skip to main content

Women's football finals: All you need to know

29 July 2026; In attendance during a photocall at Croke Park in Dublin ahead of the 2026 TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Championship Finals take place at Croke Park this Sunday, are from left; Fermanagh intermediate footballer Shannan McQuade, Carlow jun
From left; Fermanagh's Shannan McQuade, Carlow's Róisín Bailey, Kerry's Síofra O'Shea, Galway's Kate Geraghty, Roscommon's Helena Cummins and Antrim's Bronagh Devlin

SUNDAY 2 AUGUST

All-Ireland JFC final
Antrim v Carlow; Croke Park, 11.45am

All-Ireland IFC final
Fermanagh v Roscommon; Croke Park, 1.45pm

All-Ireland SFC final
Galway v Kerry; Croke Park, 4.15pm

ONLINE
Live scores updates and match reports on RTÉ News App and on rte.ie/sport

TV
All three All-Ireland finals will be live on TG4.

WEATHER
A cloudy day in Croke Park is expected for Sunday's triple-header. Temperatures will be a more manageable 17-19C, with only an occasional passing shower expected. For more see Met.ie.


This Sunday sees the inter-county LGFA season draw to a close with its signature triple-header of finals at Croke Park, with the All-Ireland Junior, Intermediate and Senior champions set to be crowned.

Antrim and Carlow form a novel pairing in the opener, with Fermanagh and Roscommon going head to head in the grade above - intermediate - right after.

Then at 4:15pm we have the big one as Kerry and Galway face off to see who can call themselves senior champions for 2026.

29 July 2026; Antrim footballer Bronagh Devlin, left, and Carlow footballer Róisín Bailey pose for a portrait with The West County Hotel Cup during a photocall at Croke Park ahead of the 2026 TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Junior Championship Final between Antrim and Carlow this Sunday at Croke Par
Three time winners Antrim face first time finalists Carlow in the Junior decider

TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship final

Antrim v Carlow; Croke Park, 11.45am

Redemption for Antrim or glory for first-time finalists Carlow?

Antrim are carrying the hurt of defeat to Louth on the big day last year and that will act as a powerful motivator. For Carlow, there's no previous baggage and they’ve finally managed to qualify for an All-Ireland final at Croke Park, this after a series of semi-final near misses in recent times.

The Ulster side have appeared at this stage previously in 2009, 2012, 2016, 2012, 2022 and 2025. They’ve lifted the West County Hotel on three occasions – 2009, 2012 and 2022 – and they’ll look to tap into past experience to get themselves over the line.

After losing the 2021 final to Wicklow, Antrim were back a year later to get their hands on the silverware. Following a draw with Fermanagh at Croke Park, the Saffrons got the job done in a replay at the BOX-IT Athletic Grounds in Armagh.

The Saffrons built on that and went on to contest an intermediate semi-final in 2023. They suffered relegation in 2024, however, before going close to promotion again last year. Now, they find themselves just 60 minutes away from being crowned intermediate champions again, with Carlow also looking to move up a Championship grade.

Sunday’s battle for the silverware on offer – and promotion to boot – will ensure that finals day gets off to a storming start. This promises to be a cracking game between two teams with plenty of scoring threat and solid defensive ability.

Both of Sunday’s finalists enjoyed impressive wins at the penultimate stage, with Antrim’s Maria O’Neill scoring 3-05 in the victory over Sligo, while Carlow scored three goals in a two-minute spell en route to victory over Derry.

29 July 2026; Fermanagh footballer Shannan McQuade and Roscommon footballer Helena Cummins poses for a portrait with The Mary Quinn Memorial Cup ahead of the TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Intermediate Championship Final on Sunday. Visit ladiesgaelic.ie for ticket information. Photo by Piaras Ó Míd
There's a novel intermediate pairing between Fermanagh and Roscommon

TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Championship final

Fermanagh v Roscommon; Croke Park, 1.45pm

Roscommon are unchanged ahead of this decider as Fermanagh opt for two switches as Sinead Barrett and Bronagh Smyth come into the starting line-up, in place of Caitriona Breen and Caoimhe Gallagher.

This is a novel final pairing in this grade, as the Ernesiders, runners-up in 2014 and 2009, take on 2005 champions Roscommon.

The Ulster outfit are back at Croke Park again for the second time in three years, and they'll be aiming for more silverware after landing the junior title two years ago.

For Roscommon's ladies, this is a first visit to GAA HQ since claiming junior honours in 2001 over Kildare, as the 2005 decider against Down was played at St Loman's in Mullingar.

In their respective semi-finals, many would have viewed Sunday’s finalists as underdogs, but they came through in style - Roscommon overcoming Westmeath, while Fermanagh emerged past the challenge of Down.

So, will it be Fermanagh captain Shannan McQuade or her Roscommon counterpart, goalkeeper Helena Cummins, who lifts the Mary Quinn Memorial Cup at full-time?


Kerry footballer Síofra O'Shea and Galway footballer Kate Geraghty with The Brendan Martin Cup
The senior clash between Galway and Kerry promises to be an epic affair

TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship final

Galway v Kerry; Croke Park, 4.15pm

Changes are at a minimum for the senior final with former captains Louise Ward (Galway) and Anna Galvin (Kerry) named to start, with Ellen Power and Mikala Mulvihill dropping out respectively.

For the second time in three seasons, Galway and Kerry will face off.

Back in 2024, the Kingdom came out on top to win the title for the first time since 1993, which ended a run of successive final defeats.

Galway will hope that their time has now come, as they aim to avenge that 2024 final reverse and claim the title for the first time since the Tribeswomen’s one and only success in 2004. Galway have lost three finals since that famous day – 2005, 2019 and 2024 – but have shown really impressive form en route to Sunday’s final.

Kerry, similarly, have produced some excellent displays and both sides excelled in their respective semi-finals.

Galway cruised past the challenge of Armagh at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park in Longford, as Kerry ended the reign of 2025 winners Dublin with an emphatic display at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles. Those were psychologically important victories for both counties who had both fallen at the semi-final stage last year.

There’s one previous competitive meeting between the sides this year, and that occurred back in March when they clashed in Division 1 of the Lidl National League. At Austin Stack Park in Tralee, Galway made their visit a winning one as they claimed a two-point victory, 1-11 to 1-09.

Fast forward to the championship and both Galway and Kerry ruled the roost. The latter made it three in a row in Munster as they prevailed against Waterford in the provincial decider, while Galway also claimed a third successive Connacht title, with victory over old rivals Mayo.

Moving on to the All-Ireland series, the Tribes defeated Meath and Tyrone to top Group 4, as the Green and Gold accounted for Kildare and Tipperary to finish at the summit of Group 2.

The All-Ireland quarter-finals paired Kerry with Meath, while Galway were handed a home tie with Mayo. Kerry and Galway both won well, before performance levels appeared to move up another level at the semi-final stage.

Both sides appear to have timed their runs perfectly and there are plenty of potential match-winners on show.

Galway have Olivia Divilly in a rich vein of form, with 2-24 to date in the All-Ireland series. She’s Galway’s leading scorer, with Róisín Leonard (2-14) also very much on song. The spread of scorers across the forward division has been impressive, with Leanne Coen (1-10), Kate Slevin (1-10), Kate Thompson (1-05) and Eva Noone (1-04) also making valuable contributions.

For Kerry, captain Síofra O’Shea is playing a captain’s role and her individual haul of 3-25 is the best in the championship so far. Danielle O’Leary (1-07) and Jaydn Lucey (1-06) have also shown up well.

On paper, this looks like an incredibly difficult game to call. Shrewd management teams have guided these squads to Croke Park and now it’s down to who can produce the better performance levels on the day.

Kerry start on 12 senior titles and a 13th would send them two clear of neighbours Cork on the all-time roll of honour.

Galway, in contrast, go in search of just their second senior title, and a win would end a 22-year famine and help to erase the memories of their most recent final defeats.

Only one captain can lift the Brendan Martin Cup at full-time, and it remains to be seen whether it’s O’Shea, who’s been pulling the strings for Kerry, or Galway’s Kate Geraghty, who’s one member of a defence aiming to shut down the mercurial Kingdom talent.

Galway: L O'Halloran; B Quinn, S Ní Loingsigh, K Geraghty (capt); H Noone, N Ward, N Divilly; L Ward, S Divilly; O Divilly, K Slevin, K Thompson; E Noone, L Coen, R Leonard.

Kerry: M Ellen Bolger; R Rahilly, D Kearney, E Lynch; A O'Connell, E Costello, A Dillane; A Galvin, M O'Connell; N Carmody, N Ní Chonchúir, C Evans; J Lucey, D O'Leary, S O'Shea (capt).

Read Next