LGFA Championship Preview: Clash of the champions as Dublin take on Kildare

Elsewhere, Tipperary make the trip to Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney for a clash with Kerry, a fixture that makes up a double-header with the Kerry v Cork men’s semi-final.

CLASH OF THE CHAMPIONS: Senior players, from left, Andrea Moran of Laois, Laoise Lenehan of Kildare, Monica McGuirk of Meath and Hannah Leahy of Dublin at the launch of the TG4 Leinster LGFA Championships at Durrow Castle in Laois. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

TG4 Championship time has arrived – with provincial action set to commence in Leinster, Munster and Ulster over the coming weekend.

The TG4 Leinster and Munster Senior Championships will be run off on a round-robin basis, with four teams in each.

In Round 1 on Saturday in Munster, Tipperary make the trip to Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney for a clash with Kerry, a fixture that makes up a double-header with the Kerry v Cork men’s semi-final.

Kerry are smarting from their Lidl NFL Division 1 Final defeat to Armagh but will be confident of getting back to winning ways against Tipp.

The Kingdom lost out to Cork in last year’s provincial decider and they will target Munster silverware before tackling the All-Ireland series while Tipperary finished their Division 2 campaign with defeat to Donegal last month.

There’s another double-header down for decision at Fraher Field in Dungarvan on Saturday, as the Waterford and Cork ladies face off against each other prior to the provincial semi-final clash between the Clare and Waterford men’s teams.

Waterford survived in Division 1 of the Lidl National League by defeating Galway on the final day.

Now, the Déise will fancy their chances of toppling Cork again, after producing a scintillating display against the Leesiders when the sides met in the group stages of the League at Páirc Uí Rinn.

Cork are reigning Munster champions and will hope their form picks up considerably for another championship campaign after they suffered a shock relegation from Division 1.

In Leinster, both Round 1 games are fixed for Sunday, with Dublin taking on Kildare, while Meath will tackle Laois.

The ‘clash of the champions’ features Dublin, who won the TG4 All-Ireland Senior title in 2023, and Kildare, who were TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate winners last year.

Kildare’s meteoric rise continued this year and they were recently crowned Lidl NFL Division 2 winners and can look forward to Division 1 football in 2025.

Dublin concluded their Lidl NFL Division 1 campaign with a big victory over Armagh, who were already through to the final, and manager Mick Bohan obviously had one eye on championship as he’s named an unchanged team, as has his opposing number from their last outing.

Meath’s Lidl NFL Division 1 season was a mixed bag. The Royals looked like they were going to challenge for a final place when they reeled off three successive wins to open their campaign – before losing three on the bounce.

Meath did finish their League fixtures with an impressive win over Cork, however, a result that relegated their opponents.

Now, the Royals switch their focus to Championship and the prospect of a clash with Laois, who suffered relegation from Division 2.

It’s been a tough slog so far for the O’Moore County this year and they’ll need huge improvement to cope with opponents who were All-Ireland Senior champions in 2021 and 2022.

Elsewhere over the weekend, Cork play Kerry in the Munster Senior B tournament, there are Leinster Championship fixtures in the Intermediate and Junior grades also, while Down host Cavan in the Ulster Intermediate Championship.