Kerry and Donegal to meet in All-Ireland final repeat

Donegal will travel to Kerry in the opening round of this year's All-Ireland series in a mouth-watering repeat of last year's final.

The Kingdom ran out comprehensive 1-26 to 0-19 winners to clinch their 39th title in the 2025 Croke Park decider, but Donegal exacted a measure of revenge with an emphatic 3-20 to 2-10 victory in this year's Division One final.

As Munster finalists, Kerry have home advantage in Killarney, with Donegal forced to start their campaign on the road after being knocked out of the Ulster quarter-finals by Down.

Free-scoring Armagh, who hammered Down by 28 points on Sunday to reach the Ulster final, will host provincial rivals Derry in the opening round, while Tyrone will travel to Connacht finalists Roscommon.

Dublin will host Louth in a repeat of the Dubs' Leinster semi-final win on Saturday night, with Westmeath - who will face Dublin in the provincial decider - hosting Cavan, whose All-Ireland place was confirmed by Down's defeat on Sunday.

Monaghan, who will face Armagh in the Ulster final after a superb comeback win over Derry on Saturday, will host Mayo.

Munster finalists Cork will entertain old rivals Meath while Kildare will travel west to take on Connacht finalists Galway.

23-24 May

Cork v Meath

Kerry v Donegal

Galway v Kildare

Roscommon v Tyrone

30-31 May

Dublin v Louth

Monaghan v Mayo

Westmeath v Cavan

Armagh v Derry

This year's All-Ireland series is a little different, with the round-robin group stage that was used between 2023 and 2025 scrapped in favour of a revamped backdoor system.

The current iteration works as follows:

Round 1

The eight provincial finalists play home matches against the seven next best placed teams according to league position and last year's Tailteann Cup winners.

Round 2A

The eight winners from the opening round will be drawn against each other in Round 2A. The four 2A winners then progress to the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

These games are scheduled to take place 13-14 June.

Round 2B

The eight Round 1 losers will face each other in Round 2B. The four losers in 2B will be eliminated.

These games are scheduled to take place 13-14 June.

Round 3

The four 2A losers will face the four 2A winners. A draw will determine the home venue for each pairing and will avoid provincial final repeats and Round 1 repeats where possible.

These games are scheduled to take place 20-21 June.

The four Round 3 winners will advance to the All-Ireland quarter-finals to face the four Round 2A winners.

The quarter-finals are scheduled to take place 27-28 June, with the semi-finals on 11-12 July and the final on 26 July.

The latest chapter of the Kerry-Donegal rivalry is unquestionably the standout fixture thrown up in Monday's draw.

The Kingdom don't lose many championship games at home, but Jim McGuinness' side have already wrestled back the psychological advantage with two wins over Jack O'Connor's team in 2026: a Division One win in Ballyshannon and that comprehensive victory in the National League showpiece.

Given recent results, Armagh will be hot favourites against Derry. The 2024 All-Ireland champions have scored 100 points in three Ulster SFC games and will hope to have ended their 18-year provincial drought by the time they face the Oak Leafers.

Derry, of course, are licking their wounds after surrendering a 12-point lead to lose to Monaghan in extra-time on Saturday.

Armagh beat Derry 3-17 to 0-15 at Celtic Park on their way to winning the All-Ireland title two years ago and won 2-21 to 2-17 in another round-robin game at the Athletic Grounds last year.

Tyrone, who were knocked out of Ulster by Armagh in the preliminary round, will face an uphill task against Roscommon.

The Rossies finished fourth in Division One - beating Monaghan, Armagh, Galway and Donegal in the process - and comprehensively dispatched New York and Mayo from Connacht in recent weeks.