Galway ladies draw Mayo in last eight derby

Tuam Stadium to host tie on July 5

TWELVE became eight in the All-Ireland Senior Ladies Football Championship last weekend when Armagh joined group winners Galway, Dublin and Kerry in topping their group and booking a home quarter-final. Meath, Mayo, Kildare and Cork secured second place finishes and will be on the road.

Galway's Brendan Martin Cup challenge will resume with an eagerly-awaited all-Connacht clash against Mayo at Tuam Stadium on Sunday, July 5 (throw-in: 5.45pm). It's a repeat of their provincial decider won by Daniel Moynihan's side in Carrick-on-Shannon last month (1-11 to 0-11). At stake is a semi-final against Armagh or Kildare who go head-to-head at the Athletic Grounds.

On the opposite side of the last eight draw, Parnell Park will host the headline tie between Dublin and Cork, the All-Ireland champions versus the National League champions. 2024 winners Kerry go up against last year’s finalists Meath at Austin Stack Park, Tralee.

Four counties have made their exits with a second defeat of their campaign on Saturday. Waterford will play Donegal and Tipperary take on Tyrone in the upcoming relegation semi-finals. The two defeated counties will meet with the loser dropping to Intermediate ranks for 2027.

Here is a summary of how the group stage played out.

GROUP 1

Lara Marsden and Aoife McCoy grabbed the goals as Armagh sealed top spot by holding off a spirited late rally from Waterford on Saturday (2-15 to 1-15). Aimee Mackin scored a first half hat-trick when the three-in-a-row Ulster champions got their campaign off to a flying start in Cork (4-10 to 1-9). The Rebel County also advanced thanks to their dramatic comeback against the Deise. Katie Quirke converted a late penalty before hitting the winning point with five seconds to go (1-15 to 1-14).

GROUP 2

Siofra O’Shea and Anna Galvin finished with 2-7 as Kerry sent out a title warning with an emphatic opening day win over Tipperary (2-16 to 0-4). Danielle O’Leary racked up 1-3 when the Munster champions outclassed Kildare (1-19 to 0-8). The Lilywhites came out on top in their shootout with Tipperary to advance to the last eight with Mayah Doyle’s goal the key moment (1-13 to 0-9).

GROUP 3

Reigning champions Dublin reached the last eight in convincing fashion. Two goals from Niamh Hetherton and one from Kate Sullivan helped them past Mayo (3-12 to 0-12). Hetherton and Caoimhe O’Connor netted as a strong second half showing powered them past Donegal (2-13 to 0-5). Mayo earned a quarter-final tie by virtue of an impressive win away to Donegal. A late Lisa Cafferky goal wrapped up the win for Diane O’Hora's side (1-15 to 2-6).

GROUP 4

Galway were the top scorers in the group phase. Róisín Leonard and Eva Noone netted when they defeated last year’s All-Ireland finalists Meath (2-21 to 1-9). Olivia Divilly, Leonard and Leanne Coen combined for 4-13 of their tally against Tyrone in Tuam to seal a perfect round-robin record (4-20 to 2-7). The Royals reached their sixth straight quarter-final with Meadhbh Byrne shooting 1-2 in their away victory over Tyrone (1-12 to 1-10).