SAM MAGUIRE DRAW
Group 1: Ulster winners (Armagh/Donegal), Connacht runner-up (Galway/Mayo), Tyrone, Cavan
Group 2: Munster winners (Kerry/Clare), Leinster runner-up (Meath/Louth), Roscommon, Cork
Group 3: Leinster winners (Meath/Louth), Munster runner-up (Kerry/Clare), Monaghan, Down
Group 4: Connacht winners (Galway/Mayo), Ulster runner-up (Armagh/Donegal), Dublin, Derry
TAILTEANN CUP DRAW
Group 1: Kildare, Sligo, Leitrim, Tipperary
Group 2: Offaly, Laois, Wicklow, Waterford
Group 3: Westmeath, Limerick, Antrim, London
Group 4: Fermanagh, Wexford, Carlow, Longford
Thanks for joining us this afternoon, folks. There will be plenty more reaction to the draw at irishtimes.com and in the newspaper over the coming days.
We’re off to find some shade and dig through the permutations as to who is likely to end up as the four All-Ireland semi-finalists. At least that’s what we are telling the boss. Enjoy the sunshine.
It’s fair to say the draw hasn’t been kind to the Connacht finalists, Mayo and Galway. Win or lose, they are entering a heavy round-robin series. The winner will be in the hardest group of all and the loser will be the outlier in a mini-Ulster championship group. Roscommon, meanwhile, will have Cork, the loser of the Leinster final (Meath or Louth) and the Munster winner (Kerry or Clare) for company in their group. The Rossies will take that over Groups 1 or 4.
As for when these games will be played and in what order:
The order of the games is predetermined. The provincial finalists will all have home advantage for their opening fixture. The Round Three fixtures will be played at neutral venues.
Round One: Seed 1 v Seed 3; Seed 2 v Seed 4
Round Two: Seed 3 v Seed 2; Seed 4 v Seed 1
Round Three (neutral venues): Seed 1 v Seed 2; Seed 3 v Seed 4
Round One fixtures will take place over two weekends. The games involving the Munster and Connacht finalists will be played on the weekend of May 17th-18th. The games involving the Leinster and Ulster finalists will be played on the weekend of May 24th-25th.
Round Two fixtures will be played on the weekend of May 31st-June 1st.
Round Three fixtures will be played on the weekend of June 14th-15th.
Right, so some immediate reaction:
Group 1 will be a mini Ulster Championship with either Armagh or Donegal joining Tyrone, Cavan and the beaten Connacht finalists - either Mayo or Galway. Armagh and Tyrone, part 2 anyone?
Group 2 is a four-team division Kerry would expect to top should they retain the Munster title. The Munster winners will be alongside Roscommon, Cork and the Leinster runner-up, Meath or Louth. Likely we will have a Kerry-Cork rematch.
Group 3 looks to be the most attractive as it could end up without any of the perceived All-Ireland favourites. Monaghan and Down are certain to be there and they will be joined by the Munster loser - which on all known form and barring a shock should be Clare - and the Leinster winners, either Meath or Louth. So there is an extra incentive now for both Meath and Louth to lift the Delaney Cup, not that they need one to be fair.
Group 4 has top billing though. The Dubs will travel to either Salthill or Castlebar in their first game. But either Armagh or Donegal will also be in that group, alongside a Derry side surely hoping to prove a point after a poor league showing.
Fourth seeds
Group 1: Ulster winners, Connacht runner-up, Tyrone, Cavan
Group 2: Munster winners, Leinster runner-up, Roscommon, Cork
Group 3: Leinster winners, Munster runner-up, Monaghan, Down
Group 4: Connacht winners, Ulster runner-up, Dublin, Derry
Third seeds
Group 1: Ulster winners, Connacht runner-up, Tyrone
Group 2: Munster winners, Leinster runner-up, Roscommon,
Group 3: Leinster winners, Munster runner-up, Monaghan,
Group 4: Connacht winners, Ulster runner-up, Dublin
Second seeds
Group 1: Ulster winners, Connacht runner-up
Group 2: Munster winners, Leinster runner-up
Group 3: Leinster winners, Munster runner-up
Group 4: Connacht winners, Ulster runner-up
The Sam Maguire draw is about to start....
First out of the bowl are.....the Ulster winners
Group 1: Ulster winners
Group 2: Munster winners
Group 3: Leinster winners
Group 4: Connacht winners
The lads fairly rattled through that Tailteann Cup draw, not a day for shuffling around inside, I suppose.
All set for the main event now.....balls are in bowls, who will be first out?
TAILTEANN CUP DRAW
Group 1: Kildare, Sligo, Leitrim, Tipperary
Group 2: Offaly, Laois, Wicklow, Waterford
Group 3: Westmeath, Limerick, Antrim, London
Group 4: Fermanagh, Wexford, Carlow, Longford
Fourth seeds
Group 1: Kildare, Sligo, Leitrim, Tipperary
Group 2: Offaly, Laois, Wicklow, Waterford
Group 3: Westmeath, Limerick, Antrim, London
Group 4: Fermanagh, Wexford, Carlow, Longford
Third seeds
Group 1: Kildare, Sligo, Leitrim
Group 2: Offaly, Laois, Wicklow
Group 3: Westmeath, Limerick, Antrim
Group 4: Fermanagh, Wexford, Carlow
Second seeds
Group 1: Kildare, Sligo
Group 2: Offaly, Laois
Group 3: Westmeath, Limerick
Group 4: Fermanagh, Wexford
First team out are Kildare.
First seeds are.....
Group 1: Kildare
Group 2: Offaly
Group 3: Westmeath
Group 4: Fermanagh
The Tailteann Cup draw will take place first.
Dave McIntyre is hosting the draw and currently chatting with Central Competitions Control Committee chairperson Brian Carroll and Feargal McGill, GAA Director of Player, Club and Games Administration.
Lights, camera, action......we’re about to start.
Oooooo.....the countdown clock is gone but there appears to be a delay. A nation holds its......
The GAA have gone for a countdown clock ahead of the draw. It’s all the bells and whistles for this one.
And as this is the last year of this format, enjoy a fleeting moment in GAA history - a Wednesday afternoon in April with the sun belting from the sky and a football championship round-robin draw for 16 teams, which when all the matches are complete will only have got rid of four sides - 12 advancing to the knockout stages.
Less than 15 minutes to go........the excitement.
All eight provincial finalists will have home advantage in Round One of the All-Ireland SFC group stages. That means Monaghan, Dublin, Roscommon, Tyrone, Cavan, Cork, Derry, and Down will all be on the road for their opening games in the Sam Maguire competition.
The teams with home advantage will be: Kerry, Clare, Galway, Mayo, Armagh, Donegal, Louth, and Meath.
Darragh Ó Sé on the Dubs......
‘I was watching Meath‘s win over Dublin and thinking of Elon Musk. Bear with me, now. The longer the game went on and the more Meath were able to get wired into Dublin, the more it felt to me like Jim Gavin has basically done a similar thing to football as Musk has been doing for Trump. He has gone in with a wrecking ball and removed all the control that was in the thing before.’
Here is all you need to know about the draw - the seedings, the format, the early fixture dates.
[ All-Ireland football draws: All you need to knowOpens in new window ]
Good morning and welcome to our live blog of today’s GAA Sam Maguire and Tailteann Cup draws. It’s Gordon Manning here with you for what will be a significant day in the race for the 2025 All-Ireland senior football championship.
And it’s certainly championship weather out there. Wow, what a day!
But if you’ve managed to skive off work for a bit and are out enjoying the sunshine, be sure to heed the advice of that great philosopher Baz Luhrmann and don’t forget the sunscreen.
The draw will start at 1.30 and we’ll keep you bang up to date with how it plays out. We’ll have some pre-draw reading too, so go buy a 99 and start dreaming of Croke Park in July. Here comes the summer…….
A quick reminder of the seedings for both competitions:
SAM MAGUIRE
First/second seeds: Kerry/Clare; Galway/Mayo; Armagh/Donegal; Louth/Meath.
Third seeds: Dublin, Monaghan, Roscommon, Tyrone.
Fourth seeds: Cavan, Cork, Derry, Down.
TAILTEANN CUP
First seeds: Fermanagh, Kildare, Offaly, Westmeath.
Second seeds: Laois, Limerick, Sligo, Wexford
Third seeds: Antrim, Carlow, Leitrim, Wicklow.
Fourth seeds: Longford, London, Tipperary, Waterford.
Key Reads
- Five things we learned from the GAA weekend: New lease of life for football, Cork’s problem and the calendar isn’t working
- Malachy Clerkin: After 5,418 days Dublin have finally lost in Leinster and Jim Gavin’s new rules made it possible
- Darragh Ó Sé: Dublin aren’t dead in the water - a return to Croke Park will make them a huge threat
- All-Ireland football draws: All you need to know
However, Seán Moran is not so sure the Dubs are primed to tear it up in the All-Ireland SFC, this year or in the foreseeable future.
‘Dublin, under three managers, won nine football All-Irelands in 13 seasons. A trove of special memories for the Hill, but it remains to be seen how long they will be waiting for the next one.
Despite their shock defeat to Meath last Sunday, Dublin forward Seán Bugler reckons Dessie Farrell’s side can bounce back and be in the mix for All-Ireland glory.
“Our goal of winning the Sam Maguire hasn’t changed.”
[ Seán Bugler says Dublin’s eyes firmly fixed on becoming All-Ireland championsOpens in new window ]
