Gaelic Games

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A motion to extend the GAA's inter-county season from 2027 was withdrawn before going to a vote at the association's Annual Congress at Croke Park on Saturday.

Motion 14 recommended that the All-Ireland finals should be concluded by the 32nd Sunday of the calendar year, with the hurling final played on the final Sunday in July and the football decider shifting to the second week of August.

The All-Ireland finals, which were traditionally staged in September, have been played in July since 2022.

However, the motion - fronted by former GAA director general Paraic Duffy - was withdrawn by GAA president Jarlath Burns shortly before Congress was disrupted by protesters.

"We're two codes and two levels - club and county," said Burns.

"It is always going to be a series of compromises. The fact that so many people spoke against it was very definitive. We will withdraw it."

The motion was expected to be heavily defeated if it had reached a vote.

This year's hurling final is set to be played on 19 July with the football showpiece to follow on 26 July.

Another withdrawn motion centred on players only being eligible to represent their county if they had played eight league of championship games for their club in the previous year.

Elsewhere, a motion to drop the All-Ireland hurling preliminary quarter-finals was passed with 94.1% voting in favour, while a motion calling for the All-Ireland minor football and hurling finals to act as curtain-raisers to the senior deciders was defeated.

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Derek Kent has been elected to become the 42nd president of the GAA following Friday's vote at Croke Park.

The Wexford native will take over from Jarlath Burns when the Armagh man's three-year tenure ends next year.

Kent was elected on 169 of the 227 votes cast, seeing off Tipperary's Ger Ryan and Sligo's John Murphy to surpass the quota of 139 on the first count.

A member of the Taghmon-Camross club, Kent served as chair of the Wexford County Board from 2017 until 2020 before a three-year term as chair of the Leinster Council from 2023 until just last month, while he also chaired the GAA's Central Competitions Control Committee under previous president Larry McCarthy

"It's a great honour to be here tonight and I want to thank you all sincerely," the president-elect told GAA Congress in his acceptance speech.

"I will always do the right thing for the GAA and the first right thing I will do is to thank two great friends. And when I say friends, they have been really true, honest friends, both Ger and John.

"They are both gentlemen who have the GAA at heart and know the real meaning of the GAA."

Kent become the third GAA President from Wexford and first since Michael Kehoe's tenure ended in 1952.

David Mohan
BBC Sport NI journalist

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Tyrone manager Malachy O'Rourke says Darragh Canavan will be "a big loss" for the remainder of the league as the Red Hands seek to "fight our way out" of a relegation battle in Division Two.

His side's 1-15 to 0-13 defeat by Louth in Ardee leaves them with three points from four games, level with Kildare and one point above Cavan in the drop zone.

At the outset of the campaign, Tyrone were regarded as one of the favourites for promotion and while they are not out of the running with three games to go, finishing in the top two seems like a long shot.

The task is made tougher with Canavan setting off for a month in Australia and O'Rourke is not downplaying the prospect of finishing the league campaign without the star forward.

"It (Louth defeat) puts us back down in the relegation battle, something we didn't want, but that's where we find ourselves, and we're just going to have to fight our way out of it," O'Rourke said.

"A quality player like Darragh is going to be a big loss, and obviously, we could do without it, but we have to go on with what we have.

"With everyone else, it's a case of just really digging in and understanding that we have to produce performances and see how things go from there."

Tyrone host bottom of the table Offaly in Dungannon on Saturday (18:00 GMT, live on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport NI website) and O'Rourke expects a "massive battle" against a team co-managed by Mickey Harte who delivered three All-Ireland titles during his managerial tenure with the Red Hands.

The current incumbent feels there is enough belief within the squad to park the Louth defeat and respond this week.

"After a loss like this, it's obviously hard with a week's turnaround to pick them up," he added.

"There's a lot of experience in there, and a lot of character in there. Hopefully, we'll be able to pick them up this week, but it's a tough loss."

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Antrim beat 2025 All-Ireland finalists Cork 2-10 by 1-11 in Division 1A after second-half goals from Nicola McAtamney and Aimee Ferris at MTU Cork.

The result is Antrim's first victory this campaign as Cork's wait for their first win in Division 1A this season continues.

The visitors made a bright start to the game and took an early 0-6 to 0-1 lead after two frees from McAtamney, Eobha McAllister and Janey McIntosh with Hayley Ryan registering Cork's only early free.

The home side responded with scores from Orlaith Cremin and Emma Murphy which tightened the game before two more frees from McAtamney gave Antrim a 0-8 to 0-5 lead at the break.

After the restart, McAtamney and Orlaith Cahalane traded goals as Cork took the lead for the first time in the 48th minute.

However, Ferris scored for Antrim three minutes later and they pulled further ahead thanks to frees from McAtamney and McAllister.

Despite points Cahalane and Millie Condon late in the game, Cork couldn't complete a dramatic comeback before the final whistle.

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Antrim's National Hurling League Division 1B game against Carlow on Sunday will now be played at Corrigan Park.

Originally, the game was due to take place in Dunloy, but has been switched to the Belfast venue with its original throw-in time of 13:00 GMT intact.

Corrigan Park has been Antrim's settled home venue for past number of seasons but was closed at the end of the 2025 club championships for remedial work.

The Saffrons hosted Clare in Cushendall in their second league fixture - a game that was also switched from Dunloy - while the footballers have played their league games in Portglenone.

Davy Fitzgerald's side go into Sunday's game with three straight defeats, including a disappointing reverse away to Kildare last time out, which leaves them joint bottom of the division with neighbours Down and desperate for a win to give themselves a shot at survival.

Carlow have played a game less in the seven-team division, beating Down on the opening day and enjoyed a bye week before defeat away to Wexford on 7 February.

Sunday's game will be streamed live on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport NI website and app.

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While Donegal manager Jim McGuinness was "delighted to get the points on the board" following Sunday's Division One win over Mayo, he feels "there's a lot of tidying up to be done from the second half".

The eight-point win maintained the Ulster champions' perfect start to the league as they now sit clear at the top of Division One.

Conor O'Donnell's goal midway through the second half put Donegal in a commanding position and while there was much to be happy with, McGuinness felt there is plenty to work on for the rest of the campaign.

"We controlled the game well (in the first half), the build-up (play) was good and we managed to get out because we were playing against a really aggressive Mayo team that like to get after the high press," McGuinness told BBC Sport NI.

"We got sloppy in the second half with a couple of hand-passes that went to feet and stuff like that, fellas shooting balls that dropped short and both kick-outs dropped again, so there is a good bit to work on, but it's the time of the year to do it. At the same time, we'd be happy with their application."

Donegal make the trip to face Armagh next week in a repeat of last year's Ulster final and victory there would leave them in a very strong position to qualify for the league final.

However, McGuinness is thinking bigger picture and their Ulster Championship quarter-final against Down in late April he is "hopeful" will take place in Ballybofey should the MacCumhaill Park pitch be available after upgrade work.

McGuinness is also keen to upgrade his squad for the championship and reiterated his plan to use the league to unearth fresh talent.

"Our objectives are the same as at the start of the league," he insists.

"We're trying to develop a wee bit of depth in the squad and give younger players an opportunity like Conor (McCahill) who did very well (against Mayo).

"We're getting ready for championship and conscious of Down's results. They're winning every week as well and had a brilliant campaign at the end of the championship last year, so that's what we're using these games for - to put us in the right spot to be ready for the championship."

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Armagh suffered their second defeat in Division One of the National Football League as they fell 2-8 to 1-9 to Cork in a rearranged game in Crossmaglen.

The two sides were due to meet last Sunday in Dromintee, but the game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

The Orchard County, who lost to Waterford in their opening game before recovering to beat Kildare in round two, led 1-3 to 0-4 at half-time in Oliver Plunkett Park.

The two sides exchanged points early on before Alana Donnelly fired home a goal for Armagh on 26 minutes as they went in two up at the break.

A few early points at the start of the second half drew Cork level before Rachel O'Regan scored on 48 minutes to give the Leesiders the advantage.

Rachel Leahy then added a second goal for Cork, who held on for the two-point win which maintains their unbeaten start to the campaign.

In Division Four, Wicklow picked up a first win of the season as they edged past Derry 0-10 to 0-9.

NFL Division One result:

Cork 2-8 Armagh 1-9

NFL Division Four results:

Leitrim 8-20 Kilkenny 1-1

Sligo 2-8 Longford 3-2

Carlow 2-8 Offaly 0-12

Wicklow 0-10 Derry 0-9