SATURDAY 22 FEBRUARY
Allianz HL Division 1A
Tipperary v Cork, FBD Semple Stadium, 7.30pm
Allianz HL Division 1B
Dublin v Offaly, Croke Park, 5pm
Division 2
Derry v Kildare, Derry GAA Centre of Excellence, 3pm
Division 3
Mayo v London, Hastings Insurance MacHale Park, 6pm
Division 4
Longford v Lancashire, Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, 2pm
Monaghan v Warwickshire, Clones, 2pm
SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY
Division 1A
Clare v Wexford, Cusack Park, 1.45pm
Kilkenny v Limerick, UPMC Nowlan Park, 1.45pm
Division 1B
Antrim v Waterford, Corrigan Park, 1.30pm
Laois v Carlow, Laois Hire O'Moore Park, 2pm
Division 2
Donegal v Kerry, Letterkenny, 1pm
Meath v Down, Trim, 1.15pm
Division 3
Cavan v Armagh, Kingspan Breffni Park, 2pm
Wicklow v Roscommon, Aughrim, 2pm
Division 4
Louth v Leitrim, Dowdallshill, 1.15pm
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WEATHER
Saturday: A day of sunny spells and scattered showers, mainly for Atlantic areas at first but extending eastwards through the morning and afternoon. Cloud will build from the southwest later. Highest temperatures of 9 to 12 degrees with mostly moderate southwest winds.
Sunday: It will be a rather windy day with strong to near gale force and gusty southwest winds, reaching gale force at the coasts. Heavy rain which may lead to spot flooding along Atlantic coastal counties will clear eastwards in the morning and early afternoon with sunny spells and scattered showers following. Highest temperatures of 11 to 14 degrees. For more go to met.ie.
The meeting of Cork and Tipperary is the first league clash of the traditional rivals since 2021.
Four years ago a monster free by Jason Forde secured Tipp a share of the spoils in Thurles, but it is a fixture that has swung in Cork's favour in recent years.
In a post-Covid world, the counties have met on half a dozen occasions across league and championship, with the Premier County registering a single win, a 2020 qualifier at the Gaelic Grounds.
There have been two draws in that period, but the Rebels have looked more capable of challenging for ultimate honours, ending Limerick’s drive for five last summer before falling short in a gripping All-Ireland final.
Tipp, bottom of the pile twice in Munster in the last three years, are still rebuilding under Liam Cahill.
Darragh McCarthy - pictured above - has been in serious form up front, while Sean Kenneally scored arguably the goal of the year last time out against Limerick. With Willie Connors and Craig Morgan forming a strong bond in the middle of the pitch and Michael Breen anchoring the last line of defence, there is growing optimism within the county.
Two wins and a competitive outing against Limerick has been a decent league campaign. Joe Caesar of Holycross Ballycahill comes into the team to make his debut, while Jason Forde returns to the forward line after sitting out the Treaty loss..
The Rebels snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat in their last outing against Limerick. Saturday night's game will put more flesh on their pre-championship form; a win would maintain their unbeaten start, while an away defeat would mean they have only beaten a struggling Wexford side.
Manager Pat Ryan is without captain Robert Downey, Seán O'Donoghue, Mark Coleman, Shane Kingston, Séamus Harnedy and Alan Connolly through injury and Declan Dalton is suspended, but Jack O'Connor and Robbie O’Flynn are named to start for their first taste of action in 2025.
Micheál Mullins, Under-20 All-Ireland-winning captain in 2023 and Robbie Cotter also make their first starts.
You have to stretch back to 1998 for Cork's last league title - Tipperary are 13 years without victory in the competition - yet attributing weight to the significance of silverware in April is generally a gift of hindsight. The last two years have seen the league champions add Liam MacCarthy to the trophy cabinet later in the year, but that won't be of concern for both sides on Saturday evening.
"We are very conscious that we have to reflect what the Tipperary public want from us from a performance point of view and we feel we are starting to do that now, so we're hoping the crowds will follow behind us," Liam Cahill said in a rallying call last week.
The following day sees both 1A games throw in at the same time, two games that could be wildly contrasting in nature.
Winless Clare and Wexford meet in Ennis, where anything other than a home victory would be something of a surprise. Edged out by Kilkenny on the opening day, a highly-experimental Banner side were second best to Galway a fortnight ago.
The Yellowbellies, with a raft of retirements and injuries, are three losses from three and a points difference of -29. Relegation feels inevitable unless there is a quick upturn in fortunes. Given their precarious position, the return of Lee Chin is a huge boost for manager Keith Rossiter.
Matters at Nowlan Park are expected to be far tighter when Kilkenny and Limerick renew rivalries.
Having suffered league and All-Ireland final defeats to Limerick, Kilkenny's powerful display in defeating the Treaty men in last year's league semi-final was viewed at the time as evidence that the Cats could be a serious threat in the subsequent race for Liam MacCarthy. A championship crossing never materialised - both sides bowed out at the semi-final stage - and both sides are building again for the summer.
John Kiely will be without Gearoid Hegarty – broken bone in his hand – while Kyle Hayes limped off against Tipp.
The manager will be looking for a more disciplined approach after lamenting the number of frees conceded in their two outings.
Stalwarts TJ Reid and Eoin Murphy in 2025 have been kept in cold storage so far, while manager Derek Lyng will be pleased that seven of his players were part of the DCU panel that reached a Fitzgibbon final before going under to UL.
It's a top-of-the-table 1B clash at Croke Park on Saturday evening when leaders Offaly make the journey to Jones' Road.
The Dublin hurlers are the undercard to the footballers who take on Derry later that night, where victory would make it three wins from three under the guidance of Niall O Ceallacháin.
While Antrim were swept away at GAA HQ in round one, it was followed by a more patchy performance against Westmeath, playing the last 22 minutes a man down after the sending off of Conal O'Riain.
Similar to their football counterparts, Offaly are unbeaten from three, though will have some regrets at their opening-day draw to Carlow where a 73rd-minute Martin Kavanagh free ensured the visitors left Tullamore with a share of the spoils.
The perceived wisdom before a ball was thrown-in was that one of these two sides would be battling with Waterford for a top-two place. The Deise's unexpected defeat to Carlow has painted a different picture, but they are yet to face Offaly and Dublin.
A win for either side on Saturday should have a big bearing on the final shake-up.
Antrim manager Davy Fitzgerald (above) welcomes his former team Waterford to Corrigan Park on Sunday and hopeful that they can make home advantage count.
"I'm scratching my head big time," Fitzgerald admitted after the 15-point defeat to Offaly last time out, and are likely to face a stern examintaion from Peter Queally's side.
Patrick Fitzgerald (1-04) and Padraig Fitzgerald (0-13 from frees) were the scorers in chief for Waterford as they responded to the Carlow defeat by shaking off a stubborn Laois challenge in round two.
The other game in 1B will see Laois look to move off the foot of the table when they entertain neighbours Carlow at O'Moore Park. That could prove a challenge given the Barrowsiders salvaged a draw against Offaly and backed that up with a famous first-ever win over Waterford.
In Division 2 something has to give when pacesetters Down and Meath put their respective 100% starts on the line.
The Royals will have home advantage against a Down side that has won their last two games by an average of 14 points.
Kerry make the long journey to Letterkenny to take on Donegal, while Derry and Kildare eye a second win of the campaign.
Division 3 leaders London will head to Castlebar in search of a fourth succssive win, while at the opposite end of the table, Armagh are away to Cavan hoping to get off the mark.
In Division 4, the top two meet at Dowdallshill when Louth entertain Leitrim. Monaghan and Warwickshire are yet to scratch out a win in the bottom tier, but both sides have the chance to put that right when they meet in Clones on Saturday afternoon.
