The GAA Championships on RTÉ

THE GAA CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE BACK WITH A BANG

LIVE AND FREE TO AIR ACROSS ALL RTÉ PLATFORMS

The Sunday Game and The Sunday Game Live return on Sunday 12 April

Live championship fixture list on RTÉ Television and RTÉ Player

Watch RTÉ GAA Championship Preview available now exclusively on RTÉ Player

RTÉ begins its live Championship action this weekend, continuing its year-round free-to-air GAA coverage across video, audio and online on RTÉ2, RTÉ Player, RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ Raidió Na Gaeltachta, RTÉ Radio app, RTÉ.ie and RTÉ GAA Podcast.

To whet appetites ahead of the weekend, Damian Lawlor is joined on RTÉ Player by Marty Morrissey and a panel of GAA and Camogie legends for the RTÉ GAA Championship Preview featuring Patrick Horgan, John Mullane, Liam Sheedy, Éamonn Fitzmaurice, Peter Canavan and Aoife Sheehan.

Marty Morrissey said: ‘I can see what Micheál Donoghue is doing with the Galway hurling team, there’s a cocktail of youth and experience – Galway will be a major threat in the Leinster championship this year. It’s going to be an intriguing championship.’ I just sense that Limerick really want to win the All Ireland this year, there’s a hunger, there’s an appetite there.’

John Mullane said: ‘The goal for Waterford this year is to break into that top 3. That game up in Ennis is going to be a massive fixture – it’s probably going to be a winner takes all fixture. The games are going to be so tight – getting off to a good start in the Munster championship is key.’

Patrick Horgan said: ‘It’s important for players not to get too bogged down in one game; once it’s played you need to forget it and move onto the next. It’s forgetting what happened in the past is the most important thing.’

Peter Canavan said: ‘From a footballing point of view, we’re going to have a brilliant championship, every province now is really competitive. Whilst everybody will be saying Kerry will be a shoo-in to win Munster, they would be foolish to write off a resurging Cork team.’
Éamonn Fitzmaurice said: ‘I’m looking forward to seeing how managers and players evolve this year under the rules as we’ve seen a good bit of evolution during the course of the league, I expect to see even more in the championship.’

For further quotes from all pundits – please watch here RTÉ GAA Championship Preview 2026 – RTE Player.

RTÉ’s television coverage begins on Sunday 12 April with Armagh v Tyrone in the Ulster Championship from the Athletic Grounds with Joanne Cantwell on The Sunday Game Live (throw-in 4.15pm, RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player).

Jacqui Hurley and guests return on Sunday night with The Sunday Game (Sunday 12 April at 9.30pm on RTÉ2 & RTÉ Player) to look back at the weekend’s Championship action.

The following week (Saturday 18 April, 9.30pm, RTÉ2 & RTÉ Player) sees Damian Lawlor and panel with highlights and analysis of the day’s games on the first The Saturday Game of the year.

There’s a live Munster Hurling Championship double-header on Sunday 19 April (1.30pm, RTÉ2 & RTÉ Player) with Clare v Waterford followed by Tipperary v Cork on The Sunday Game Live.

RTÉ will televise 35 live Championship games, including the Joe McDonagh Cup and Tailteann Cup Finals, the four provincial football finals, the Munster and Leinster Hurling Finals, and the All-Ireland semi-finals in football, hurling and camogie.

The road to Croke Park begins on April 12 with live coverage across RTÉ Television and RTÉ Player, with RTÉ Radio 1 providing exclusive radio commentary, featuring the Camogie League Finals and Armagh v Tyrone in the Ulster SFC. Coverage continues through April and May with key Munster SHC clashes, including Clare, Cork, Limerick and Tipperary in action, alongside major football ties such as Mayo v Roscommon and Donegal v Tyrone/Armagh, before culminating in the provincial football finals on May 10 and 17.
The provincial stages conclude in June with the Joe McDonagh Cup Final, followed by the Leinster and Munster Hurling Finals, before the All-Ireland football quarter-finals on June 28 and the hurling semi-finals in early July. Football then takes centre stage with the Tailteann Cup Final and All-Ireland semi-finals on July 11 and 12. The season concludes with the All-Ireland Hurling Final on July 19, the All-Ireland Football Final on July 26, and the All-Ireland Camogie Finals on August 9, all live across RTÉ platforms.

TÉ’s full fixture list can be viewed in the Notes to Editor.

RTÉ Radio 1 will have live commentary, updates and reports on all the Championship action from the very start on April 11 and 12 on Sunday Sport and a specially extended Saturday Sport throughout the Championship season. Des Cahill, Joanne Cantwell and Marie Crowe will bring listeners exclusive national radio match commentaries every weekend.

There’ll also be previews and reviews daily across Inside Sport and on Morning Ireland on RTÉ Radio 1 and there will be full round-ups of the highlights and main talking points on the weekend television news bulletins Six One and Nine O’Clock News with RTÉ’s GAA Correspondent Marty Morrissey.

Inside Sport (weekdays at 6pm on RTÉ Radio 1) will be previewing and reviewing the Championship action on a weekly basis with Anthony Daly, Liam Sheedy, Patrick Horgan, Shane McGrath, Colm Cooper, Cora Staunton, Peter Canavan and Brendan Devenney.

Irish language commentary on the All-Ireland football, hurling and camogie championships will begin in May, with matches broadcast every weekend until August, including full matchday coverage, presentation and analysis as Gaeilge on All-Ireland Hurling and Football Finals day.

Alongside commentators Garry Mac Donncha and Cuán Ó Flatharta, co-commentary and analysis will be provided by Dara Ó Cinnéide, Pat Fleury and a host of other former players.

On RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, live commentary, analysis and reporting can be heard from the Gaeltacht games, and from all corners of the country every weekend on Spórt an tSathairn, Spórt an Tráthnóna and Spórt an Lae.

Alongside all of the linear coverage, which will be available on RTÉ Player both live and on-demand plus the RTÉ Player exclusive RTÉ GAA Championship Preview, there will also be a selection of GAA documentaries available on-demand:

Camogie: Inside the Championship
Sunday Best: 40 Years Of The Sunday Game
Hell For Leather – The Story Of The GAA
The Game
Kevin Moran: Codebreaker
All Ireland Day
Marooned
Kilkenny v Tipperary: The Trilogy
The All-Stars at 50
New Gaels
A Summer in Blue
Anna Geary: Why Girls Quit Sport
Micko
Skin In The Game
Blues Sisters
Réiteoir
Punt: The Irish and The NFL
Páirc Life: Reality Bites
The Geansaí
When Michael Met Davy
Le Chéile
Ré Réabhlóide, CLG Agus Cogadh Na gCarad
Gaelic In The Joy
DJ Carey: The Dodger
Follow all the games on the RTÉ Sport website and RTÉ News app with our live blogs, match reports and reaction. Missed the action? Watch match highlights back on RTÉ’s YouTube page, RTÉ.ie and RTÉ News app. As well as expert opinion from columnists Lee Keegan, Enda McGinley and Shane McGrath, there will be features, interviews and all the breaking news. Cathal Mullaney and guests will offer expert midweek analysis on the RTÉ GAA Podcast. Follow The Sunday Game and RTÉ Sport on your social channels for all the best highlights, punditry and debate.

Declan McBennett, Group Head of Sport, RTÉ, said: ‘With the anticipation building across all codes, we are excited at the prospect of another thrilling championship. At both provincial and national level, the championship is the true test of a teams progress and it’s the biggest draw for players and supporters alike. Nothing beats the championship and RTÉ is delighted to be at the heart of it, right from the beginning to the steps of the Hogan Stand on All Ireland Final day.’

-ENDS-

Date: Tuesday 7 April, 2026

For more information please contact:
Maureen Catterson, RTÉ Communications Manager