Kerry and Cork will know value of Munster final win six days before decider

Colm O'Callaghan of Cork in action against Jason Foley of Kerry during the Munster GAA Football Senior Championship semi-final match between Cork and Kerry at Supervalu Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Cork and Kerry will know the consequence of winning and losing Sunday week’s Munster SFC final in Killarney, six days out from the game when the Sam Maguire Cup draw takes place this Bank Holiday Monday, live on GAA+.

The same applies to all of the provincial finalists, who will have home advantage in Round 1 of the All-Ireland SFC, which is organised over two weekends.

Cork and Kerry can face any of the eight teams on the league qualifying/Tailteann Cup winners side. Either county can meet Kildare should Brian Flanagan’s side fail to beat Westmeath in Sunday’s Leinster semi-final and take their place in the top 16 as the winners of last season’s Tailteann Cup.

Having failed to reach their respective provincial finals, Donegal, Mayo, Meath and Tyrone will be drawn in the second pot. 

The other four berths will be filled by the losers of this weekend’s Leinster and Ulster semi-finalists or Cavan.

Should Down and Westmeath beat Armagh and Kildare on Sunday, they will qualify for the Sam Maguire Cup and Cavan will enter the Tailteann Cup where they will face Leitrim in Round 1.

In the event Down win and Westmeath lose, Cavan will be in the top 16 and Westmeath will meet Leitrim in the second tier.

If Down lose and Westmeath win, the roles will be reversed. Should both counties miss out on their provincial finals, The Mourne County will play in the Sam Maguire Cup as they finished ahead of Westmeath in Division 3.

Both Cork and Kerry have home advantage in their first-round games on May 23/24, as will Galway and Roscommon as Connacht SFC finalists. The following weekend, the top two in both Leinster and Ulster will have home advantage.

Depending on the draw, the Cork footballers’ Round 1 game may yet be added to the Cork-Clare Munster SHC final round game in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday, May 24.

The county board have already confirmed that should Cork be given home advantage in a third round game on June 20/21 it will be staged in Páirc Uí Rinn as Zach Bryan concerts take place in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on those dates.

No repeat provincial pairings are permitted so Armagh cannot meet Tyrone. If Down are victorious in Clones on Sunday, they can’t face Donegal so soon again. Other potential repeat pairings such as Armagh-Tyrone, Roscommon-Mayo, Westmeath-Meath and this weekend’s provincial semi-finals will be avoided.

After Round 1, Cork and Kerry will then have a three-week break to their second round game on June 13/14, irrespective of whether they are on the winners’ or losers’ side of the draw.

The Round 1 winners will face off in Round 2A where the four victors will qualify for the All-Ireland quarter-finals on June 27/28. The Round 2A losers will face off against the Round 2B winners in Round 3, which are effectively All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals, on June 20/21.

At the request of counties for planning and logistical purposes, the draw has been brought forward prior to the conclusion of the provincial championships. Hotel costs are among the reasons why counties want to know their fate earlier than usual.