Ladies football: Dublin to face Tyrone as Cork meet Meath in Championship openers next month

As well as Meath, Cork have been drawn with Munster rivals Tipperary in Group B

Thu, 03 Jun, 2021 - 16:10

Joel Slattery

Defending champions Dublin will open their TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Senior Championship campaign with a clash against Tyrone, the LGFA have confirmed.

The fixture list for Championship 2021 has been confirmed and has also pitted 2020 finalists Cork against last year’s All-Ireland Intermediate champions Meath in the opening round.

The TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Championships gets underway on July 10 as Dublin have to negotiate a group alongside Tyrone and Waterford in Group C.

As well as Meath, Cork have been drawn with Munster rivals Tipperary in Group B, while Group A, the only four-team group, contains Ulster teams Armagh, Cavan and Monaghan, along with Mayo.

The opening fixtures in this group will Armagh, the 2020 semi-finalists, take on Monaghan, with Cavan facing Mayo.

In Group D, there is the meeting of Galway and Kerry, with Donegal also in this pool.

Two teams will emerge from each group to contest the quarter-finals over the August bank holiday weekend; the semi-finals are pencilled in for August 14, and the final will be played at Croke Park on Sunday, September 5.

The TG4 Intermediate Championship will follow a similar pattern, with two teams qualifying from each group to play in the quarter-finals.

Last year's runners up Westmeath are grouped with Longford, Wexford and Sligo in the only four-team pool.

The other groups see Clare, Fermanagh and Leitrim in Group B, Group C contains Roscommon, Laois and Kildare while two of Offaly, Louth and Down will emerge from Group D.

The Junior Championship is a five-team round-robin competition. Antrim meet Derry in an Ulster derby on the opening weekend, with Limerick facing 2020 runners-up Wicklow. Carlow are the fifth team with the third tier going to semi-finals after each county has played four games.

All-Ireland Ladies Senior Football Championship fixtures:

Round 1, July 10: Group 1: Armagh v Monaghan; Cavan v Mayo. Group 2: Cork v Meath. Group 3: Dublin v Tyrone. Group 4: Galway v Kerry.

Round 2, July 17: Group 1: Monaghan v Mayo; Armagh v Cavan. Group 2: Cork v Tipperary. Group 3: Dublin v Waterford. Group 4: Donegal v Galway.

Round 3, July 24: Group 1: Monaghan v Cavan; Armagh v Mayo. Group 2: Tipperary v Meath. Group 3: Tyrone v Waterford. Group 4: Kerry v Donegal.