IT’S been a brilliant All-Ireland Championship so far and I think we could have two exciting semi-finals this weekend.
Donegal reached the last four in each of the last two seasons and had hoped to get back there again but it wasn’t to be.
It is a great weekend around Dublin as four teams go in hope and you know it’s going to be a great fortnight ahead if successful.
However, it’s a long way back if you lose at the semi-final stage.
I don’t think anybody could have predicted the four semi-finalists at the start of the year but Mayo, Louth, Kerry and Dublin are still standing.
Mayo and Louth will meet on Saturday and both counties were delighted to be paired with each other. They sense an opportunity and that is understandable.
You have to hand it to this Louth side.
I know they have a few younger lads in this year but there will have been frustrating times for their older players.
They were making progress under Gavin Devlin and Mickey Harte and then they stepped away because they felt that Derry were All-Ireland contenders.
Ger Brennan stepped in and led them to Leinster glory, but when the Dublin job became vacant, he soon stepped away.
That could lead to doubt creeping in but in fairness Louth haven’t felt sorry for themselves.
Devlin has come back in this year with a good management team and they have impressed.
They were steady in the league, beating Derry and Tyrone, and while they had a flat performance against Dublin in Portlaoise, they recovered from that.
They avenged that loss to the Dubs and beat Armagh and Monaghan since so they will arrive in the capital with confidence.
It’s been a rollercoaster year for Andy Moran. There were great moments in the league but lows against Donegal and Kerry.
Then they were well beaten by Roscommon which would have hurt him a lot as a Ballaghderreen man.
However, they have kept bouncing back.
They lost by a point to Tyrone but it some ways that steadied them up.
Meath were put to the sword and they then had too much for Cork.
Big calls have been made and Jack Livingstone has been excellent in goal.
And unusually for Mayo, they go to a big game in Croke Park with in-form forwards.
Kobe McDonald, Darragh Beirne and Ryan O’Donoghue are all hard to handle and Tommy Conroy is effective off the bench.
It’s Louth’s first semi-final since 1957 and I just wonder if that will be a factor this week.
There’s a lot of new faces in the Mayo team but when you go through the team, there’s no shortage of experience to call upon.
I don’t think Mayo are world-beaters but I fancy them to win a high-scoring match.
Dublin
It’s been a turbulent season so far for Dublin but they have found form at the right time and you can be sure they will fancy their chances of defeating Kerry.
The Dubs have a good record against Kerry and Ger Brennan will be zoning in on that.
There’s no doubt that Dublin’s standards had dropped over the last year or two and quality players like Brian Fenton had left the scene.
Another big issue was that Con O’Callaghan couldn’t stay fit.
However, he has got a good run at it in the championship, and with Colm Basquel in the team again, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Dublin have been vastly improved.
Their forward line is dangerous but I’d worry for the Dublin defence.
I don’t see who they have that can negate David Clifford’s influence.
David Byrne and Sean McMahon have done well defensively so far and Charlie McMorrow has been driving them forward.
However, there are a lot of fires to put out with Kerry. You have Paudie Clifford, Gavin White, Sean O’Shea and Dylan Geaney to worry about.
And if David Clifford is getting the ball into his hands regularly, it will be difficult to hold him to anything less than eight or nine points.
I hope it’s a cracker but I feel Kerry may win with a bit to spare.
Tailteann Cup
It was my plan that Fermanagh would be preparing for a Tailteann Cup Final this weekend but it wasn’t to be.
We were big underdogs for the semi-final with Down but it was a game we could have won.
Down eventually came through to win by one and we were left to rue a slow start and some poor misses.
That’s the margins in championship football and Down will take on Wicklow.
There’s a lot of pressure on Conor Laverty’s Down coming into the match.
They were disappointed to end up in the Tailteann Cup after beating Donegal in Ulster.
They are ambitious and see themselves as a Sam Maguire team and to be fair, they have shown they can compete with the top teams.
Wicklow were in the semi-finals last year and they have been making steady progress under Oisin McConville.
It’s a tough ask for them but remember they were only beaten by two points by Dublin in Leinster and they had a lot of wides that day.
Wicklow played well in the semi-final against Offaly as well.
But when you look at the Down team, it is formidable.
If their big players in Odhran Murdock, Daniel Guinness and Pat Havern and Ceilum Doherty bring their best, it’s hard to see anything other than a Down win on Saturday.
Club action
The draw for the Donegal Club Championships was made last week.
It’s probably lacking a blockbuster tie although Glenswilly’s meeting with Termon in Round 1 will attract a big crowd.
Gaoth Dobhair will meet St Michael’s in Magheragallon but you have a big match between the clubs at the Bridge first this weekend in the league.
The side that loses the match will be automatically relegated.
St Michael’s have been flirting with the drop in other seasons but it’s a real surprise that Gaoth Dobhair are not safe yet.
All appeared on track when they won the All-Ireland Gaeltacht title but it would appear that the weekend in Kilcar took its toll.
They had to play four games in four days and picked up injuries. So much for player welfare.
St Michael’s will always fancy themselves at the Bridge and it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
There are good ties between Division 1 and 2 as some teams look for promotion while others are keen to beat the drop.
No team wants to be playing a relegation play-off in the coming weeks.
They want to get safety secure and start building towards the championship.
It’s four weeks now until it all begins and that gives a nice wee block to get good work done.
Naomh Conaill have a lot of men away in America but if they can get everyone back fit, I think they will be the team to beat in knock-out football.
Four Masters have three in the States as well but they clearly have a lot of young talent.
St Eunan’s will be in contention once again. Kieran Donnelly has come in and they tick a lot of boxes. Niall O’Donnell is due back home shortly and he will be pushing hard for the Letterkenny men to make an impact.
Gaoth Dobhair have struggled for consistency in the league but I wouldn’t rule them out in the championship when they have everyone back.
Termon had a good run in 2025 and will be aiming to push on and there are a few sides that will think they can go deep into the championship.
The first few rounds are unlikely to bring much drama, but by the end of August, clubs will want to have their house in order.