RTÉ GAA Podcast

Offaly great Michael Duignan and RTÉ Sport's Damian Lawlor join Cathal Mullaney to preview the weekend's league finals in hurling, namely the clash of Limerick and Cork in Division 1A and the 1B decider between Clare and Dublin.
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Cathal Mullaney is joined by Éamonn Fitzmaurice and Rory O'Neill to sort through the weekend's Allianz Football League finals. Unsurprisingly there were two somewhat disappointed men in Éamonn and Rory, with both Kerry and Cork missing out in their respective finals, but as will be revealed, in very different ways.
Éamonn explained that Kerry's 13-point loss to Donegal will not have much bearing on the county's championship season. He also reflects that the manner of the defeat may sting but there will be no panic in the Kingdom over the coming weeks.
The panel considered the differences in Donegal's play compared to last year's All-Ireland final, and the ex-All-Ireland winning manager is relishing the "tactical innovation" to come in the championship, given the glimpses show by the Tír Chonaill men on Sunday.
Rory calls on Éamonn's FRC knowledge to discuss the refereeing of tackling and the hooter issues he saw in Cork v Meath, where he felt there was an unsatisfactory finish to the Division 2 clash.
Joe Murphy’s remarks about keeping his coaching and backroom team local were noted, and Éamonn added that people will now be sitting up and taking notice after the Barrowsiders claimed their first League title since 1971.

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Ciaran Whelan and Rory O'Neill join Cathal Mullaney in studio to look ahead to this weekend's Allianz Football League finals.
First Whelo recalls his one and only league final appearance, which took place in Cork... for some reason. He hasn't dwelt on it much in the 30-odd years since.
The league finals mean different things to different teams (04:00), with the likes of Wexford, Longford and Carlow placing more emphasis on it than a Donegal or a Kerry.
As to that Division 1 final (06:00), Whelo expects both teams to hold a little back ahead of Championship, with Kerry's lack of Paudie Clifford giving them a perfect excuse should things not go their way.
The Division 2 decider could be a clinker (16:50), with both Meath and Cork free to throw off the shackles, their primary goal of promotion already secured. Meath's familiarity with Croke Park and Cork's celebration of Tyrone win may play a part.
The most significant final is the third tier meeting of Down and Wexford (23:00) with Sam Maguire football likely on the line. Can the Model men come down from their Roy of the Rovers escapades against Westmeath, and even if they do, are Down a level above?
Carlow and Longford in Division 4 (26:45) have achieved their objective of escaping the basement dungeon but the carrot of a trophy for such counties cannot be discounted.
Finally Rory, the king of a championship format discussion (28:30), takes us through the new All-Ireland football structure, with slides for those of you watching on YouTube.
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Cathal Mullaney is joined by Enda McGinley, Shane McGrath and Damian Lawlor to reflect on an exhilirating final round of Allianz League games over the weekend.
They also pay tribute to Michael Lyster following the death of the legendary The Sunday Game presenter over the weekend (00:30).
The football chat starts with divisions 3 and 4 (5:30), where Wexford pulled off the heist of the weekend to gain promotion ahead of Westmeath, while in Division 4, Wicklow threw away the chance to escape the basement, with Longford benefiting.
In the top tier, Dublin were relegated while Donegal and Kerry will meet in the final, with the Kingdom's draw in Armagh capturing Enda McGinley's attention.
Meath and Cork hinted at an interesting summer ahead with their promotion to the top tier, while Kildare's hopes of progress stunted once more by relegation.
In hurling (41:45), Shane fancies Cork as the All-Ireland favourites but has lots of Limerick men in his team of the league.
The Munster pair will meet in the league final in the Gaelic Grounds, with Shane strongly advocating for a Croke Park decider.
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The Allianz Leagues reach their final round of round robin games with plenty still to be decided.
The four football divisions are the more intriguing, and Peter Canavan joins Cathal Mullaney and Rory O'Neill to run through the permutations.
Hurling (35:00) has less on the line, but the de facto semi-final between Limerick and Galway does raise a couple of talking points.
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