It’s the knock-out stages of the Senior Championship. In the first of the quarter-finals Cork take on their neighbours Waterford. The All-Ireland Champions of 2021 and 2022 Meath, travel to Tralee to take on last year’s beaten finalists Kerry while on Saturday evening All-Ireland Champions Dublin take on Galway at Parnell Park. On Sunday afternoon it’s the meeting of Armagh and Mayo in the BOX-IT Athletic Grounds in Armagh.
Cork v Waterford, Sat 6th July, SuperVulu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 1.15pm
There is a Munster derby in Cork on Saturday afternoon as Cork welcome neighbours to SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
The last time these two sets met was in the first round of the Munster Championship. Cork defeated Waterford by two points. The Deise had beaten Cork by nine points earlier this year in Division 1.
Cork topped their group with victories over Galway and Laois. Waterford qualified for the knock-out stages by finishing second in their group – they lost to Kerry but defeated Donegal. Cork reached the semi-finals of the championship last year while Waterford beat Cavan in the relegation play-off.
Kerry v Meath, Sat 6th July, Austin Stack Park, 5.15pm
This is the third year in a row these sides have met in the championship. Kerry dethroned All-Ireland Champions Meath last year at this stage of the championship. The Kingdom went on to reach the final but were beaten by Dublin.
In 2022 the two sides met in the final with Meath defeating Kerry by six points on their way to retaining the Brendan Martin Cup. Kerry topped their group this year with a draw against Donegal and a win over Waterford.
Meath lost their opening group game to Armagh but bounced back with a hard fought win over Tipperary in Navan. The big news ahead of this game is the return of Vicki Wall to the Meath panel. Will she make an appearance on Saturday?
Dublin v Galway, Sat 6th July, Parnell Park, 7.30pm
Reigning All-Ireland Champions welcome Galway to Parnell Park on Saturday evening. Mick Bohan’s side have impressed so far in the championship.
Dublin topped their group with wins over Mayo and Kildare. Galway came second in their group; they lost their opening game to Cork but defeated Tipperary to advance to the knock-out stages.
The two sides met earlier in the league with Dublin winning by one point. The last time Galway got past the quarter-final stages was back in 2020. They know they’ll need a big performance if they are to cause an upset.
Armagh v Mayo, Sun 7th July, BOX-IT Athletic Grounds, 5.45pm
Armagh ladies will hope to emulate their men’s team and book their place in the last four of the All-Ireland Championship. Mayo are the visitors to the Athletic Grounds on Sunday afternoon.
The Orchard County claimed the Division 1 title and topped their championship group. They defeated Meath in their first game but had to fight back to claim a point away to Tipperary in their next game. Mayo finished second in their group, they lost to Dublin but defeated Kildare in their next game.
Games between these two sides have always been tight. Armagh defeated Mayo by one point earlier in the league while last year the Orchard County recorded a two point win over the Connacht side in the group stages of the championship.
Deniese O'Flaherty
Deniese is a freelance sports journalist/broadcaster. She has worked for several local and national media outlets. GAA and soccer are her great loves and she also follows rugby league and snooker. She's a big supporter of her local clubs St. Mary's GAA Granard and Longford Town. She also follows Celtic, Liverpool and Leeds Rhinos. She presented and produced a popular sports podcast last year where she interviewed Ray Houghton, Chris Kamara and John Hartson. Deniese is currently Head of Communications for Boccia Ireland