Ger Brennan’s first National Football League game as Dublin manager will see him face Donegal under lights at Croke Park on Saturday, January 24th.

The GAA’s master fixtures list for 2026 was released on Wednesday afternoon, with the opening league weekend at the end of January crammed with heavyweight clashes in both football and hurling.

New Mayo manager Andy Moran will take his side to Pearse Stadium to play rivals Galway on the Sunday while on the same afternoon Jack O’Connor’s Kerry will begin the defence of their Division One crown by welcoming Roscommon to Killarney.

With the National Hurling League also throwing-in that weekend, the standout Saturday small-ball fixture will see All-Ireland champions Tipperary host Galway in Semple Stadium.

RM Block

Ballyboden captain Shane Clayton returns just in time for Leinster SFC decider

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Seán Moran: GPA did extremely well in new deal, but for the GAA it’s cheap at the price

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Feargal Logan on the road to recovery with Queen’s GAA

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UL manager Brian Ryan in favour of Sigerson-Fitzgibbon Croke Park double-header finale

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Ben O’Connor’s first league assignment as Cork senior hurling manager will be a Páirc Uí Chaoimh clash against Waterford on the Sunday afternoon at 3.45pm.

The Dublin footballers will again play all their home league games in Croke Park.

Brennan’s last match as Louth manager was an All-Ireland preliminary defeat to Donegal in Ballybofey in June.

And his first league game as Dubs boss will see him share a sideline with Jim McGuinness again, only this time at Croke Park on the opening day of the 2026 Division One season.

Dublin will have four Division One games at GAA headquarters – with three of those taking place as double-headers alongside Meath.

The Royals will play their three Division Two ‘home’ fixtures at Croke Park next season as Páirc Tailteann in Navan is unavailable due to redevelopment work. On that opening day, Meath and Derry will provide the curtain raiser to Dublin-Donegal.

The Central Competitions Control Committee has also made a welcome distinction between the last round of football league fixtures by staggering the starting times across all four divisions.

Round seven of the football league has provided a frenzy of drama in recent years with promotion and relegation places hanging in the balance until the dying seconds.

All four divisions are scheduled to have their last round of group fixtures on Sunday, March 22nd. But rather than having several divisions finishing at the same time, all four will have separate slots, thus spreading the excitement across the afternoon.

The Division Four games will throw-in at 1pm, followed by Division Two matches at 1.15pm, then Division Three at 2pm and finally Division One at 3.30pm.

The football finals will be held on the weekend of March 28th/29th, along with the Division Two, Three and Four hurling finals, and the Division 1A and 1B hurling deciders will come the following weekend, April 4th/5th.

The 2026 intercounty season will begin in earnest on the weekend of January 2nd-3rd when the pre-league provincial competitions return to the GAA calendar. That Friday night will see Armagh host Tyrone in a McKenna Cup clash at the Athletic Grounds while among the Saturday fixtures is an O’Byrne Cup meeting of Laois and Dublin.

The 2025 All-Ireland senior club hurling and football championships will both be decided on the weekend of January 16th/17th following the junior and intermediate finals on January 9th/10th.

The Munster Hurling Championship will begin on the weekend of April 18th/19th, with All-Ireland champions Tipperary hosting Munster champions Cork at Semple Stadium as Clare welcome Waterford to Ennis. After five rounds of games, played over six weekends, the Munster final will be played on Sunday, June 7th.

The Leinster Hurling Championship will begin on the same weekend, Galway hosting Kilkenny, Wexford travelling to Kildare and Offaly at home to Dublin. The round-robin games will be played off over five weekends before the provincial decider on Saturday, June 6th.

In the All-Ireland stages, the preliminary quarter-final will be played on June 13th/14th and the quarter-finals the following weekend. The Leinster champions will be involved in the first semi-final on Saturday, July 4th, with the Munster champions in action the following day ahead of the hurling decider on July 19th.

The Nickey Rackard, Lory Meagher and Christy Ring competitions will get underway on the weekend of April 11th/12th, culminating in finals on May 30th/31st. The Joe McDonagh Cup has a slightly later start-date, the weekend of April 18th/19th, with the final to be played on June 6th, likely alongside the Leinster SHC decider.

The All-Ireland football final will be played at Croke Park on Sunday, July 26th, a week after the All-Ireland hurling decider.

2026 League & Championship fixture dates:

JANUARY

Saturday 3^rd: All-Ireland club senior football semi-finals

*The pre-league provincial competitions (McKenna Cup, O’Byrne Cup, FBD League, McGrath Cup, Munster SHL & Walsh Cup) will all start on the weekend of Friday 2nd-Sunday 4th.

Saturday 17th-Sunday 18^th: All-Ireland club senior football and hurling finals at Croke Park

Saturday 24^th:

NFL Div 1: Dublin v Donegal, Croke Park, 5pm

NFL Div 2: Meath v Derry, Croke Park, 3pm; Tyrone v Kildare, Healy Park, 6pm

NFL Div 3: Down v Clare, Páirc Esler, 6pm; Laois v Limerick, O’Moore Park, 6pm

NFL Div 4: Waterford v Longford, Fraher Field, 4pm

NHL Div 1A: Tipperary v Galway, Semple Stadium, 7pm

NHL Div 1B: Carlow v Down, Dr Cullen Park, 2.30pm; Wexford v Antrim, Wexford Park, 4pm

Sunday 25th

NFL Div 1: Galway v Mayo, Pearse Stadium, 1.45; Kerry v Roscommon, Fitzgerald Stadium, 2pm; Monaghan v Armagh, St Tiernach’s Park, 2pm

NFL Div 2: Cork v Cavan, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 1.30pm; Offaly v Louth, O’Connor Park, 2pm

NFL Div 3: Fermanagh v Wexford, Brewster Park, 1pm; Westmeath v Sligo, Cusack Park, 2pm

NFL Div 4: Antrim v Carlow, Cargin, 2pm; London v Tipperary, McGovern Park, 2pm; Wicklow v Leitrim, Aughrim, 2pm

NHL Div 1A: Kilkenny v Offaly, Nowlan Park, 2pm; Cork v Waterford, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 3.45pm

NHL Div 1B: Clare v Dublin, Cusack Park, 2pm

Saturday 31st

NFL Div 1: Armagh v Galway, Athletic Grounds, 5pm

NFL Div 2: Kildare v Offaly, St Conleth’s Park, 6pm; Derry v Tyrone, Celtic Park, 6pm

NFL Div 3: Limerick v Down, Rathkeale, 2pm; Wexford v Laois, Wexford Park, 6pm

NFL Div 4: Carlow v Wicklow, Dr Cullen Park, 6pm

NHL DIV 1A: Galway v Cork, Pearse Stadium, 7pm

NHL DIV 1B: Dublin v Kildare, Parnell Park, 7.30pm

FEBRUARY

Sunday 1st

NFL Div 1: Donegal v Kerry, Ballyshannon, 1.30pm; Mayo v Dublin, MacHale Park, 1.30pm; Roscommon v Monaghan, Dr Hyde Park, 2pm

NFL Div 2: Louth v Cork, Ardee, 1.30pm; Cavan v Meath, Breffni Park, 3.45pm

NFL Div 3: Clare v Westmeath, Cusack Park, 2pm; Sligo v Fermanagh, tbc, 2pm

NFL Div 4: Leitrim v Waterford, Páirc Seán MacDiarmada, 1pm; Longford v London, Pearse Park, 1pm; Tipperary v Antrim, Semple Stadium, 2pm

NHL Div 1A: Offaly v Tipperary, O’Connor Park, 2pm; Waterford v Limerick, Walsh Park, 2pm

NHL Div 1B: Antrim v Clare, Dunloy, 1pm; Down v Wexford, Ballycran, 2pm

Saturday 7th

NHL Div 1A: Cork v Tipperary, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 7.30pm

NHL Div 1B: Wexford v Carlow, Wexford Park, 5.15pm

Sunday 8th

NHL DIV 1A: Waterford v Offaly, Walsh Park, 1.45pm; Limerick v Kilkenny, Gaelic Grounds, 3.45pm

NHL DIV 1B: Clare v Down, Cusack Park, 1.30pm; Kildare v Antrim, St Conleth’s Park, 2pm

Saturday 14th

NFL Div 1: Kerry v Galway, Austin Stack Park, 5pm; Dublin v Monaghan, Croke Park, 7pm

NFL Div 2: Meath v Louth, Croke Park, 5pm; Kildare v Derry, St Conleth’s Park, 6.30pm

NFL Div 3: Down v Westmeath, Páirc Esler, 6pm; Laois v Sligo, O’Moore Park, 6pm

NFL Div 4: Waterford v Wicklow, Fraher Field, 6pm

Sunday 15th

NFL Div 1: Donegal v Mayo, Letterkenny, 1.45pm; Roscommon v Armagh, Dr Hyde Park, 2pm

NFL Div 2: Offaly v Cork, O’Connor Park, 2pm; Tyrone v Cavan, Healy Park, 3.45pm

NFL Div 3: Fermanagh v Clare, Brewster Park, 1pm; Limerick v Wexford, Rathkeale, 2pm

NFL Div 4: London v Leitrim, McGovern Park, 1pm; Antrim v Longford, Cargin, 2pm; Tipperary v Carlow, Semple Stadium, 2pm

Saturday 21st

NFL Div 1: Dublin v Kerry, Croke Park, 7pm; Galway v Roscommon, Pearse Stadium, 7pm

NFL Div 2: Derry v Offaly, Celtic Park, 6pm

NFL Div 4: Carlow v Waterford, Dr Cullen Park, 6pm

NHL Div 1A: Tipperary v Limerick, Semple Stadium, 5.30pm

NHL Div 1B: Dublin v Wexford, Croke Park, 5pm; Kildare v Clare, St Conleth’s Park, 6.30pm

Sunday 22nd

NFL Div 1: Monaghan v Mayo, St Tiernach’s Park, 1.45pm; Armagh v Donegal, Athletic Grounds, 3.45pm

NFL Div 2: Cork v Meath, Páirc Uí Rinn, 2pm; Louth v Tyrone, Ardee, 2pm; Cavan v Kildare, Breffni Park, 3pm

NFL Div 3: Westmeath v Fermanagh, Cusack Park Mullingar, 1pm; Clare v Laois, Cusack Park Ennis, 2pm; Sligo v Limerick, tbc, 2pm; Wexford v Down, Wexford Park, 2pm

NFL Div 4: Wicklow v London, Aughrim, 1pm; Leitrim v Antrim, Páirc Seán MacDiarmada, 2pm; Longford v Tipperary, Pearse Park, 2pm

NHL Div 1A: Kilkenny v Waterford, Nowlan Park, 1.45pm; Offaly v Galway, Birr, 2pm

NHL Div 1B: Antrim v Carlow, Dunloy, 1pm

Saturday 28th

NFL Div 2: Cavan v Louth, Breffni Park, 5.15pm; Tyrone v Offaly, Healy Park, 6pm; Kildare v Meath, St Conleth’s Park, 7pm

NFL Div 3: Down v Fermanagh, Páirc Esler, 6pm; Laois v Westmeath, O’Moore Park, 6pm; Limerick v Clare, Rathkeale, 6pm

NFL Div 4: Antrim v Wicklow, Portglenone, 5pm

NHL Div 1B: Carlow v Clare, Dr Cullen Park, 6pm

MARCH

Sunday 1st

NFL Div 1: Kerry v Monaghan, Fitzgerald Stadium, 1.15pm; Mayo v Armagh, MacHale Park, 1.15pm; Donegal v Galway, Ballyshannon, 1.15pm; Roscommon v Dublin, Dr Hyde Park, 2pm

NFL Div 2: Derry v Cork, Celtic Park, 1pm

NFL Div 3: Wexford v Sligo, Wexford Park, 2pm

NFL Div 4: London v Waterford, McGovern Park, 1pm; Longford v Carlow, Pearse Park, 2pm; Tipperary v Leitrim, Semple Stadium, 2pm

NHL Div 1A: Galway v Waterford, Pearse Stadium, 2pm; Offaly v Limerick, O’Connor Park, 2pm; Kilkenny v Cork, Nowlan Park, 3.15pm

NHL Div 1B: Down v Kildare, Ballycran, 1pm; Antrim v Dublin, Dunloy, 2pm

Saturday 7th

NHL Div 1A: Galway v Kilkenny, Pearse Stadium, 5.15pm; Limerick v Cork, Gaelic Grounds, 7pm

NHL Div 1B: Dublin v Down, Parnell Park, 5pm

Sunday 8th

NHL Div 1A: Waterford v Tipperary, Walsh Park, 3.15pm

NHL Div 1B: Clare v Wexford, Cusack Park, 1.15pm; Kildare v Carlow, St Conleth’s Park, 2pm

Saturday 14th

NFL Div 1: Kerry v Mayo, Austin Stack Park, 4pm; Dublin v Armagh, Croke Park, 7pm

NFL Div 2: Cork v Kildare, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 5pm; Meath v Tyrone, Croke Park, 5pm

NFL Div 3: Fermanagh v Laois, Brewster Park, 6pm

NFL Div 4: Carlow v London, Dr Cullen Park, 6pm

Sunday 15th

NFL Div 1: Roscommon v Donegal, Dr Hyde Park, 1.30pm; Monaghan v Galway, Inniskeen, 3.45pm

NFL Div 2: Louth v Derry, Ardee, 1.30pm; Offaly v Cavan, O’Connor Park, 2pm

NFL Div 3: Clare v Wexford, Cusack Park Ennis, 2pm; Sligo v Down, tbc, 2pm; Westmeath v Limerick, Cusack Park Mullingar, 2pm

NFL Div 4: Waterford v Antrim, Fraher Field, 1pm; Leitrim v Longford, Páirc Seán MacDiarmada, 2pm; Wicklow v Tipperary, Aughrim, 2pm

Saturday 21st

NHL Div 1A: Cork v Offaly, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 7pm; Limerick v Galway, Gaelic Grounds, 7pm; Tipperary v Kilkenny, Semple Stadium, 7pm

NHL Div 1B: Carlow v Dublin, Dr Cullen Park, 5pm; Down v Antrim, Páirc Esler, 5pm; Wexford v Kildare, Wexford Park, 5pm

Sunday 22nd

NFL Div 1: Armagh v Kerry, Athletic Grounds, 3.30pm; Galway v Dublin, Pearse Stadium, 3.30pm; Mayo v Roscommon, MacHale Park, 3.30pm; Monaghan v Donegal, St Tiernach’s Park, 3.30pm

NFL Div 2: Derry v Cavan, Celtic Park, 1.15pm; Kildare v Louth, St Conleth’s Park, 1.15pm; Offaly v Meath, O’Connor Park, 1.15pm; Tyrone v Cork, Healy Park, 1.15pm

NFL Div 3: Down v Laois, Páirc Esler, 2pm; Limerick v Fermanagh, Rathkeale, 2pm; Sligo v Clare, tbc, 2pm; Wexford v Westmeath, Wexford Park, 2pm

NFL Div 4: Antrim v London, Cargin, 1pm; Carlow v Leitrim, Dr Cullen Park, 1pm; Longford v Wicklow, Pearse Park, 1pm; Tipperary v Waterford, Semple Stadium, 1pm

Saturday 28th -Sunday 29^th: NFL finals (Divisions 1, 2, 3 & 4); NHL finals (Divisions 2, 3 & 4)

APRIL

Saturday 4th-Sunday 5^th: NHL finals (Divisions 1A & 1B)

Saturday 11th-Sunday 12^th: Start of provincial senior football championships

Saturday 18th-Sunday 19^th: Leinster SHC (R1): Galway v Kilkenny, Kildare v Wexford, Offaly v Dublin; Munster SHC (R1): Clare v Waterford, Tipperary v Cork

Saturday 25th-Sunday 26^th: Leinster SHC (R2): Kilkenny v Wexford, Galway v Offaly, Dublin v Kildare; Munster SHC Rd 2: Cork v Limerick, Waterford v Tipperary

MAY

Saturday 2nd-Sunday 3^rd: Munster SHC (3A): Clare v Limerick

Saturday 9th-Sunday 10^th: Munster SFC final; Connacht SFC final; Leinster SHC (R3): Offaly v Kilkenny, Kildare v Galway, Wexford v Dublin; Munster SHC (R3B): Waterford v Cork

Saturday 16th-Sunday 17^th: Leinster SFC final; Ulster SFC final; Leinster SHC (R4): Kilkenny v Kildare, Offaly v Wexford, Galway v Dublin; Munster SHC (R4): Tipperary v Clare, Limerick v Waterford

Saturday 23rd-Sunday 24^th: All-Ireland SFC (R1); Leinster SHC (R5): Dublin v Kilkenny, Wexford v Galway, Kildare v Offaly; Munster SHC (R5): Cork v Clare, Limerick v Tipperary

Saturday 30th-Sunday 31^st: All-Ireland SFC (R1)

JUNE

Saturday 6^th: Leinster SHC final; Joe McDonagh Cup final

Sunday 7^th: Munster SHC final

Saturday 13th-Sunday 14^th: All-Ireland SFC (R2); All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-final

Saturday 20th-Sunday 21^st: All-Ireland SFC (R3); All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals

Saturday 27th-Sunday 28^th: All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals

JULY

Saturday 4^th: All-Ireland SHC semi-final (Leinster winner v quarter-final winner)

Sunday 5^th: All-Ireland SHC semi-final (Munster winner v quarter-final winner)

Saturday 11th-Sunday 12^th: All-Ireland SFC semi-finals; Tailteann Cup final (Saturday)

Sunday 19^th: All-Ireland SHC final

Sunday 26^th: All-Ireland SFC final

AUGUST

Saturday 1^st: All-Ireland SHC final replay date

Saturday 8^th: All-Ireland SFC final replay date