By Daragh Ó Conchúir
The quarter-finals of the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior, Intermediate and Premier Junior Camogie Championships take place this weekend, while there are also two relegation play-off games at senior and intermediate level.
SATURDAY, JULY 8TH
GLEN DIMPLEX ALL-IRELAND SENIOR CAMOGIE CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTER-FINAL
Antrim v Tipperary, Croke Park, 3.30pm
Referee: Andy Larkin (Cork)
Live on RTÉ2
Tipperary cemented top spot with a gritty draw against Kilkenny at UPMC Nowlan Park last Saturday but three into two doesn’t go so they were the unlucky top seeds not to progress directly to the semi-finals.
After just missing out on the knockout stages for the first time in eight years 12 months ago on score difference, they will be striving to follow up a campaign that has also included a Munster Championship success by returning to the last four, which they reached in 2021.
In contrast to last year, the Premier have a clean bill of health, which is not something that can be said for Antrim, who are down a catalogue of top-class operators including the prodigious Maeve Kelly and experienced Chloe Drain, though skipper Lucia McNaughton is easing her way back into action.
GLEN DIMPLEX ALL-IRELAND SENIOR CAMOGIE CHAMPIONSHIP RELEGATION SEMI-FINAL
Down v Wexford, Liatroim Fontenoys, 12pm
Referee: Brian Kearney (Louth)
Down had a very difficult group, involving Galway and Cork, but they are a good team and defeated Antrim in the Ulster final. In Niamh Mallon they possess one of the elite forwards in camogie.
Wexford came from ten points down against Kilkenny in their group and actually had a statistical chance at least of making the quarter-finals going into the last round but a loss to Dublin catapulted them into a battle for survival. The loser plays Offaly in the relegation final.
GLEN DIMPLEX ALL-IRELAND INTERMEDIATE CAMOGIE CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTER-FINALS
Cork v Meath, 1pm, FBD Semple Stadium
Referee: Karol Collins (Galway)
Live https://www.youtube.com/@OfficialCamogie/streams
Last year’s beaten finalists Cork got their campaign off to a bruising start with an eight-point defeat to Kilkenny but recovered well with two commanding wins to make the last six. Meath were beaten even more heavily in their group, neighbours Westmeath having ten points in hand at the final whistle but again, the Royals did enough to progress.
Kilkenny v Wexford, 3pm, FBD Semple Stadium
Referee: Philip McDonald (Cavan)
Live on https://www.youtube.com/@OfficialCamogie/streams
Kilkenny have been moving fluidly to date, totting up 6-45 in winning their three games by an average of just over 11 points each. Wexford found Derry far too powerful in their first Group 2 game but bounced back from a 16-point loss well to beat Antrim and Carlow.
GLEN DIMPLEX ALL-IRELAND INTERMEDIATE CAMOGIE CHAMPIONSHIP RELEGATION SEMI-FINAL
Carlow v Dublin, Netwatch Training Centre Fenagh, 5pm
Referee: John Burke (Galway)
The losers will play Laois in a bid to avoid dropping to the third tier, with Carlow the only one of the three teams to pick up a point in the group stages after drawing with Antrim.
GLEN DIMPLEX ALL-IRELAND PREMIER JUNIOR CAMOGIE CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTER-FINALS
Limerick v Roscommon, Clane GAA, 1pm
Referee: Bernard Heaney (Meath)
These two teams were runners-up in Groups 2 and 3 respectively, after losing to Armagh and Clare. Limerick finished the campaign with a score difference of +18 compared to Roscommon concluding on -4 despite both sides winning two games.
Cavan v Clare, Clane GAA, 3pm
Referee: Ciarán Goff (Wicklow)
Cavan have made giant strides in recent years but Clare sauntered effortlessly through their group with three easy victories and having only been denied by eventual champions Antrim in a semi-final that needed two periods of extra time 12 months ago, will be favoured to advance.
SUNDAY, JULY 9TH
GLEN DIMPLEX ALL-IRELAND SENIOR CAMOGIE CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTER-FINAL
Cork v Kilkenny, Croke Park, 1.30pm
Referee: John Dermody (Westmeath)
Live on RTÉ2
A repeat of last year’s All-Ireland final, this is the juiciest quarter-final for quite some time. It means that this will be the first Championship since 2012 when one of Galway, Cork and Kilkenny will not qualify for the semis.
On that occasion, it was the Cats that missed out. They go into this as All-Ireland champions but have clearly not been firing on all cylinders. They did finish the group with a battling draw against Tipperary.
Cork have fared better, reaching the Very League final but it represented a fourth consecutive loss in a national decider. They lost to Galway for the third time this year in their group, consigning them to runners-up, while Kilkenny are in the same position after also drawing with Wexford.
