Saturday\u2019s fixtures<\/p>\n
All-Ireland SFC, Round 1<\/b><\/p>\n
Donegal 2-20 Kerry 0-16 (FT)<\/p>\n
Meath 1-16 Cork 0-11 (HT)<\/p>\n
Galway v Kildare, 7.30pm<\/p>\n
Tailteann Cup<\/b><\/p>\n
Laois 1-29 London 1-14 (FT); Wicklow 4-17 Limerick 2-14 (FT)<\/p>\n
Clare 1-9 Longford 0-11 (52 mins)<\/p>\n
Leitrim 0-6 Carlow 0-9 (HT)<\/p>\n
Offaly 0-5 Down 1-3 (10 mins)<\/p>\n
Half-time: Meath 1-16 Cork 0-11<\/b><\/p>\n
Oof! Meath could have finished the whole thing off there as wing-back Se\u00e1n Coffey was through on goal, exactly as Caulfield had been for his earlier strike. But Coffey\u2019s shot hit the ankles of the covering Colm O\u2019Callaghan and Cork survive. They\u2019re still eight down and in massive trouble but that could have been curtains.<\/p>\n
Meath are cleaning up around midfield and their forwards are finding themselves in a world of space. Conlon nips in for another, Costello gets in on the action. All six Meath forwards have scored inside the opening 31 minutes. Cork need to stop the bleeding here. Jones does so with a sniper\u2019s point.<\/p>\n
32 mins: Meath 1-16 Cork 0-11<\/b><\/p>\n
GOAL for Meath. Gorgeous football, as Jordan Morris measured a lovely through ball to Ciar\u00e1n Caulfield and his finish is deft and true. Frayne follows up with a two-pointer from the kick-out and suddenly Meath are seven points clear out of absolutely nowwhere.<\/p>\n
29 mins: Meath 1-14 Cork 0-10<\/b><\/p>\n
Another SAVE! Meath stopper Se\u00e1n Brennan is at it again – that\u2019s his third save, this time from Fahy cutting in from the right. Meath have to be worried at the amount of times Cork are getting in behind. But they\u2019re rampant when they get the ball into attack – that\u2019s a two-pointer from Eoghan Frayne, the fourth different Meath player to raise an orange flag so far.<\/p>\n
28 mins: Meath 0-11 Cork 0-9<\/b><\/p>\n
Cork aren\u2019t going away at all. Sherlock strikes back with two placed balls, a free and a 45. Excellent game so far. Can they keep the pace up in this heat?<\/p>\n
25 mins: Cork 0-9 Meath 0-9<\/b><\/p>\n
And now Meath are two up! Conolon is the game\u2019s outstanding figure so far and that\u2019s a lovely two-pointer for him. Cork have a chance to hit right back but Brennan gets low to push another goal chance away. A ding-dong game so far.<\/p>\n
22 mins: Meath 0-9 Cork 0-7<\/b><\/p>\n
SAVE! Sean Brennan saves his own blushes – a bad kick-out is pounced up in the Cork midfield and Chris \u00d3g Jones goes through on goal but Brennan palms his shot onto the post. In the next attack, Ruair\u00ed Kinsella swings over a two-pointer at the other end. What could have been a five-point game is level in the blink of an eye.<\/p>\n
21 mins: Cork 0-7 Meath 0-7<\/b><\/p>\n
Cracking game, this. Cork held onto the ball for an age there, frustrated at every turn by Meath\u2019s defensive shape. Luke Fahy finally breaks a line and draws a free. Sherlock nails it and Cork are two clear.<\/p>\n
19 mins: Cork 0-7 Meath 0-5<\/b><\/p>\n
Great goal chance for Meath! Patrick Doyle\u2019s kick-out was slow to reach the arc and Meath pounced. But the Cork defenders scrambled back and Rory Kinsella\u2019s shot went over off the crossbar. But then a silly obstruction around midfield elads to a two-point free, chipped over by Sean Brennan. Followed by a breach by Meath, handing Steven Sherlock the same at the other end! Sloppy stuff all round. <\/p>\n
11 mins: Meath 0-5 Cork 0-5<\/b><\/p>\n
Conlon is flying. Second possession, second point for Meath. Great start to the game.<\/p>\n
5 mins: Cork 0-2 Meath 0-2<\/b><\/p>\n
Underway in P\u00e1ric U\u00ed Rinn. James Conlon gets Meath going with a point after 10 minutes. But Maurice Shanley of all people hits back for Cork. That\u2019s his first ever point in his 27th championship game.<\/p>\n
2 mins: Meath 0-1 Cork 0-1<\/b><\/p>\n
No sign of Jack O\u2019Connor yet but if he emerges, we\u2019ll let you know.<\/p>\n
Also, Man of the Match Michael Langan. <\/p>\n
Before we get to Cork v Meath, a couple of intercviews from Killarney. First, Jim McGuinness.<\/p>\n
Full-time: Donegal 2-20 Kerry 0-16. <\/b><\/p>\n
A hammering for Kerry, a rare home defeat in the championship. This was a hell of a game in the first half but the melee just before half-time changed everything. The red card for Miche\u00e1l Burns left Kerry with too much to chase. Donegal are one game away from the All-ireland quarter-final. Kerry are playing knock-out football from here on out.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s that. Well, it\u2019s been that for a long time but Malone has put the tin-lid on it now. His first ever championship goal is nicely taken, dummying his way aorund Shane Murphy and finishing off the crossbar. <\/p>\n
67 mins: Donegal 2-19 Kerry 0-14<\/b><\/p>\n
Donegal run the bench and Murphy\u2019s day is done. Shea Malone gets himself on the scoresheet and it\u2019s just a clock-killing exercise now. The sending off has left Kerry with no chance here – the new rules make it close to impossible to play against a possession team like Donegal with 14 men.<\/p>\n
62 mins: Donegal 1-19 Kerry 0-12<\/b><\/p>\n
Donegal send Mark McHugh back on, with a huge bandage on his head. Bit of a flex by McGuinness there.<\/p>\n
All the fight has gone out of Kerry. Joe O\u2019Connor is on the pitcgh but lands a two-point attempt well short. That\u2019s three shorts for Kerry in this half, handing possession right back to Donegal. At the other end, Mogan puts up his second of the day and the lead is out to 10. Some of the crowd are leaving now, with 12 minutes still to go.<\/p>\n
Biggest Donegal cheer of the day, as Murphy does the neccesary, to the annoyance of every Kerry person in the ground. Easy for Donegal now. <\/p>\n
56 mins: Donegal 1-16 Kerry 0-11<\/b><\/p>\n
But that\u2019s Kerry\u2019s problem in a nutshell. They can\u2019t stand by and let Donegal toss the ball around at their ease but once Evan Looney broke out of the defensive shell to chase them down, Donegal were able to find Shane O\u2019Donnell in space and he makes it a seven-point lead again. <\/p>\n
54 mins: Donegal 1-15 Kerry 0-11<\/b><\/p>\n
That\u2019s more like it for Kerry. Tony Brosnan pulls off a neat dummy solo and swings over a classy two-pointer. Kerry\u2019s first score for 20 minutes and it cuts the gap to six.<\/p>\n
51 mins: Donegal 1-14 Kerry 0-11<\/b><\/p>\n
Kerry haven\u2019t scored since the 31st minute and they\u2019re struggling to get up the pitch. David Clifford tries his luck from a sideline free but it drops short. In the absence of a goal or a spate of two-pointers, Donegal are so comfortable here. At the other end, Peadar Mogan taps over in a world of space.<\/p>\n
48 mins: Donegal 1-14 Kerry 0-9<\/b><\/p>\n
Paudie Clifford is off, replaced by Tony Brosnan. This is Kerry\u2019s problem – not only are they down to 14 men but they can\u2019t get their best players on the pitch to begin with. Joe O\u2019Connor is still sitting in the stands. But there\u2019s Briain \u00d3 Beaglaoich on for Graham O\u2019Sullivan.<\/p>\n
Kerry are going to have to disrupt the pattern of this game somehow. Donegal are just holding onto the ball until a shooting chance presents itself. Langan does the honours this time and Donegal are seven ahead.<\/p>\n
44 mins: Donegal 1-13 Kerry 0-9<\/b><\/p>\n
Boos from the Kerry crowd every time Michael Murphy gets the ball. Chants of Donegal-Donegal-Doengal in response from the visiting crowd. Donegal are patient, making Kerry chase them and finding Gallen to finish it off. This could be a long half hour for the home side.<\/p>\n
39 mins: Donegal 1-12 Kerry 0-9<\/b><\/p>\n
And we\u2019re back at it. Kerry have the wind but they\u2019re down to 14 men. Graham O\u2019Sullivan makes a hames of a good early chance to cut the margin. Five in it. <\/p>\n
37 mins: Donegal 1-11 Kerry 0-9<\/b><\/p>\n
Donegal come out at last. Huge chorus of boos. McHugh hasn\u2019t come back on. Hurson has given the two managers a big dressing down. Evan Looney gets yellow, which seems a strange one to pick out. Burns gets red! He can have no complaint.<\/p>\n
Kerry are back out. Donegal are still in the dressing room. No move from the referee yet.<\/p>\n
All eyes on the referee now. Jim McGuinness went after Diarmuid O\u2019Connor in the middle of all that, clearly fuming at the fact that McHugh has been split open. GAA+ have footage that seems to show the Miche\u00e1l Burns was more at fault. What will Hurson do? <\/p>\n
Half-time: Donegal 1-11 Kerry 0-9<\/b><\/p>\n
Mayhem as the teams go off at the break. David Clifford nailed the Donegal keeper Mulreaney after the hooter went and then there were skirmishes all over the place. One of theDOnegal players – Ryan McHugh maybe? – has blood streaming down his face. Jim McGuinness and Kieran Donaghy are nose to nose. Everybody gets down the tunnel safe and sound but it will be interesting to see if Sean Hurson takes any action after the break.<\/p>\n
With both Cliffords getting bottled up here, Dylan Geaney is having to step up. That\u2019s his third of the day, off his left this time. <\/p>\n
31 mins: Donegal 1-10 Kerry 0-9<\/b><\/p>\n
Oisin Gallen kicked Donegal\u2019s first wide a couple of minutes ago but he\u2019s made amends now, a cracking kick from the right hand side. That\u2019s a five-point lead for Donegal again.<\/p>\n
30 mins: Donegal 1-10 Kerry 0-8 <\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s all getting a bit ratty around the place here. David Clifford and Caol\u00e1n McGonagle had a bit of a skirmish, Paudie Clifford and Roarty are thick as thieves. Sean Hurson tells them all to get on with it. Great stuff. <\/p>\n
And that\u2019s another score for Geaney, a lovely shake-and-bake from a tight angle and a gorgeous finish. But Langan hits back at the other end, landing a bomb of a two-pointer from just inside the Kerry 45. <\/p>\n
25 mins: Kerry 0-8 Donegal 1-8<\/b> <\/p>\n
Kerry are fairly content to build up slowly here, knowing that the onus is on Donegal to build a score with the wind at their backs. Dylan Geaney finishes that one, finding space just between the arcs.<\/p>\n
22 mins: Kerry 0-7 Donegal 1-6<\/b><\/p>\n
The best thing to watch off the ball here is Paudie Clifford v Finbarr Roarty. The young Donegal dervish isn\u2019t giving the elder Clifford an inch, whather the ball is there or not. Tadhg Morley takes advantage of a little space inside to get up for a score, set up by Sean O\u2019Brien. But Donegal hit back with a lovely score for Ciar\u00e1n Moore.<\/p>\n
19 mins: Kerry 0-6 Donegal 1-6<\/b><\/p>\n
Kerry have recovered from that brilliant start for Donegal but that\u2019s a fine score from Gallen. He was double-marked along the endline but wriggled through to squeeze it over the bar. <\/p>\n
14 mins: Kerry 0-5 Donegal 1-5<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s all action now. Ryan McHugh swishes a gorgeous two-pointer but Kerry hit back with three wuick scores. Both Clifford score from play before Gavin Munreaney is pinged for taking too long over a kick-out and David Clifford ices the free. <\/p>\n
10 mins: Donegal 1-4 Kerry 0-5<\/b><\/p>\n
Ois\u00edn Gallen puts over a lovely two-pointer for Donegal.<\/p>\n
Kerry hold possession to settle themselves and eventually launch Miche\u00e1l Burns who takes their opening score of the day.<\/p>\n
6 mins: Kerry 0-1 Donegal 1-2<\/b><\/p>\n
Goal for Donegal. Ciar\u00e1n Moore slots home after a wide for Kerry down the other end.<\/p>\n
3 mins: Kerry 0-0 Donegal 1-0<\/b><\/p>\n
Here we go, the 2026 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship is officially under way.<\/p>\n
Sean Hurson is on the whistle.<\/p>\n
Some quick predictions before throw-in.<\/p>\n
Paddy Andrews tips Donegal, as does Patrick McBrearty (albeit after some soul-searching), and Stefan Campbell thinks Kerry will take it after extra-time.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll see about that.<\/p>\n
Of the Donegal changes, Shane O\u2019Donnell will be a big miss if he\u2019s injured. It may well be that Jim McGuinness has just decided to go with size around the middle – having Magee and Langan maybe points to them seriously going after Shaen Murphy\u2019s kick-outs. But O\u2019Donnell generally plays when he\u2019s fit so that will be one to keep an eye on.<\/p>\n
All eyes on the late changes for both sides. Big news is that Michael Langan starts. So does Oisin Gallen, Jason Magee and under-20 star Max Campbell. For Kerry, as expected, Paudie Clifford starts and Sean O\u2019Brien comes in as well. <\/p>\n
The first game of the All-Ireland series and it\u2019s a biggie – Kerry v Donegal in Killarney. Throw-in is at 3pm and there\u2019s already a hefty crowd in sun-drenched Killarney. Kerry playing in blue today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Saturday\u2019s fixtures All-Ireland SFC, Round 1 Donegal 2-20 Kerry 0-16 (FT) Meath 1-16 Cork 0-11 (HT) Galway v…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":499359,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[76],"tags":[18,131567,19,17,132,130694],"class_list":["post-499358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-eire","tag-football-championship","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-sports","tag-tailteann-cup"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116625050666029445","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=499358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/499359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=499358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=499358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=499358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}