Dublin bound for Breffni Park for final group game against Sligo

Dublin will be on the undercard of a Breffni Park double-header for the final round of All-Ireland senior football championship group games.

Dessie Farrell’s Leinster champions will face Sligo at the Cavan venue on Sunday week (1.45), a match that will precede Tyrone and Westmeath throwing in at 4pm.

It is the only double header on the schedule for the last set of fixtures in the All-Ireland round-robin series, where all games are to be played at neutral venues. Croke Park will not host any of the eight matches.

The games, which will determine the final standings in the four groups, will be played across Saturday June 17th and Sunday June 18th. Matches involving teams from each division will throw-in at the same time.

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On the Saturday, Donegal and Monaghan will face off in Healy Park, Omagh while Clare and Derry meet in Longford’s Pearse Park. Both Group Four games will begin at 6pm. Clare are the only team across the four groups with no chance of advancing to the knockout stages.

There will be six matches the following afternoon. In Group One, Kerry and Louth will meet in O’Moore Park, Portlaoise while Mayo and Cork will travel to Limerick for a clash in the Gaelic Grounds. Both games have been scheduled for a 2pm start.

In Group Two, one of the most significant games of the weekend will see Galway face Armagh at Páirc Seán MacDiarmada in Carrick-on-Shannon. Tyrone’s showdown with Westmeath has been fixed for Breffni Park in Cavan. Both games are to start at 4pm.

Finally, Group Three will see the Dubs travel to Breffni Park to face Sligo while Kildare and Roscommon are to meet in Tullamore’s O’Connor Park. Both games are scheduled for 1.45 starts.

The inaugural running of the new football championship format hasn’t quite caught the imagination of the public yet and attendances at matches last weekend were generally down on expectations.

Dublin’s clash with Kildare at Nowlan Park attracted a paltry 8,216 last Saturday (a crowd of 30,499 watched the same teams in action at Croke Park in this year’s Leinster SFC), while just 5,733 turned up to watch Roscommon beat Sligo at Dr Hyde Park on Sunday.

There are several contributing factors to the drop in attendances, not least the sheer increase in the number of games – meaning supporters are now more inclined to pick and choose which matches to attend.

The lack of jeopardy in the competition until this point has also been significant in dissuading punters from parting with their cash. With 12 of the 16 teams advancing to the knockout stages, many supporters are simply waiting until their side are lining out at the business end of the summer.

The All-Ireland senior hurling preliminary quarter-finals will also take place on Saturday June 17th, with Carlow facing Dublin at Dr Cullen Park and Offaly hosting Tipperary in O’Connor Park. Throw-in times to be confirmed.

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, Round Three fixtures

Saturday June 17

Group Four

Clare v Derry, Pearse Park, 6pm

Donegal v Monaghan, Healy Park, 6pm

Sunday June 18

Group One

Kerry v Louth, O’Moore Park, 2pm

Cork v Mayo, Gaelic Grounds, 2pm

Group Two

Armagh v Galway, Páirc Seán MacDiarmada, 4pm

Westmeath v Tyrone, Breffni Park, 4pm

Group Three

Dublin v Sligo, Breffni Park, 1.45pm

Kildare v Roscommon, O’Connor Park, 1.45pm

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Preliminary quarter-finals

Saturday June 17

Carlow v Dublin, Dr Cullen Park, TBC

Offaly v Tipperary, O’Connor Park, TBC