Croke Park will be the venue for a third round double-bill of the All-Ireland qualifier series next Saturday afternoon. The meeting between Galway and Armagh - the main attraction in the four-game programme - will take place at 2.15, followed by the meeting of Kildare and Sligo at 4.0.
The two other games will take place later on Saturday, with Derry meeting Laois at Breffni Park and Westmeath meeting Louth in Navan, with both games starting at 6.15.
Admission to Croke Park will be by ticket only, and they will be distributed to the relevant county boards by tomorrow. With significant support expected to travel for all four counties, and especially Armagh and Kildare, the crowd is likely to be in the region of 50,000.
The Galway-Armagh game will be televised live on RT╔ 1, and the Kildare-Sligo match will be recorded and shown in full on Network 2 from 6.0.
Not surprisingly, this will be the first championship meeting between Galway and Armagh. The sides did, however, meet in a challenge game in Longford a fortnight ago, and Armagh came out comfortable nine-point winners.
Galway manager John O'Mahony was yesterday clearly excited by the prospect of such a high-calibre game. "If the challenge of Armagh doesn't focus us again then nothing will," he said. "They are clearly back in form and have all their players back from injury.
"I said after the challenge game that Armagh were coming back to their best. They have two games under their belt now, and this will be a huge step up for us. But hopefully we can rise to it."
O'Mahony was also satisfied with the Croke Park venue, although the typically large number of Armagh supporters will be a little wary of the 2.0 start. There were reports of traffic problems and access to Croke Park after their last visit to the venue on a Saturday last September for the All-Ireland semi-final replay against Kerry.
The Kildare supporters are also expected to travel in large numbers for their meeting with Donegal, despite this being the county's third championship game in as many weeks. Sligo have will the benefit of a fortnight's preparation following their second win over Carlow.
Derry manager Eamonn Coleman will have to sit in the Breffni Park stand for the meeting with Laois. He received a three-game sideline ban for his pitch incursion during the Ulster semi-final with Tyrone.
The referees for each game have also been fixed. Brian White of Wexford has been named for the Armagh-Galway tie, and Brian Crowe of Cavan for Kildare-Sligo. Paddy Russell of Tipperary will referee Westmeath-Louth and Seamus Prior of Leitrim will referee Laois-Derry.
The draw for round four, which will include the four winners on Saturday and the four beaten provincial semi-finalists, will be made next Sunday evening. Those games will then take place on the weekend of July 21st-22nd.
Croke Park - Armagh v Galway (2.15), B White (Wexford); Kildare v Sligo (4.0), B Crowe (Cavan).
Navan - Westmeath v Louth (6.15), P Russell (Tipperary).
Breffni Park - Laois v Derry (6.15), S Prior (Leitrim).
Extra time will be played where necessary
