Amateurs set for sidelines
Cheltenham ban in place
WITH THE start of the Cheltenham Festival just four weeks away, there has been no move yet to lift the current prohibition on amateur riders competing in Britain as part of the strict protocols that allow racing to continue behind closed doors.
And unless there is a change of heart, this could see ten-times Festival winner, Jamie Codd, among those sidelined.
Since January 16 amateur riders are not allowed to race in Britain, and if this is still in force it will hit three Festival races confined to amateurs - the National Hunt Chase, the Kim Muir, and the Foxhunters.
They may have to be removed from the schedule or run with professional riders on board because of a ruling that the amateurs are not among the elite of their sport.
Not only Codd, but others to lose out will include vastly experienced Wexford riders such as four times point-to-point champion Barry O’Neill (Kiltealy), and Rob James (Kilanne), who won his first Festival race last March on Milan Native.
Also out will be the likes of Patrick Mullins, twelve times Irish amateur champion, who has ridden a record 640-plus track winners; Derek O’Connor, twelve times point-to-point champion who has ridden more than 1,200 winners including four at the Cheltenham Festival; and British stars like Will Biddick and Sam Waley-Cohen who won the Gold Cup itself on Long Run.
These rank among the best riders currently operating; they are amateur in name only and more than a match for the best in the paid ranks.
To say they are not good enough to compete is quite frankly ludicrous and even insulting.
Codd has ridden 263 winners on the track and 965 in pointto-point.
He has a Cheltenham roll of honour that any professional would be extremely proud of - he has won the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup a record four times, the National Hunt Chase (the Amateur Gold Cup) a record three times, and beat all the top professionals when taking the Champion Bumper twice and the Cross Country Chase.
And on top of all that, after winning three different Festival races on Cause of Causes in successive years, he partnered the horse to a very close second in the 2017 Aintree Grand National, just beaten by One For Arthur.
Just to illustrate his versatility, in August 2016 Codd enjoyed another high-profile success on the flat when landing the Amateur Derby at Epsom on the John Quinn-trained Hubertas.
Willie Mullins, perennial Irish champion trainer and the man responsible for more Cheltenham winners than anyone else in history, says he remains hopeful his son, Patrick (who has four Festival wins to his name), and the other top amateurs will be able to line up in March.
He said the ruling ‘was another surprise, but we are getting used to those in these pandemic times.
‘I’m hoping that something can be done; we still have lot of time to go and hopefully the figures on both sides of the Irish Sea will be better and governments will be looking at things differently.’
With his nephew David Mullins recently springing a surprise by announcing his retirement, Patrick would be in line for even more rides than usual.
‘Certainly he would be a top member on our team at Cheltenham - he could have half a dozen nice rides,’ said Mullins Senior.
‘We’ve discussed it, but there’s nothing much we can do. Obviously there are talks ongoing.
‘It’s very unfair on the top English amateurs too... they all look forward to Cheltenham as the highlight of their year like everyone else in racing.
‘I haven’t fully read through the protocol that keeps them out of it because I feel things might shift about in a month’s time, and there might be a chance they can ride at the Festival.
‘I’m sure Patrick and the other amateurs will be doing their best and we’ll be trying to help them as well,’ Willie Mullins concluded.
It would be nice to see some more of the influential trainers and owners, and even those top professional jockeys, on both sides of the Irish Sea rallying around the so-called ‘amateurs’ in a show of solidarity in an effort to see them taking their rightful place at Cheltenham from March 16 onwards.
I suppose that is being a bit idealistic, especially amongst the riders as the absence of the amateurs would open up three more races for the professionals if you want to take the cynical view, but in my opinion it would be the right and honourable thing to do.
Jamie Codd’s ten Cheltenham Festival winners: the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup - Character Building (2009), Junior (2011), The Package (2015) and Cause Of Causes (2016); The National Hunt Chase (Amateur Gold Cup) – Cause of Causes (2015), Le B reuil (2019) and Ravenhill (2020); Cross Country Chase – Cause of Causes (2017); Champion Bumper – Fayonagh (2017) and Envoi Allen (2019).
SOLUTIONS AND a flexible approach to protocol can be achieved through political and diplomatic effort. We are now eleven months through an on and off lockdown but no nearer a solution as to when even our young people can actively become involved in sport again.
Flexibility seems to have gone missing, while political solutions are hidden behind continuous meetings of committees, far too many to mention. I am perplexed by the lack of movement towards outdoor sporting activity, either politically or through the association itself.
And it’s even more confusing that the GAA formulated a fixtures programme for the season, seemingly without checking their status.
And what is even more annoying is that the Government did not see it as a matter of importance to confirm that the association had lost its elite status once the All-Ireland finals were played last year.
Last weekend should have seen the Allianz National Leagues up and running. When were the GAA going to be informed that inter-county games were prohibited as they did not come under elite sports? Everyone had a real appetite for live games, but this was never going to happen, as with Level 5 restrictions such games would have been prohibited.
The GAA has accepted the Government decision and will now await its latest ‘Living With Covid’ strategy before plotting out the 2021 season for a second time, no doubt with many alterations to competitions and timeframes.
While the focus seems to surround the inter-county scene, one of the biggest challenges now facing the GAA is the status of the club and how they will deal with children, who are struggling without access to their local playing fields.
Children have been deprived of sporting activity for close on nine months out of the last eleven. Some under-age championships were completed in the short timeframe allotted for club activity, but many are still left in abeyance with the hope of completion once the window is opened once again.
The impact of these prolonged periods of the prohibition of organised coaching, training and games, has been devastating on the youth of clubs.
Once children and under-age players are allowed back to our grounds, clubs will need to be organised to provide an attractive platform to maintain their interest, while also enticing those back who may be thinking of straying away from our games.
But the problem is that it’s all been accepted. It is now all about elitism, the inter-county scene, and when or if they will be back. Will there be a National League? What format will the championship take? What date are squads back training?
There’s little mention of the clubs. But already it’s quite clear that the inter-county scene must be altered radically to allow a proper timeframe for club activity. Now is the time to stand up for the young players. Already they have lost schools and colleges competitions.
Now, more than ever, they need a proper club structure within the county. The more one talks to people involved in clubs, the more dismayed one would become by the changing habits of children over the past eleven months.
Children are not going outside to hurl or kick a ball about on the green spaces, simply because there is no one about. They are now tied to Playstations and mobile phones, and physical activity is now secondary.
Parents are continually being asked by their children - ‘When are we going back to football? When are we going back to hurling?’ So it’s difficult to see why all kids’ sports have been stopped.
This is the void clubs will be asked to fill when gates to the playing pitches open once again. Children have been affected by this ban that now will prolong until after Easter.
But everyone just seems to accept it. Those in authority continually defer to the medical advice and have opted for harsh lockdowns in a bid to keep infection rates down.
While understandable, it is also somewhat contradictory. The medical people advocate that it’s healthier to be outdoors, where there’s less chance of contracting the virus.
Now is the time to consider the needs of children. Return to school should be a priority and organised sports and physical exercise must accompany this through organised club activity within their own playing environment.
WEXFORD YOUTHS Women will have to be on their toes from the off after being pitted against 2020 double winners Peamount United in their opening game of the 2021 league season.
The action will begin in Ferrycarrig Park on Saturday, March 27, at the familiar kick-off time of 6.30 p.m. which will be used by the hosts for all bar one of their home matches.
With nine teams involved, it ensures there will be a bye for one of the participants in each game week.
Wexford’s first doesn’t arrive until series 8 of fixtures in late May, giving them seven matches to play from March 27 through to May 15.
All of the games will be played on Saturdays, with the exception of the away ties with Treaty United as the Limerick side will be staging their home games on Sunday afternoons.
One notable change will see Wexford’s away games against Cork City now taking place at the club’s main venue in Turner’s Cross, rather than in the usual Bishopstown location.
It will be the first time for both the male and female sides to play at the iconic Leeside venue during the same season.
The Wexford women will play in a total of 24 league outings, meeting all eight opponents three times.
The competition will conclude on Saturday, November 13, with the season as a whole drawing to a finish one week later with the FAI Cup final.
One notable absentee for Wexford Youths Women this season will be the talented Blessing Kingsley, a native of Graiguecullen on the outskirts of Carlow town, who has embarked on a new adventure to the United States courtesy of a soccer scholarship.
She started her studies in the University of Southern Mississippi last month, and the 19-year-old will be a major loss to the team.
Her final game in Ferrycarrig Park was on December 5 last – the conclusion of the 2020 season – when Wexford went down 2-1 to an experimental Peamount side with one eye on the following week’s FAI Cup final, which they won easily at Cork City’s expense.
That outcome didn’t have a bearing on the home side’s third place finish at the end of a disappointing campaign on the whole, which saw them exit at the semi-final stage of the FAI Cup to bogey team Peamount in Ferrycarrig Park on a 1-0 scoreline.
The brightest aspect to last season was undoubtedly the emergence of Kilkenny teenager Ellen Molloy as a serious attacking threat and potent goalscorer.
The 16-year-old gained full international recognition during her first season with the club and also finished the campaign as the national young player of the year, so Wexford will be pinning a lot of hope on her ongoing progress in 2021.
Another key figure will be Ciara Rossiter – plagued by injury so often in the past – who was a popular choice as the club’s player of the year in December.
FIXTURES
Series 1 (Saturday, March 27): Galway Women’s FC v. Cork City (2 p.m.); Bohemians v. Treaty United (2 p.m.); Wexford Youths v. Peamount United (6.30 p.m.); Shelbourne FC v. Athlone Town (2 p.m.); DLR Waves idle.
Series 2 (Saturday, April 3): Athlone Town v. Treaty United (7 p.m.); Cork City v. Shelbourne FC (2 p.m.); DLR Waves v. Wexford Youths (6 p.m.); Galway Women’s FC v.
Bohemians (2 p.m.); Peamount United idle.
Series 3 (Saturday, April 17): Peamount United v. Shelbourne FC (6 p.m.); Bohemians v. Cork City (2 p.m.); DLR Waves v. Galway Women’s FC (6 p.m.); Treaty United v. Wexford Youths (Sunday, April 18, 2 p.m.); Athlone Town idle.
Series 4 (Saturday, April 24): Wexford Youths v. Athlone Town (6.30 p.m.); Bohemians v. Peamount United (2 p.m.); Galway Women’s FC v. Treaty United (2 p.m.); Cork City v. DLR Waves (2 p.m.): Shelbourne FC idle.
Series 5 (Saturday, May 1): Wexford Youths v. Galway Women’s FC (6.30 p.m.); Shelbourne FC v. DLR Waves (2 p.m.); Athlone Town v. Cork City (7 p.m.): Treaty United v. Peamount United (Sunday, May 2, 2 p.m.); Bohemians idle.
Series 6 (Saturday, May 8): DLR Waves v. Bohemians (6 p.m.); Cork City v. Wexford Youths (Turner’s Cross, 2 p.m.); Peamount United v. Athlone Town (6 p.m.); Treaty United v. Shelbourne FC (Sunday, May 9, 2 p.m.);
Galway Women’s FC idle.
Series 7 (Saturday, May 15): Peamount United v. Cork City (6 p.m.); Athlone Town v. DLR Waves (7 p.m.); Shelbourne FC v. Galway Women’s FC (2 p.m.); Wexford Youths v. Bohemians (6.30 p.m.); Treaty United idle.
Series 8 (Saturday, May 22): Bohemians v. Shelbourne FC (2 p.m.); Galway Women’s FC v. Athlone Town (2 p.m.); DLR Waves v. Peamount United (6 p.m.); Cork City v. Treaty United (2 p.m.); Wexford Youths idle.
Series 9 (Saturday, May 29): Shelbourne FC v. Wexford Youths (2 p.m.); Peamount United v. Galway Women’s FC (6 p.m.); Athlone Town v. Bohemians (7 p.m.); Treaty United v. DLR Waves (Sunday, May 30, 2 p.m.); Cork City idle.
Series 10 (Saturday, June 5): Cork City v. Galway Women’s FC (2 p.m.); Peamount United v. Wexford Youths (6 p.m.); Athlone Town v. Shelbourne FC (7 p.m.); Treaty United v. Bohemians (Sunday, June 6, 2 p.m.); DLR Waves idle.
Monday, June 7, to Friday, June 25: mid-season break.
Series 11 (Saturday, June 26): Bohemians v. Galway Women’s FC (2 p.m.); Shelbourne FC v. Cork City (2 p.m.); Wexford Youths v. DLR Waves (6.30 p.m.); Treaty United v. Athlone Town (Sunday, June 27, 2 p.m.); Peamount United idle.
Series 12 (Saturday, July 3): Shelbourne FC v. Peamount United (2 p.m.); Wexford Youths v. Treaty United (6.30 p.m.); Cork City v. Bohemians (2 p.m.); Galway Women’s FC v. DLR Waves (2 p.m.); Athlone Town idle.
Series 13 (Saturday, July 10): Athlone Town v. Wexford Youths (7 p.m.); Peamount United v. Bohemians (6 p.m.); DLR Waves v. Cork City (6 p.m.); Treaty United v. Galway Women’s FC (Sunday, July 11, 2 p.m.); Shelbourne FC idle.
Series 14 (Saturday, July 17): Galway Women’s FC v. Wexford Youths (2 p.m.); DLR Waves v. Shelbourne FC (6 p.m.); Cork City v. Athlone Town (2 p.m.); Peamount United v. Treaty United (6 p.m.); Bohemians idle.
Series 15 (Saturday, July 24): Bohemians v. DLR Waves (2 p.m.); Wexford Youths v. Cork City (6.30 p.m.); Shelbourne FC v. Treaty United (2 p.m.); Athlone Town v. Peamount United (7 p.m.); Galway Women’s FC idle.
Series 16 (Saturday, July 31): Cork City v. Peamount United (2 p.m.); DLR Waves v. Athlone Town (6 p.m.); Galway Women’s FC v. Shelbourne FC (2 p.m.); Bohemians v. Wexford Youths (2 p.m.); Treaty United idle.
Week ending July 31: FAI Cup preliminary round.
Series 17 (Wednesday, August 4, all 7.45 p.m.): Shelbourne FC v. Bohemians; Athlone Town v. Galway Women’s FC; Peamount United v. DLR Waves; Treaty United v. Cork City; Wexford Youths idle.
Series 18 (Saturday, August 7): DLR Waves v. Treaty United (6 p.m.); Galway Women’s FC v. Peamount United (2 p.m.); Bohemians v. Athlone Town (2 p.m.); Wexford Youths v. Shelbourne FC (6.30 p.m.); Cork City idle.
Week ending August 15: round.
Series 19 (Saturday, August 21): Galway Women’s FC v. Cork City (2 p.m.); Bohemians v. Treaty United (2 p.m.); Wexford Youths v. Peamount United (6.30 p.m.); Shelbourne
FAI Cup first
FC v. Athlone Town (2 p.m.); DLR Waves idle.
Series 20 (Saturday, August 28): Athlone Town v. Treaty United (7 p.m.); Cork City v. Shelbourne FC (2 p.m.); DLR Waves v. Wexford Youths (6 p.m.); Galway Women’s FC v. Bohemians (2 p.m.); Peamount United idle.
Week ending September 4: FAI Cup quarter-finals.
Series 21 (Saturday, September 11): Peamount United v. Shelbourne FC (6 p.m.); Bohemians v. Cork City (2 p.m.); DLR Waves v. Galway Women’s FC (6 p.m.); Treaty United v. Wexford Youths (Sunday, September 12, 2 p.m.); Athlone Town idle.
Series 22 (Saturday, September 25): Wexford Youths v. Athlone Town (6.30 p.m.); Bohemians v. Peamount United (2 p.m.); Galway Women’s FC v. Treaty United (2 p.m.); Cork City v. DLR Waves (2 p.m.); Shelbourne FC idle.
Series 23 (Saturday, October 2): Wexford Youths v. Galway Women’s FC (6.30 p.m.); Shelbourne FC v. DLR Waves (2 p.m.); Athlone Town v. Cork City (7 p.m.); Treaty United v. Peamount United (Sunday, October 3, 2 p.m.); Bohemians idle.
Week ending October 10: semi-finals.
Series 24 (Saturday, October 16): DLR Waves v. Bohemians (6 p.m.); Cork City v. Wexford Youths (2 p.m.); Peamount United v. Athlone Town (6 p.m.); Treaty United v. Shelbourne FC (Sunday, October 17, 2 p.m.); Galway Women’s FC idle.
Series 25 (Saturday, October 30): Peamount United v. Cork City (6 p.m.); Athlone Town v. DLR Waves (7 p.m.); Shelbourne FC v. Galway Women’s FC (2 p.m.); Wexford Youths v. Bohemians (6.30 p.m.); Treaty United idle.
Series 26 (Saturday, November 6): Bohemians v. Shelbourne FC (2 p.m.); Galway Women’s FC v. Athlone Town (2 p.m.); DLR Waves v. Peamount United (6 p.m.); Cork City v. Treaty United (2 p.m.); Wexford Youths idle.
Series 27 (Saturday, November 13, all 6 p.m.): Treaty United v. DLR Waves; Peamount United v. Galway Women’s FC; Athlone Town v. Bohemians; Shelbourne FC v. Wexford Youths; Cork City idle.
Week ending November 20: FAI Cup final.
FAI Cup
WEXFORD FC will open the 2021 SSE Airtricity League First Division campaign with a home game against Cabinteely – but they are still waiting to learn the identity of one of their nine opponents.
It didn’t reflect well on the FAI’s approach to the second tier when the fixtures schedule was revealed last week with the ‘TBC’ lettering signifying the as yet unknown tenth and final team.
The club licensing department will not be in a position to announce the completed membership of the league until later this month, but whoever is chosen will be hosting Wexford FC in the club’s first away game on Friday, April 2.
One week earlier, the season will commence when Cabinteely pay a visit to Ferrycarrig Park.
Three outfits remain in the running for the final place, with Treaty United eager to ensure the return of the city of Limerick to League of Ireland football.
They have already appointed Tommy Barrett as manager and will be hoping to get the nod after their women’s team competed successfully in 2020.
However, Shamrock Rovers II are also keen to remain involved in the First Division for the second year running, while a new entity named Dublin County FC have also sought a place.
Wexford FC will play 27 league games in total, three apiece against nine opponents. The regular season will run from that first match with Cabo on March 26 all the way through to October 29.
The First Division champions will gain automatic qualification to the Premier ranks, while the teams finishing in second to fifth positions in the league will all stand a chance of earning promotion via the play-off route.
Wexford FC have already secured a number of playing personnel for the new season and will be continuing the recruitment process in the weeks to come.
Young defender Kevin McEvoy, who joined from Shelbourne at the start of 2020, re-signed in early January, while Jack Larkin has completed his transfer from Waterford FC after originally arriving to Ferrycarrig Park on loan last term.
The spine of last year’s defence will remain intact, as centre-half James Carroll will feature once more along with Paul Cleary and club captain Dan Tobin.
Others to return from 2020 are Conor
Crowley, Karl Fitzsimons, Jack Doherty, Karl Manahan, and player of the year Tom Murphy.
One of the most interesting new faces is the versatile Success Edogun, a forward who arrives from St. Patrick’s Athletic after winning successive Under-19 league titles with Waterford FC and the Richmond Park crew in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
He started out at junior level with Freebooters in Kilkenny – the source club for many Wexford recruits over the years – and has also represented Ireland at international level in sevens rugby.
One of his team-mates on that successful Waterford Under-19 side from two years ago, Cameron Power, has also joined Wexford and will be vying for a starting place down the left flank.
Meanwhile, after moving to Sunderland at the age of 16, ex-Cabinteely man Jack Connolly will be aiming to make a major impact for Wexford against his old club in that season opener at the end of next month.
Ayman Yousif has arrived at the club from North End United, one of several promising young guns from the local area set to push for a regular spot along with the likes of Paudie Casey, Kieran Murphy and Evan Farrell.
Off the field, Under-15 team manager Jason Goodison has been added to the senior team coaching staff for the forthcoming season.
Manager Brian O’Sullivan has so far arranged friendlies away to Drogheda United this Sunday (12 noon), against St. Patrick’s Athletic at a venue to be confirmed on Friday, February 26, at 7.45 p.m., and away to Waterford FC on Saturday, March 13, at 2 p.m.
FIXTURES
Series 1 (Friday, March 26): Bray Wanderers v. TBC (7.30 p.m.); Cork City v. Cobh Ramblers (7.45 p.m.); Galway United v. Shelbourne (7.45 p.m.); UCD v. Athlone Town (7.45 p.m.); Wexford FC v. Cabinteely (8 p.m.).
Series 2 (Friday, April 2): Athlone Town v. Galway United (7.45 p.m.); Cabinteely v. Cork City (7.45 p.m.); Shelbourne v. Bray Wanderers (7.45 p.m.); TBC v. Wexford FC (7.45 p.m.); Cobh Ramblers v. UCD (Saturday, April 3, 7 p.m.).
Series 3 (Friday, April 9, all 7.45 p.m.): Cabinteely v. Galway United; Cork City v. Athlone Town; Shelbourne v. Wexford FC; TBC v. Cobh Ramblers; UCD v. Bray Wanderers.
Series 4 (Friday, April 16): Bray Wanderers v. Athlone Town (7.30 p.m.); Cork City v. Shelbourne (7.45 p.m.); Galway United v. TBC (7.45 p.m.); UCD v. Cabinteely (7.45 p.m.); Wexford FC v. Cobh Ramblers (8 p.m.).
Series 5 (Friday, April 23): Athlone Town v. Wexford FC (7.45 p.m.); Cabinteely v. Shelbourne (7.45 p.m.); Galway United v. UCD (7.45 p.m.); TBC v. Cork City (7.45 p.m.); Cobh Ramblers v. Bray Wanderers (Saturday, April 24, 7 p.m.).
Series 6 (Friday, April 30): Bray Wanderers v. Cork City (7.30 p.m.); Athlone Town v. Cabinteely (7.45 p.m.); Shelbourne v. TBC (7.45 p.m.); Wexford FC v. UCD (8 p.m.); Cobh Ramblers v. Galway United (Saturday, May 1, 7 p.m.).
Series 7 (Friday, May 7, all 7.45 p.m.): Cabinteely v. Cobh Ramblers; Galway United v. Bray Wanderers; Shelbourne v. Athlone Town; UCD v. TBC; Cork City v. Wexford FC.
Series 8 (Friday, May 14): Bray Wanderers v. Cabinteely (7.30 p.m.); TBC v. Athlone Town (7.45 p.m.); UCD v. Cork City (7.45 p.m.); Galway United v. Wexford FC (7.45 p.m.); Cobh Ramblers v. Shelbourne (Saturday, May 15, 7 p.m.).
Series 9 (Friday, May 21): Athlone Town v. Cobh Ramblers (7.45 p.m.); Cabinteely v. TBC (7.45 p.m.); Cork City v. Galway United (7.45 p.m.): Shelbourne v. UCD (7.45 p.m.); Wexford FC v. Bray Wanderers (8 p.m.).
Series 10 (Friday, May 28): Athlone Town v. UCD (7.45 p.m.); Cabinteely v. Wexford FC (7.45 p.m.); Shelbourne v. Galway United (7.45 p.m.); TBC v. Bray Wanderers (7.45 p.m.); Cobh Ramblers v. Cork City (Saturday, May 29, 7 p.m.).
Sunday, May 30, to Thursday, June 10: mid-season break.
Series 11 (Friday, June 11): Bray Wanderers v. Shelbourne (7.30 p.m.); Cork City v. Cabinteely (7.45 p.m.); Galway United v. Athlone Town (7.45 p.m.); UCD v. Cobh Ramblers (7.45 p.m.); Wexford FC v. TBC (8 p.m.).
Series 12 (Friday, June 18): Bray Wanderers v. UCD (7.30 p.m.); Athlone Town v. Cork City (7.45 p.m.); Galway United v. Cabinteely (7.45 p.m.); Wexford FC v. Shelbourne (8 p.m.); Cobh Ramblers v. TBC (Saturday, June 19, 7 p.m.).
Series 13 (Friday, June 25): Athlone Town v. Bray Wanderers (7.45 p.m.); Cabinteely v. UCD (7.45 p.m.); Shelbourne v. Cork City (7.45 p.m.); TBC v. Galway United (7.45 p.m.); Cobh Ramblers v. Wexford FC (Saturday, June 26, 7 p.m.).
Series 14 (Friday, July 2): Bray Wanderers v. Cobh Ramblers (7.30 p.m.); Cork City v. TBC (7.45 p.m.); Shelbourne v. Cabinteely (7.45 p.m.); UCD v. Galway United (7.45 p.m.); Wexford FC v. Athlone Town (8 p.m.).
Series 15 (Friday, July 9, all 7.45 p.m.): Cabinteely v. Athlone Town; Cork City v. Bray Wanderers; Galway United v. Cobh Ramblers; TBC v. Shelbourne; UCD v. Wexford FC.
Series 16 (Friday, July 16): Bray Wanderers v. Galway United (7.30 p.m.); Athlone Town v. Shelbourne (7.45 p.m.); TBC v. UCD (7.45 p.m.); Wexford FC v. Cork City (8 p.m.); Cobh Ramblers v. Cabinteely (Saturday, July 17, 7 p.m.).
Week ending July 25: FAI Cup first round. Series 17 (Friday, July 30): Athlone Town v. TBC (7.45 p.m.); Cabinteely v. Bray Wanderers (7.45 p.m.); Cork City v. UCD (7.45 p.m.); Shelbourne v. Cobh Ramblers (7.45 p.m.); Wexford FC v. Galway United (8 p.m.).
Series 18 (Friday, August 6): Bray Wanderers v. Wexford FC (7.30 p.m.); Galway United v. Cork City (7.45 p.m.); TBC v. Cabinteely (7.45 p.m.); UCD v. Shelbourne (7.45 p.m.); Cobh Ramblers v. Athlone Town (Saturday, August 7, 7 p.m.).
Series 19 (Friday, August 13): Bray Wanderers v. TBC (7.30 p.m.); Cork City v. Cobh Ramblers (7.45 p.m.); Galway United v. Shelbourne (7.45 p.m.); UCD v. Athlone Town (7.45 p.m.); Wexford FC v. Cabinteely (8 p.m.).
Series 20 (Friday, August 20): Athlone Town v. Galway United (7.45 p.m.); Cabinteely v. Cork City (7.45 p.m.); Shelbourne v. Bray Wanderers (7.45 p.m.); TBC v. Wexford FC (7.45 p.m.); Cobh Ramblers v. UCD (Saturday, August 21, 7 p.m.).
Week ending August 29: FAI Cup second round.
Series 21 (Friday, September 3, all 7.45 p.m.): Cabinteely v. Galway United; Cork City v. Athlone Town; Shelbourne v. Wexford FC; UCD v. Bray Wanderers; TBC v. Cobh Ramblers.
Series 22 (Friday, September 10): Bray Wanderers v. Athlone Town (7.30 p.m.); Cork City v. Shelbourne (7.45 p.m.); Galway United v. TBC (7.45 p.m.); UCD v. Cabinteely (7.45 p.m.); Wexford FC v. Cobh Ramblers (8 p.m.).
Week ending September 19: quarter-finals.
Series 23 (Friday, September 24): Athlone Town v. Wexford FC (7.45 p.m.); Cabinteely v. Shelbourne (7.45 p.m.); Galway United v. UCD (7.45 p.m.); TBC v. Cork City (7.45 p.m.); Cobh Ramblers v. Bray Wanderers (Saturday, September 25, 7 p.m.).
Series 24 (Friday, October 1): Bray Wanderers v. Cork City (7.30 p.m.); Athlone Town v. Cabinteely (7.45 p.m.); Shelbourne v. TBC (7.45 p.m.); Wexford FC v. UCD (8 p.m.); Cobh Ramblers v. Galway United (Saturday, October 2, 7 p.m.).
Series 25 (Friday, October 8, all 7.45 p.m.): Cabinteely v. Cobh Ramblers; Cork City v. Wexford FC; Galway United v. Bray Wanderers; Shelbourne v. Athlone Town; UCD v. TBC.
Series 26 (Friday, October 15, all 7.45 p.m.): Bray Wanderers v. Cabinteely; Cobh Ramblers v. Shelbourne; Galway United v. Wexford FC; UCD v. Cork City; TBC v. Athlone Town.
Week ending October 24: semi-finals.
Series 27 (Friday, October 29, all 7.45 p.m.): Athlone Town v. Cobh Ramblers; Cork City v. Galway United; Cabinteely v. TBC; Shelbourne v. UCD; Wexford FC v. Bray Wanderers.
Week ending November 7: Play-off semi-final first leg, second place versus fifth place and third place versus fourth place.
Week ending November 14: Play-off semi-final second leg, second place versus fifth place and third place versus fourth place. Week ending November 21: Play-off final. Week ending November 28: FAI Cup final and Premier Division/First Division promotion/ relegation final.
FAI Cup
FAI Cup