SATURDAY 19 APRIL
Leinster SHC round 1
Dublin v Offaly, Parnell Park, 6.00pm
Kilkenny v Galway, UPMC Nowlan Park, 3.45pm
Wexford v Antrim, Chadwicks Wexford Park, 2.00pm
Joe McDonagh Cup round 1
Laois v Westmeath, Portlaoise, 3pm
Carlow v Down, Netwatch Cullen Park, 2.30pm
Kildare v Kerry, Cedral St Conleth's Park, 2pm
Christy Ring Cup round 2
Meath v Tyrone, Trim, 3pm
Donegal v Wicklow, Letterkenny, 2pm
Nickey Rackard Cup round 2
Sligo v Roscommon, Markievicz Park, 2pm
Armagh v Mayo, Box-It Athletic Grounds, 2pm
Lory Meagher Cup round 2
Cavan v Monaghan, Kingspan Breffni, 3pm
Longford v Warwickshire, Glennon Bros Pearse Park, 2pm
Leitrim v Lancashire, Glennon Bros Pearse Park, 12pm
SUNDAY
Munster SHC round 1
Tipperary v Limerick, FBD Semple Stadium Thurles, 4pm
Clare v Cork, Cusack Park Ennis, 2pm
Christy Ring Cup
London v Derry, McGovern Park, Ruislip, 12.30pm
Nickey Rackard Cup
Louth v Fermanagh, Dowdallshill, 2pm
ONLINE
Live blogs and live scores on all games on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.
TV
Kilkenny v Galway live on RTÉ One/Player and Clare v Cork live on RTÉ 2/Player. Tipperary v Limerick live on GAA+ (subscription required)
Highlights on The Sunday Game from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
RADIO
Live commentaries and updates on Saturday Sport/Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1, Spórt an tSathairn/Spórt an Lae ar RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta
WEATHER
Saturday: A cloudy and damp start to Saturday, with further outbreaks of rain. It will become generally drier as the day goes on but some patches of light rain or drizzle will linger in some areas, mainly in the west. Highest temperatures of 9 to 15 degrees with moderate to fresh easterly winds, easing later.
Sunday: current indications are for dry weather in the east, with occasional sunny spells, but cloudier weather in the west with rain moving in. Highest temperatures of 10 to 14 degrees in a moderate southeasterly breeze.
For more go to met.ie
The latest Davy derby gets the 2025 senior hurling championship underway on Saturday as Wexford welcome Antrim to what will be the not-so-sunny South East.
Both sides endured difficult league campaigns: Keith Rossiter's Wexford finished seventh in Division 1A (albeit winning away to Clare and Limerick) while Fitzgerald's Antrim flirted with the drop and only beat relegated duo Laois and Westmeath in 1B.
Liam Ryan is back among the subs for Wexford after almost 11 months out with injury but Conor McDonald and Shane Reck miss out due to injury.
Gerard Walsh lines out for the Saffrons following a family bereavment last week but forwards Niall McKenna and Conor Johnston are injured.
If Wexford are to make it out of the province again, then they will need to start with a victory against a team that traditionally don't travel well.
An upset win at the county Davy Fitz led to Leinster glory would be a huge boost to Antrim with home games against Kilkenny and Dublin to follow.
"I'm going into the unknown as I don’t know how we’re going to react," Fitzgerald told the Irish News this week.
"The last number of Championships Antrim have won one or two games and been inconsistent. I want to be consistent. If you are consistent you then have an opportunity to go places."
It's another very early meeting of Leinster's 'big two' at UPMC Nowlan Park, following on from round 2 clashes in 2023-24.
Though considering Galway came fourth and missed on qualification last year, they will to re-earn that tag.
Returning manager Micheál Donoghue will have been pleased with a league campaign that exceeded expectations (third in 1A with six points, level with Kilkenny).
He has given Darach Fahy the nod in goals ahead of Eanna Murphy and John Fleming will make his championship bow at wing-forward. Veterans Dáithi Burke and David Burke are on the bench.
Kilkenny talisman TJ Reid (above) misses out with a calf injury. Adrian Mullen, Eoin Cody and Mikey Carey come into the team as the 37-year-old, Tommy Walsh and Luke Hogan drop to the bench. Kerry native Fionán Mackessy makes his championship debut.
On Saturday evening, Parnell Park hosts what could be the Leinster game of the weekend between Dublin and Offaly.
The Faithful have only just made it back into the top-tier after a six-year absence but winning promotion to 1A and underage success has raised hopes that Johnny Kelly's men could content for a place in the top three.
They edged the Dubs at Croke Park by a point in the league but a result here, against last year's Leinster finalists, would be much more impressive given that the All-Ireland-winning Na Fianna contingent were only being eased back in in February.
Niall Ó Ceallacháin was the man who led the Glasnevin club to national glory and has been given the opportunity to do the same with his county side.
The Munster championship has been so mythologised at this stage that it's easy to forget it's only the sixth installment of the round-robin.
But it gets a suitably epic return on Sunday with an All-Ireland final rematch between Clare and Cork in Ennis (Live on RTÉ2/Player).
There was only a point between them after 80+ minutes of one of the all-time great deciders last July but the Rebels' march to a first Allianz Hurling crown in 27 years has raised expectations to the point that they are now All-Ireland favourites and expected to win at the extravagantly renamed Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg.
Not to mention Clare finishing last in Division 1A and suffering relegation, rarely a good omen.
Clare are without Hurler of the Year Shane O'Donnell, for the first few weeks at least, and Cork have been scoring goals for fun - including six in Ennis in February - but Brian Lohan's side might feel they deserve a bit more esteem heading into this one. They have won the last four meetings between the counties after all.
And this time last year, Waterford bounced back from relegation to stun Pat Ryan's men on the first day...
That is followed by Tipperary hosting Limerick at Semple Stadium.
The Premier haven't beaten the Green Machine in championship since 2019 - a result that was reversed in the Munster final, before Tipp went on to lift Liam MacCarthy.
Liam Cahill's men did manage a draw in his first season in 2023 but regressed last year. It will be interesting to how much the comprehensive league final loss to Cork a fortnight ago has affected confidence after what was an otherwise encouraging spring.
Ending the hex against the team now going for an unprecedented seventh Munster title in a row would be quite a statement. And with a trip to Páirc Uí Chaoimh up next, they might need to make it or else they could be heading to Clare facing elimination by round three.
John McGrath replaces Gearóid O'Connor in the Premier forwards while Darragh Stakelum comes in for Willie Connors in midfield. John's older brother Noel is among the replacements having been absent a fortnight ago.
But the big team news is the shock return of Limerick goalkeeper Nickie Quaid, four and a half months after undergoing knee surgery, on a ruptured cruciate ligament.
It remains to be seen whether Quaid will in fact start (Shane Dowling has been named on the bench) and how the knee will hold up if he does but John Kiely and his management surely wouldn't risk him if there was any doubt.
The six-in-a-row Munster champions have made four changes to the to the side beaten by Cork in last year's All-Ireland semi-final.
Barry Murphy, Colin Coughlan, Adam English and Shane O'Brien have all been rewarded for good performances in the league as Sean Finn and Tom Morrissey drop to the bench while former captain Declan Hannon and Seamus Flanagan miss out on the 26 altogether.
What should be an intensively competitive instalment of the Joe McDonagh Cup also gets under way on Saturday.
Last year's beaten finalists Laois, Westmeath and Carlow have all played in Leinster in recent seasons.
Down are on a high after winning Division 2 of the league while Kildare were also promoted, following on from their Christy Ring triumph last year.
Kerry (third) finished ahead of both the Lake men (fourth) and Down (fifth) in 2024 and start with a trip to a Lilywhites outfit that thrashed them by 17 in the league.
Down have to travel to Carlow, relegated from Leinster but comfortable survivors in 1B, while Laois host Westmeath, fresh from both teams earning two points from six games in that division. The O'Moore men won their meeting by eight points.
In the Christy Ring Cup, London host last year's runners-up Derry on Sunday off the back of a comfortable win over Meath in round 1.
The Oak Leafers also won, against promoted Donegal, who welcome Wicklow to Letterkenny on Saturday. Wicklow beat Tyrone first day out, the Red Hands travel to Trim looking to get back on track.
In the Nickey Rackard Cup, Sligo got off to a good start in their bid to regain tier-three status with a five-point victory over Louth last weekend. On Saturday, they take on neighbours Roscomon, who were well beaten by Mayo.
Newly promoted Fermanagh travel to Louth on Saturday looking for their first points before last year's finalists Mayo and Armagh both attempt to make it two from two.
In the Lory Meagher Cup, last year's runners-up Longford aim to make it two wins from two at home to Warwickshire, who were beaten heavily by Cavan on the opening weekend.
It's a double-header at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, Leitrim hosting a Lancashire side well beaten by Longford in the preceding fixture.
The Breffni men host neighbours Monaghan, who were 10-point winners over Leitrim in their first championship game since suffering relegation last campaign.
Watch Clare v Cork in the Munster Hurling Championship on Sunday from 1.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Watch The Sunday Game from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
Follow a live blog on all matches on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to updates from around the country on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.
