Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Cork's Brian O'Driscoll after they defeat to Dublin.James Crombie/INPHO AnalysisAssessment How will eliminated teams reflect on 2025 Sam Maguire exit? Four more teams dropped out of the All-Ireland SFC race at the weekend. 6.01am, 24 Jun 2025 Share options Cork were nicely positioned to overturn Dublin on Saturday. A Chris Óg Jones goal gave them a half-time lead of 1-8 to 0-9, and with just over 10 minutes to go, the sides were level. But Cork faded in the closing stages as Dublin claimed four of the last five points to win by three. And so, Cork exit after a season which saw league promotion elude them again, suffering an eight-point defeat to Monaghan while Roscommon outgunned the Rebels by 2-21 to 0-13 in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Along with beating Limerick in the Munster quarter-final, Cork’s other championship victory saw them overturn Roscommon to squeeze through to the preliminary quarter-finals. “For the bigger matches, we don’t seem to have a problem then,” manager John Cleary remarked after their defeat to Dublin. He was also referring to Cork’s other big performance this year which saw them push Kerry all the way to extra-time in the Munster semi-final. When the sides met again in the All-Ireland round-robin series, Kerry were 11-point winners while Cork squandered first-half goal chances. Mark Cronin’s penalty in the second half was also saved. Change could be coming for Cork as Clery’s term is up as Cork manager but he declined to comment on his future. “We’ll talk to the relevant parties or whatever but at this stage now my term is up, so we’ll see what the future holds going forward.” Advertisement Cavan's Paddy Lynch.Leah Scholes / INPHO Leah Scholes / INPHO / INPHO It was always going to be difficult to travel down to Killarney in search of a result, but Cavan did reduce the gap to five points in the closing stages of their preliminary quarter-final. But even with that, Kerry were in control as they won by nine, while Cavan were too reliant on Paddy Lynch who scored 0-12 of to cap off his comeback season from an ACL injury. As Cavan sit down to look back at their second season under Raymond Galligan, a huge positive was the return of Gearóid McKiernan following a year out. In terms of results, their All-Ireland round-robin series win over Mayo is surely the most significant. A three-point in MacHale Park that would have been eight only for a late burst of 1-2 from the hosts. That result blew Group One wide open and ultimately sealed Cavan’s place in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals as they edged out Mayo on the head-to-head. Their quest for league promotion came down to a missed two-point effort from Dara McVeety in the final round against Cork. Had he scored, Cavan would have returned to Division 1 football for 2026 with a draw. Instead, they lost out by two and finished Division 2 in fourth place behind Meath. Cavan started the league in relegation danger after conceding 5-43 in back-to-back defeats to Monaghan and Meath but recovered with four wins on the bounce to move to the brink of promotion. Sam Mulroy lifting the trophy after Louth's Leinster final victory.James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO A first Leinster title in 68 years makes 2025 one that Louth people will remember fondly. And to achieve that feat against their 2010 tormentors Meath makes it all the sweeter for the Wee County who have now contested the last three provincial finals. However, they did struggle to recalibrate for the round-robin series. Louth boss Ger Brennan aptly described the challenge as “doing their best to put some of the air back into the balloon.” A Group 3 do or die battle with Clare saw Louth revive their season with a three-point win. But they still appeared quite sluggish as they struggled to shake off the challenge of the Munster finalists. They were eight points up with 10 minutes remaining, but a late 1-1 from Eoin Clery made them sweat for their preliminary quarter-final spot. Louth competed with Donegal up to half-time on Sunday, but were outscored by 1-16 to 0-5 in the second half to bring their season to a close. The Louth team bus only arrived in Ballybofey 45 minutes before throw-in. Brennan explained after the game that they took a wrong turn from their team hotel in Enniskillen, which diverted them towards Sligo and lengthened the journey. That setback surely had an impact on the players although the gulf in quality was still the prevailing factor throughout. But despite that flat ending, this is still a prosperous year for Louth. A first U20 Leinster crown in 44 years, coupled with the senior team’s success, gives them a strong platform to build on in 2026 having also preserved their Division 2 status. Conor Laverty and Pádraic Joyce after the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final between Down and Galway.James Lawlor / INPHO James Lawlor / INPHO / INPHO Galway found Newry a difficult place to stamp their ticket to the All-Ireland quarter-final. Victory wasn’t totally assured until Céin D’Arcy’s late point at the end of 2-26 to 3-21 battle, while Pádraic Joyce admitted after the game that he considered changing goalkeepers such was the pressure they were facing in trying to win their own kickouts. Related Reads Tyrone to face Dublin, Meath v Galway in All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals 'We could be at worse things on the weekends' - Pádraic Joyce 1-7 for Shane Walsh as Galway edge a stone-cold classic in Newry to make quarter-final There was also some debate about Shane Walsh’s first-half goal as Down’s Patrick McCarthy was being treated for a head injury. “The amount of times they’re stopped just for head injuries, I don’t think the referees need to be playing on,” Down manager Conor Laverty said afterwards. Down had secured a home preliminary quarter-final after finishing second in Group 3 of the round-robin series. But the 2024 Tailteann Cup champions will face a big challenge to return to the Sam Maguire competition next year having been relegated from Division 2. Their league ended with back-to-back wins against Westmeath and Monaghan and they were narrowly denied results against Cavan (1-20 to 1-18) and Louth (2-17 to 0-22). But that Louth loss was costly as they suffered the drop on the head-to-head. They may also be without the experienced Caolan Mooney who has hinted at retirement in the wake of his two points in an impactful display off the bench against Galway. Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here Sinead Farrell Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “How will eliminated teams reflect on 2025 Sam Maguire exit?”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “How will eliminated teams reflect on 2025 Sam Maguire exit?”. 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