first time.

MONAGHAN v ARMAGH

2019 Championship

Cavan 1-13 Monaghan 0-12; Monaghan 1-10 Fermanagh 1-6.

Armagh 2-17 Down 3-13 (aet); Cavan 0-17Armagh 1-14 (aet); Cavan 0-23 Armagh 0-17.

They meet in the championship for the first time since 2014 when Monaghan won an Ulster semi-final replay by 1-18 to 0-13, having drawn 0-14 each.

Monaghan reached the All-Ireland semi-finals, having come through the qualifiers last year. Armagh lost to Roscommon in Round 4 last year.

DOWN v MAYO

2019 Championship

Armagh 2-17 Down 3-13 (aet); Down 1-13 Tipperary 1-10

Mayo 1-22 New York 0-4; Roscommon 2-12 Mayo 0-17

They meet in the championship for the first time since the 2012 All-Ireland quarter-final when Mayo won by 3-18 to 2-9. Cillian O’Connor scored 0-7 for Mayo.

Mayo reached the 2016 and 2017 All-Ireland finals after coming through the qualifiers and lost to Kildare in Round 3 last year. Down lost to Cavan in Round 2 last year.

OFFALY v SLIGO

2019 Championship

Meath 1-13 Offaly 0-14; Offaly 1-21 London 1-11

Galway 3-11 Galway 0-7

This will be the first championship clash between the counties. They met in this year’s Allianz League when Mark Abbot’s late point secured a win in Round 7. The win kept Offaly in Division 3. Sligo were relegated after losing all seven games. They lost to Galway and Armagh in last year’s championship and to Galway in this year’s championship which means that they are seeking their first win in 11 League and Championship games.

GAA FOOTBALL ALL-IRELAND & PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2019

CONNACHT

May 5: Quarter-finals: Galway 0-16 London 1-9, McGovern Park, Ruislip; Mayo 1-22 New York 0-4, Gaelic Park.

May 12: Quarter-final: Roscommon 3-17 Leitrim 0-12, Dr. Hyde Park.

May 19: Semi-final: Galway 3-11 Sligo 0-7, Markievicz Park.

May 26: Semi-final: Roscommon 2-12 Mayo 0-17, Castlebar

June 16: Final: Roscommon 1-13 Galway 0-12, Pearse Stadium

LEINSTER

May 11: First round: Kildare 0-15 Wicklow 1-10, Netwatch Cullen Park.

May 12: First round: Louth 0-22 Wexford 1-14, Innovate Wexford Park; Meath 1-13 Offaly 0-14, Pairc Tailteann.

May 25: Quarter-finals: Dublin 5-21 Louth 0-10, Portlaoise; Meath 2-18 Carlow 0-9, Bord na Mona Park, Portlaoise.

May 26: Quarter-finals: Longford 3-15 Kildare 1-21 (aet), Tullamore; Laois 0-12 Westmeath 0-10, Tullamore

June 2: Quarter-final replay: Kildare 1-18 Longford 0-10, Tullamore

June 9: Semi-finals: Dublin 0-26 Kildare 0-11; Meath 3-13 Laois 0-11. Both in Croke Park.

June 23: Final: Dublin v Meath, Croke Park

MUNSTER

May 11: Quarter-finals: Limerick 3-11 Tipperary 1-10, Semple Stadium; Clare 0-9 Waterford 0-8, Ennis

June 1: Semi-finals: Cork 3-18 Limerick 0-6 Pairc Ui Rinn; Kerry 1-15 Clare 0-12, Ennis.

June 22: Final: Cork v Kerry, Pairc Ui Chaoimh.

ULSTER

May 12: First round: Tyrone 1-19 Derry 1-13, Omagh.

May 18: Quarter-final: Cavan 1-13 Monaghan 0-12, Kingspan Breffni Park.

May 19: Quarter-final: Armagh 2-17 Down 3-13 (aet), Newry.

May 25: Quarter-final: Tyrone 2-23 Antrim 2-9, Athletic Grounds.

May 26: Quarter-final: Donegal 0-15 Fermanagh 0-9, Brewster Park.

June 2: Semi-final: Cavan 0-17Armagh 1-14 (aet), Clones.

June 8: Semi-final: Donegal 1-16 Tyrone 0-15, Kingspan Breffni Park.

June 9: Semi-final replay: Cavan 0-23 Armagh 0-17, Clones.

June 23: Final: Cavan v Donegal, Clones.

ALL-IRELAND CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 8/9: Qualifiers – Round 1: Antrim 2-16 Louth 1-11, Drogheda; Down 1-13 Tipperary 1-10, Newry; Leitrim 0-15 Wicklow 0-13, Carrick-on-Shannon; Derry 4-16 Wexford 0-10, Innovate Wexford Park; Offaly 1-21 London 1-11, Tullamore; Monaghan 1-10 Fermanagh 1-6, Clones; Longford 2-11 Carlow 0-7, Netwatch Cullen Park; Westmeath 1-22 Waterford 0-7, Mullingar.

June 22/23: Qualifiers – Round 2: Westmeath v Limerick; Longford v Tyrone; Antrim v Kildare; Leitrim v Clare; Down v Mayo; Derry v Laois; Offaly v Sligo; Monaghan v Armagh.

June 29: Qualifiers- Round 3 (Round 2 winners play off in four games)

July 6: Qualifiers – Round 4 (Round 3 winners v beaten provincial finalists)

July 13/14: All-Ireland quarter-finals – Phase 1

July 20/21: All-Ireland quarter-finals – Phase 2

August 3/4/5: All-Ireland quarter-finals – Phase 3

August 10/11: All-Ireland semi-finals, Croke Park.

September 1: Final, Croke Park.