Mayo to battle Armagh and Laois in All-Ireland group stages

Stars from the competing counties gathered at Croke Park today to officially launch the 2023 TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Championships.

All roads lead to Croke Park on Sunday, August 13, which will be an historic occasion to mark the 50th TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship final.

The captains of the 1974 All-Ireland finalists – Tipperary’s Kitty Ryan-Savage and Offaly’s Agnes Gorman – joined current players at Croke Park today to launch the 2023 campaign.

The very first All-Ireland senior final, won by Tipperary, was played in Durrow, Co. Laois, in 1974.

To acknowledge this, TG4’s Peil na mBan Beo lead anchor Máire Ní Bhraonáin was joined at Durrow Castle recently by Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh (Kerry), Maria Reilly (Mayo), Aimee Mackin (Armagh) and Niamh O’Sullivan from TG4 All-Ireland senior champions Meath for a promotional photoshoot.

Intermediate representatives Síofra Ní Chonaill (Clare) and Amy Hamill (Monaghan) were also present alongside junior players Claire Dunne (Sligo) and Ruth Bermingham (Carlow) to help launch the 2023 TG4 All-Ireland Championships.

At Croke Park today, a host of leading players were also present as the countdown to what promises to be a spectacular season of championship football continues.

TG4 have been title sponsors of the All-Ireland Ladies Football Championships since 2001 and the partnership has evolved into one of the most recognised and innovative in world sport.

In 2022, TG4 announced a five-year extension of their sponsorship of the All-Ireland Ladies Football Championships, with this deal set to last until the conclusion of the 2027 season.

With the 2023 TG4 provincial championships coming to an end yesterday, the groups for the All-Ireland senior and intermediate championships have been populated.

At senior level, defending champions Meath, aiming for a third successive TG4 All-Ireland senior title, will look to regroup after losing the Leinster final to Dublin. The Royal County now find themselves alongside Ulster champions Donegal and Waterford in Group B of the All-Ireland series.

Group A features Connacht champions Mayo, Ulster runners-up Armagh and Laois, while Leinster champions Dublin, Lidl National League Division 1 champions Kerry, who lost to Cork in yesterday’s Munster final, and Cavan will play in Group C.

Group D is made up of Munster champions Cork, Connacht runners-up Galway and Tipperary.

In the intermediate championship, 2021 and 2022 All-Ireland finalists Wexford lost to Kildare in yesterday’s Leinster final and are pitted with Connacht champions Roscommon and Monaghan in Group C.

Kildare are in Group A with Leitrim and Louth, with Clare, Tyrone, Offaly and Wicklow are in a four-team Group B.

In Group D, newly-crowned Ulster intermediate champions Antrim, who were the 2022 TG4 All-Ireland junior winners, will battle it out with Longford and Westmeath.

In the senior and intermediate championships, two teams will emerge from each group to contest the quarterfinals, with the top two teams in each of the junior groups progressing to the semi-finals.

The 2023 TG4 All-Ireland Championships will commence over the weekend of June 10/11, with five intermediate fixtures down for decision.

The TG4 senior championship is due to get under way on Saturday, June 17, with the junior action commencing on Sunday, June 18.

TG4 and the LGFA will shortly reveal details of another bumper TV schedule which will run until the conclusion of the championships at Croke Park on Sunday, August 13.

The LGFA and TG4 are also delighted to confirm that the 2023 TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-finals will be played as a double-header at Semple Stadium in Thurles, Co. Tipperary, on Saturday, July 29.

The 50th year of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association, which was founded in Thurles on July 18, 1974, will officially commence on July 18, 2023.

The 2023 TG4 All-Ireland finals will be staged as a triple-header once again at Croke Park on Sunday, August 13, with the junior final at 11.45 a.m. followed by the intermediate decider at 1.45 p.m. and the senior encounter at 4 p.m.

Peil na mBan Beo will be available to audiences globally on the TG4 Player at https://www.tg4.ie/en/player/watch-live/home and on the TG4 Mobile and Smart TV App. Former Galway star Máire Ní Bhraonáin will lead TG4’s Peil na mBan Beo coverage once again for the forthcoming championship season, while the commentary team will be headed up by Brian Tyers.

They will be joined by expert panellists including former Cork TG4 All-Ireland Championship winners Rena Buckley and Rhóna Ní Bhuachalla, ex-Waterford ace Michelle Ryan, Dublin All-Ireland winners Sorcha Furlong and Sinéad Finnegan, Wicklow’s Niamh Russell and current Donegal player Emer Gallagher.

TG4’s coverage will be produced by Waterford-based production company, Nemeton TV. The LGFA and TG4 are also delighted to confirm that all other games that are not being televised in the TG4 All-Ireland Championships will be available to view via the LGFA’s live-streaming service. Visit https://page.inplayer.com/lgfaseason2023 for full details.