First three Cork hurling and football matches will be live on TV in May
Cork's Darragh Fitzgibbon and Limerick's Aaron Gillane in action in the 2020 Allianz Hurling League game at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Picture: INPHO/Ken Sutton
STARVED of live GAA action since the Cork U20s hurlers recorded an impressive Munster U20 victory over Tipp at floodlit Páirc Uí Chaoimh all the way back on December 23 last year, there will be massive interest in this season's hurling and football leagues
Already delayed from the spring and running into the summer to directly correlate to championship, Cork supporters will be delighted to know the hurlers' opening Allianz Division 1B clash with Waterford will be shown by TG4 live from Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday week at 3.45pm.
Kieran Kingston's side were beaten by the Déise at the outset of 2020 and their Munster rivals then repeated the feat last Halloween in the provincial semi-final. Gaining a modicum of revenge, but more importantly, picking up some confidence and momentum, will be on the agenda.
The Cork footballers don't have any home games in Allianz Division 2 South, a punishment for their Covid training breach at the outset of the year, so instead travel to Semple to take on Kildare on May 15.
It's the first part of what would have been a tasty trip to Thurles for Cork fans in a pre-pandemic age, as the hurlers battle Tipp later that night.
Instead, the Rebel faithful will need to tune in to eir Sport to catch the football action. Like TG4, the subscription channel provide excellent GAA coverage, but it's just a shame it's not free-to-air given the current climate.
Thankfully, RTÉ will be screening the hurling, along with eir Sport.
The other Cork league game confirmed for TV is also on eir Sport, the hurlers up in Limerick on Saturday, June 5, in what will be a bit of a phoney war given they meet in the Munster semi-final a month later. Still, when Cork beat John Kiely's side in 2019 in championship it came on the back of a league win in spring.
Other Cork matches could yet be slotted into the TG4 schedule, but that will only be finalised later in the league. Cork-Galway in the Páirc seems an obvious choice on June 13.
Any games not being televised will be streamed via GAAGO, which is the likely fate of the football ties with Laois and Clare and the hurling against Westmeath. Overall, TG4 will screen 25 games and eir Sport a total of 11.
In addition to the live coverage of the Allianz Leagues games, GAA 2021, TG4’s weekly Gaelic Games TV highlights show, returns on Monday, May 10 at 8pm. RTÉ will have an Allianz League Sunday show from the night before, at 9.30pm.
Westmeath v Galway, 2pm, live on TG4; Limerick v Tipperary, 5.30pm, live on RTÉ & eir Sport
Dublin v Kilkenny, 3.30pm, live on eir Sport
Wexford v Laois, 1.45pm, live on TG4
, 3.45pm, live on TG4
Antrim v Clare, 2pm, live on TG4 Player App and deferred on TG4
Kerry v Galway, 3pm, live on eir Sport
, 3.30pm live on eir Sport
Tyrone v Donegal, 5pm, live on TG4
, 7.30pm, live on RTÉ & eir Sport
Roscommon v Dublin, 1.45pm, live on TG4
Galway v Limerick, 3.45pm, live on TG4
Monaghan v Armagh, 2pm, live on TG4 Player App and deferred on TG4
Antrim v Wexford, 3pm, live on TG4
Dublin v Clare, 5.15pm, live on eir Sport
, 7.15pm live on eir Sport
Laois v Cork, Portlaoise, 7pm.
Cork v Westmeath, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 3pm.
Clare v Cork, Ennis, 1.45pm.
Cork v Galway, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 1.45pm.
The Cork footballers will also have a relegation play-off or league semi-final on June 12 or 13.
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