Gaelic Games

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Defending champions Tyrone reached another All-Ireland Under-20 Football final with a 2-14 to 0-14 victory over Kerry in Sunday's semi-final in Portlaoise.

In a repeat of last year's final, the Red Hands raced into a 1-5 to 0-2 lead after 17 minutes with the goal coming from senior list Eoin McElholm.

While Kerry reduced the arrears to two points, Noah Grimes' superb finish high into the Kingdom net in the final minute of the half left Tyrone 2-8 to 0-8 up at O'Moore Park.

From there, Tyrone were able to keep Kerry at arm's length as they marched into their third final in the past four seasons, having also won the title in 2022.

Ruairi McCullagh, who scored 0-8 in the Ulster U20 final win over Donegal on 30 April, hit 0-9 for Tyrone while McElholm ended the game with 1-4. Paddy Lane top-scored for Kerry with 0-7.

Having gotten the better of Tomas O Se's Kerry for the second year in a row, Paul Devlin's Tyrone can look forward to another All-Ireland decider against either Mayo our Louth, who contest their semi-final in Longford on Friday (19:00 BST).

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Fermanagh and Antrim fell to defeats in their opening Tailteann Cup round-robin matches on Sunday.

The Ernemen were beaten 3-18 to 2-18 by Carlow in their Group Four contest at Brewster Park, while in Group Three Antrim were thrashed 4-24 to 1-17 by 2022 winners Westmeath in Mullingar.

Antrim, who exited the Ulster Championship quarter-finals at the hands of Armagh last month, conceded two quickfire first-half goals at Cusack Park with Sam McCartan and Danny McCartan both on target for the home side.

While Kavan Keenan raised a green flag for the Saffrons, Luke Loughlin's penalty helped Westmeath lead 3-9 to 1-10 at the break.

Matthew Whittaker scored Westmeath's fourth goal while Loughlin ended the game with a remarkable 1-17 haul.

Like Antrim, Fermanagh were also left with work to do after conceding two early goals in quick succession in Enniskillen as Mikey Bambrick and John Murphy struck for Carlow inside the opening 11 minutes.

Fermanagh - playing for the first time since their agonising Ulster quarter-final loss to Down - responded through a Conor Love penalty, but trailed 2-9 to 1-7 at the interval.

Joe McDade's goal early in the second half gave Fermanagh renewed purpose but Bambrick's second major of the afternoon inside the final 10 minutes proved a hammer blow to the Ulster side's hopes.

While Fermanagh reeled off an unanswered 0-4 (including Sean McNally's two-pointed free) to cut the deficit to two, Conor Doyle's two-pointer put the result beyond doubt.

Fermanagh travel to Longford for their second group game on 18 May while Antrim host Limerick on Saturday.

Donegal legend Michael Murphy itted he did not believe he would win another Ulster title with his county after returning to the this year.

Murphy played his part with a few scores as Donegal retained the Anglo-Celt Cup with a 2-23 to 0-28 victory against Armagh after extra time in Clones.

The 35-year-old has now won six provincial deciders with Donegal, but the thought of playing a part in a victory like this was a pipe dream a year ago after retiring in 2022.

He worked as a pundit for BBC Sport NI during last year's final which Donegal won on penalties, but was delighted to be able to contribute this year after returning to the fold.

"I didn't think it would happen again," he told BBC Sport NI.

"It happened last year; I was a Donegal man ing these boys last year and I was happy to watch them here last year.

"Today was a really tough game, nothing but respect for Armagh they are the All-Ireland champions and they're a good side, but credit to these young lads and their character, it's an hour to share a pitch and a dressing room with them again, I'm very blessed that they asked me back."

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Murphy shared an emotional moment with his father on the pitch after the final whistle and said "bits of everything" were going through his mind as he fended off tears and exhaustion.

The forward also hopes that another Ulster victory can spur Donegal on for a big summer as they chase a first All-Ireland title since 2012.

They are in Group One for this year's round robin phase alongside Mayo, Tyrone and Cavan.

"It's a stepping stone, but we need to go again," added Murphy.

Meanwhile, Armagh keeper Ethan Rafferty described the county's third successive Ulster final defeat as "sickening".

"Even if you take the three in a row [defeats] out of it, we sort of kicked ourselves out of it for 10 minutes, both in the first half and second half," itted Rafferty.

"Look we'll go back and look at it and be as critical as we can. That's all we can do."

John Haughey
BBC Sport NI Journalist at Clones

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Rian O'Neill has not been named in the Armagh squad for Saturday evening's Ulster Football Final against Donegal despite earlier speculation that he would be involved after arriving at Clones with the All-Ireland champions.

2024 All-Star O'Neill has not featured for the Orchard County this year and manager Kieran McGeeney said in mid March that he didn't expect the Crossmaglen man to play inter-county football in 2025.

A togged-out O'Neill was with the Armagh players when they walked on the Clones pitch during the half-time interval of the Ulster Ladies Final between Armagh and Donegal.

However, while two changes have been announced to the Armagh squad announced on Thursday night they did not involve the Crossmaglen star.

Skipper Aidan Forker has replaced Peter McGrane in defence with Tiernan Kelly taking over from Conor Turbitt in attack.

Donegal have also made two changes to the squad announced on Friday with Caolan McGonagle and Hugh McFadden replacing Stephen McMenamin and Conor O'Donnell.

Donegal: Shaun Patton; Finbarr Roarty, Brendan McCole, Peadar Mogan; Ryan McHugh, Caolan McGonagle, Ciaran Moore; Ciaran Thompson, Michael Langan; Daire O Baoill, Hugh McFadden, Shane O'Donnell; Patrick McBrearty, Michael Murphy, Oisin Gallen.

Subs: Gavin Mulreany, Mark Curran, Odhran McFadden Ferry, Odhran Doherty, Aaron Doherty, Eoin McHugh, Jason McGee, Jamie Brennan, Conor O'Donnell, Niall O'Donnell, Stephen McMenamin.

Armagh: Ethan Rafferty; Paddy Burns, Barry McCambridge, Aidan Forker (capt); Ross McQuillan, Greg McCabe, Jarly Og Burns; Callum O'Neill, Ben Crealey; Darragh McMullan, Rory Grugan, Oisin Conaty; Tiernan Kelly, Andrew Murnin, Oisin O'Neill.

Subs: Blaine Hughes, Peter McGrane, Tomas McCormack, Connaire Mackin, Jason Duffy, Niall Grimley, Shane Martlan, Cian McConville, Conor Turbitt, Stefan Campbell, Jemar Hall.

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Cork and Waterford's players have said they feel "completely let down" by Munster Camogie's decision to postpone Saturday's senior final amid an ongoing row over skorts.

The game, which was due to be staged in Tipperary, was postponed by Munster Camogie on Friday after both sets of players confirmed their intention to wear shorts in protest to the sport's rules dictating the players must wear skorts.

"As a united group of players, we want to express our bitter disappointment that today's Munster Senior Camogie Final has been postponed," Cork and Waterford said in a t-statement released through the Gaelic Players Association.

"It shows scant regard for the preparation of players both physically and mentally to be ready for a provincial showpiece, to make this decision just 16 hours before the scheduled throw-in."

The statement added that "anyone with an understanding of what it takes to compete in elite sport knows that this could never be in the best interests of players".

"We feel completely let down.

"Both s had meticulously planned to peak for today. Training schedules and workload will now have to be readjusted, while not even knowing when the game will take place.

"There was an opportunity to take a step forward from the recent controversy. Instead, a provincial final has been postponed because we took control of what we would wear. To us, that feels like a massive step backwards."

Last weekend the Kilkenny and Dublin squads were forced to change into skorts before their Leinster Championship semi-final with both sides told the game would be abandoned after they originally took to the field wearing shorts.

Dublin captain Aisling Maher called it a "career low" and said she was "sick of being forced to wear a skort that is uncomfortable and unfit for purpose".

Following the incident, the Camogie Association called a Special Congress for 22 May to vote on the issue, which if ed would give players the option to wear shorts from 24 May.

Camogie Association president Brian Molloy said on Thursday: "Our goal is to deliver, as quickly as possible, a best-in-class playing uniform designed for female players and allowing for individual choice."

The sport is governed by the Camogie Association of Ireland which, along with the Ladies Gaelic Football Association is set to be formally integrated into the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2027.

The rule on skorts was previously debated at the Camogie Association's Annual Congress in 2024, although a proposed change did not a vote.

A new date for the Munster camogie final has yet to be confirmed.

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Armagh selector Conleith Gilligan believes winning last year's All-Ireland title does mean that the side go into Saturday's Ulster Final under less pressure than otherwise would have been the case.

The Orchard County have been beaten on spot-kicks in the last two provincial deciders, losing to Derry in 2023 before falling to Donegal last year.

But after that fourth penalty shootout loss at championship level in three seasons, Kieran McGeeney's squad regrouped to clinch the county's second Sam Maguire Cup triumph.

"That probably takes the pressure off a wee bit whereas if you'd maybe lost the All-Ireland final last year, this final would have been very different in that regard," said Gilligan.

"Look it would be lovely to win, but in two weeks' time, regardless of who wins it, there's another competition starting, and you're kind of mindful of that as well."

The Derryman its that Armagh fans are impatient to end the county's 17-year wait for a provincial title.

"It's a massive long time. And again this time last year, I suppose it was a wee bit different in that it was a group trying to win something and break through.

"So I suppose last year's win changes it to a degree. But it's still an Ulster title, it's still very much sought after. And it's one, probably even more so for the ers, that they would love that."

Gilligan's own coaching career has included being part of Mickey Moran's management team when Kilcoo won the All-Ireland Club title in 2022.

However, he says with Kieran McGeeney's Armagh management team has made him "realise I wasn't at this at all before this".

"It's a funny one where you don't know how little you knew until you go to places where it's really high-performing environment.

"I've had a great journey with them and the learning has just been incredible."

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Armagh boss Kieran McGeeney has made one change for Saturday's Ulster SFC final against Donegal at Clones (17:25 BST) as All-Star forward Conor Turbitt is reinstated to the line-up.

With Turbitt's return, Peter McGrane shifts to corner-back and Tomas McCormack drops to the bench.

Jim McGuinness has named an unchanged Donegal starting line-up for the provincial decider although centre half-back Caolan McGonagle and corner-back Mark Curran have been included in the substitutes after missing recent games because of injury.

Turbitt was named to start against Tyrone in the semi-final after returning from the injury that ruled him out of the quarter-final win over Antrim, but was replaced by Oisin O'Neill before throw-in.

Captain Aidan Forker also dropped out of the line-up prior to facing Tyrone. He is named on the bench for Saturday's final. Ben Crealey, a last-minute replacement for Connaire Mackin against the Red Hands, is retained in midfield.

Donegal: Shaun Patton; Finbarr Roarty, Brendan McCole, Peadar Mogan; Ryan McHugh, Stephen McMenamin, Ciaran Moore; Ciaran Thompson, Michael Langan; Daire O Baoill, Conor O'Donnell, Shane O'Donnell; Patrick McBrearty, Michael Murphy, Oisin Gallen.

Subs: Gavin Mulreany, Mark Curran, Odhran McFadden Ferry, Odhran Doherty, Aaron Doherty, Eoin McHugh, Jason McGee, Jamie Brennan, Hugh McFadden, Niall O'Donnell, Caolan McGonagle.

Armagh: Ethan Rafferty; Paddy Burns, Barry McCambridge, Peter McGrane; Ross McQuillan, Greg McCabe, Jarly Og Burns; Callum O'Neill, Ben Crealey; Darragh McMullan, Rory Grugan, Oisin Conaty; Conor Turbitt, Andrew Murnin, Oisin O'Neill.

Subs: Blaine Hughes, Aidan Forker (capt), Tomas McCormack, Connaire Mackin, Jason Duffy, Niall Grimley, Shane Martlan, Cian McConville, Tiernan Kelly, Stefan Campbell, Jemar Hall.

Watch the Ulster final on BBC Two NI & the BBC iPlayer from 16:55 BST on Saturday; live text commentary with in-game clips, report and highlights on the BBC Sport website

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The Camogie Association has reacted to the controversy over players being forced to wear skorts as opposed to shorts by calling a Special Congress for 22 May to vote on the issue.

The Kilkenny and Dublin teams were forced to change into skorts before last weekend's Leinster Championship semi-final after taking to the field wearing shorts.

Both sides were told by the referee that the game would be abandoned if the players did not change.

A vote will take place at the Special Congress which if ed, will give players the option of wearing skorts or shorts from 24 May.

"The Special Congress is being called to consider motion(s) to provide all players with the choice to wear skorts or shorts while playing camogie," said a Camogie Association statement.

"The association had proposed to deal with this issue at next year's Congress but having listened to player , the association recognises that waiting until 2026 is not acceptable for many."

Previous attempts to change the skort rule did not at the Camogie Association's Annual Congress in 2024.

Camogie is governed by the Camogie Association of Ireland, which is closely linked to the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and alongside the Ladies Gaelic Football Association is scheduled to formally integrate into the wider GAA in 2027.

Camogie Association president Brian Molloy said on Thursday: "Our goal is to deliver, as quickly as possible, a best-in-class playing uniform designed for female players and allowing for individual choice."

Following the stance taking by the Kilkenny and Dublin teams in last Saturday's game at Blanchardstown, Cork and Waterford players have said that they will wear shorts in Saturday's Munster Senior Final.

A number of Dublin club teams have worn shorts in fixtures this week after the county's camogie board told referees to allow games to proceed even if players didn't wear skorts.

Dublin captain Aisling Maher described last weekend's episode as a "career low" adding that she was "sick of being forced to wear a skort that is uncomfortable and unfit for purpose".

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All-Ireland winning defender Aaron McKay believes it'll be "third time lucky" for Armagh when they face Donegal in Saturday's Ulster final.

Despite winning their second All-Ireland title last year, the Orchard County have not lifted the Anglo Celt Cup since 2008, losing the 2023 final to Derry and last year's decider to Donegal in a penalty shootout.

But McKay is hopeful that Armagh can turn the tide this year and finally get over the line.

"It's definitely been too long for us. I suppose growing up and as child I going to Clones nearly every year and watching us win it, even a couple of times in Croker," McKay told BBC Sport NI.

"Even in those days throughout the mid 2000s we had great rivalries with Donegal, and you never thought at the time that it would end. It's unfortunate that they did and it's definitely went on for too long.

"Getting to one final and not getting over the line is one thing, people might say 'well we'll be back next year and finally get over the hill' and we didn't, but hopefully it'll be third time lucky on Sunday, and we'll bring it back."

The 29-year-old has not played since last year's All-Ireland final win over Galway at Croke Park - where he scored his county's only goal - because of an injury that required surgery.

But the Dromintee man does feel that he is nearing a return with the All-Ireland SFC round-robin series games his target.

"The plan was to be back for a championship because I knew I wasn't going to be back for the league even way back in say October, November time," he added.

"I knew that because I couldn't even get playing for the club in August and then I kind of just came to the conclusion that steroids and stuff weren't working anymore and that I had to get the operation.

"To be ready for the first group game in the All-Ireland series, anything earlier than that's a bonus, it's kind of where I'm still at.

"At the same time, one part of you is telling yourself that you are ready, but the head can sometimes be ignorant and stubborn enough and you want to plough ahead. If Geezer (Kieran McGeeney) would put the faith in me, I'd definitely throw myself in."

Odhran Crumley
BBC Sport NI Journalist

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Tyrone have been dealt a blow ahead of the beginning of the All-Ireland SFC as forward Cathal McShane has stepped away from the .

McShane's last appearance for the Red Hands came last month as he was drafted into Malachy O'Rourke's starting 15 for their Ulster Championship opener against Cavan with Darragh Canavan ruled out through injury.

The All-Ireland winning forward was not named in the matchday squad for Tyrone's semi-final defeat to Armagh as Canavan and Mark Bradley returned from injury.

The Owen Roes attacker made just one National League appearance this season, coming off the bench to kick a point in Tyrone's defeat at Mayo in February.

McShane made his inter-county debut a decade ago against Donegal in 2015 and throughout his time in red and white he picked up three Ulster SFC medals (2016, 2017 and 2021) alongside his All-Ireland SFC medal in 2021.

McShane won an All-Star for his performances in 2019, finishing as the All-Ireland SFC's top scorer, kicking 3-48 in nine games.

He suffered a serious ankle injury in a league game at Galway at the beginning of the 2020 season before returning to help Tyrone win the All-Ireland title in 2021, scoring goals off the bench in their semi-final win over Kerry and in the decider against Mayo.

The 29-year-old's absence will prove a blow to O'Rourke and the wider Tyrone squad as they head into an All-Ireland round-robin series starting with a trip to the Ulster champions before hosting Mayo and taking on Cavan at a neutral venue.