Ladies All-Ireland fixtures confirmed

Kerry will get their All-Ireland series up and running on Saturday, June 17 with an away fixture against Leinster champions and current championship favourites Dublin. The match, which throws in at 5pm, will be shown live on TG4.

Last year’s beaten All-Ireland finalists will then take on Cavan on Saturday, July 1, with the Dubs and Cavan facing off the weekend in between.

Dublin once again emerged unscathed from their provincial championship as they saw off Meath to capture their tenth Leinster title in a row. Kate Sulli- van bagged a goal in each half to help them to a six-point win.

Cavan finished bottom of the threeteam pool in Ulster following defeats to both Armagh and Donegal. They finished mid-table in Division 2 of the National League.

The Kingdom find themselves in Group 3 following their tough defeat to Cork in last Sunday’s Munster final in Mallow.

Victory would have seen Declan Quill and Darragh Long’s side advancing to Group D as top seeds but Cork raced into a commanding 2-5 to 0-1 lead in the first quarter and there was no catching them after that. The hosts eventually prevailed on a scoreline of 5-14 to 2-17. Cork are joined in Group 4 by Galway and Tipperary; Group 1 is comprised of Mayo, Armagh and Laois; and All-Ireland champions Meath are in Group 2 alongside Ulster champions Donegal and Waterford.

The top two teams in each group will move on to the quarter-finals with the first-place sides earning home advantage against a runner-up from another group.

The quarter-finals are fixed for the weekend of July 15/16 and the semi-finals will be staged as a double-header in Semple Stadium on Saturday, July 29.

In total, 15 fixtures will be shown live on TG4. All other games in the All-Ireland Championships (senior, intermediate and junior) will be available to view via the LGFA’s live streaming portal.

Despite their recent setback, Kerry are still second favourites with the bookmakers to go all the way this season. Meath are third favourites with Cork and Galway completing the top five.

GROUP 3 FIXTURES

June 17 Dublin v Kerry

June 25 Cavan v Dublin

July 1 Kerry v Cavan

FAVOURITES: Niamh Carmody being chased by Leah Caffrey when Kerry played Dublin in Tralee earlier this year. The sides - who are ranked as the two favourites for the competition - will meet again in the All-Ireland series.