Weekend Previews: Galway ladies eye home quarter-final

Daniel Moynihan's side meet Tyrone in Tuam on Saturday

By Jackie Cahill

HOLDERS Dublin, Galway and Kerry could book spots in the 2026 TG4 All-Ireland Senior Ladies Football Championship quarter-finals on Saturday.

Victories in their respective group games would secure home ties in the knock-out phase for the provincial champions.

Dublin host Donegal, Galway are at home to Tyrone and Kerry make the trip to Kildare as they target last eight slots.

In Saturday’s other Senior tie, a crucial Munster derby lies in store as Waterford host Cork, who are in must-win territory after losing to Armagh last weekend.

Group 4 Round 2

Galway v Tyrone

Tuam Stadium - Saturday 2pm

Live on Spórt TG4 YouTube

Last year’s beaten semi-finalists Galway were hugely impressive in their opening round victory over Meath.

The Tribeswomen can guarantee themselves a home quarter-final if they secure victory against visitors Tyrone, last year’s TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate winners.

The Red Hands haven’t played since losing out to Armagh in the Ulster final and they face stiff opposition again here.

The visitors have announced three changes to their starting line-up following the provincial final loss. Áine Strain, Emer McCanny and Maeve Maxwell are all named to start, with Chloe McCaffrey, Sorcha Gormley and Aoife Horisk dropping out. Galway are unchanged.

GALWAY: L O’Halloran, B Quinn, S Ní Loingsigh, K Geraghty (capt.); H Noone, N Ward, E Power; N Divilly, S Divilly; O Divilly, K Slevin, K Thompson; E Noone, L Coen, R Leonard.

TYRONE: L Kane; E Quinn, G McKenna, J Hearty; C Canavan, M Corrigan, A Strain; M Mallon, A McHugh; E McCanny, C Campbell, C McNamee; N O Neill, M Maxwell, S McCarroll.

Group 3 Round 2

Dublin v Donegal

Parnell Park - Saturday 3pm

Live on Spórt TG4 YouTube

Reigning champions Dublin will be looking to make it two from two in the group stages – and seal a home quarter-final.

The Sky Blues got the better of Mayo away from home last weekend to build on a 13th successive Leinster title win.

Donegal’s last outing was against Tyrone in the group stages of the Ulster Championship in early May and they’ll need to hit the ground running here to stand a chance.

The visitors have opted for four changes to their starting team, with Clodagh Brennan, Aoife McDermott, Abbie McGranaghan and Eva Gallagher coming in for Ulitah Boyle, Roisin Rodgers, Jodie McFadden and Ciara McGarvey.

The Dublin starting team shows two changes, with Sophie McIntyre coming in for Clodagh Fox, while Kate Sullivan replaces Jodi Egan.

DUBLIN: A Shiels; N Crowley, R Hartnett, H Leahy; S McIntyre, H McGinnis, N Donlon; N Hetherton, L Magee; A Timothy, O Nolan, C O'Connor; C Rowe (capt.), L Grendon, K Sullivan.

DONEGAL: C Friel; N Carr, E McGinley (capt.), S McFeely; T Hegarty, F McManamon, S McFadden; C Brennan, A McDermott; B McLaughlin, K Dowds, N Boyle; S White, A McGranaghan, E Gallagher.

Group 2 Round 2

Kildare v Kerry

Cedral St Conleth’s Park, Newbridge - Saturday 3pm

Live on TG4

Fresh from landing a third successive Munster title, Kerry opened the group stages of the All-Ireland series with a big win over Tipperary.

A home quarter-final beckons for the Kingdom as they make the trip to Kildare, who lost out to Dublin in the Leinster final.

Kerry have the talent to go deep into the championship and they’ll be anxious to remain on a winning streak.

They’re unchanged following the Tipp win, while Kildare have made just one change to the team that started the Leinster final, with Amy Mahon coming in for Aine Mernagh.

KILDARE: R Fennin; A Mahon, E Wheeler, L Shaw; H McLoughlin, R Sargent, L Lenehan (capt.); N Murphy, G Wheeler; L Curran, J Harney, M Aspel; A Rattigan, M Doyle, A Prizeman.

KERRY: M.E Bolger; R Rahilly; D Kearney, E Lynch; A O’Connell, E Costello, A Dillane; A Galvin, M O'Connell; N Carmody, N Ni Chonchuir, C Evans; J Lucey, D O'Leary, S O'Shea (capt.).

Group 1 Round 2

Waterford v Cork

Cappoquin Logistics Fraher Field, Dungarvan - Saturday 7.30pm

Live on TG4

Waterford got the better of Cork during the group stages of the Munster championship – and they meet again in the All-Ireland series.

Having won the Lidl National League Division 1 title, Cork lost all three games in the round-robin series in Munster, before going down to Armagh last weekend in the All-Ireland campaign.

This is now a must-win game for the Leesiders as they look to keep their All-Ireland ambitions alive.

The Cork starting team shows two changes in personnel, with Siobhán Callanan and Abbie O’Mahony stepping in for Dara Kiniry and Kate Redmond.

Waterford are back in action for the first time since losing the Munster final to Kerry and there’s one change to their starting team, with the now departed Emma Murray being replaced by Laura Cusack.

WATERFORD: K Gardner; C Murray, L Mulcahy, R Casey; L Cusack, K McGrath, R Browne; E Power, Á O'Neill; M Daly, K Hogan, K Murray (capt.); C Walsh, B McMaugh, L McGregor.

CORK: S Murphy; M Duggan, S Kelly, S Callanan; A Corcoran, S McGoldrick, R Corkery; M O Callaghan, A O Mahony; R Leahy, R O Regan, E Cleary (capt.); G Murphy, K Quirke, A O’Sullivan.