PREVIEW: Go-Ahead Ireland Senior 1 Hurling Championship Quarter Finals

Knockout hurling comes to Dublin this weekend, as the Go-Ahead Ireland Senior 1 Hurling Quarter-Finals take place at Parnell Park.

Quarter-Finals

First up are Kilmacud Crokes and Naomh Barróg, who meet at 3:30pm on Saturday.

The traditional powerhouse Crokes are heavy favourites, having impressed hugely this year. They have won every game, except for their final Group 2 against Cuala.

Crokes are aiming to get back to the top of the tree in Dublin, having last won the title back in 2022.

Their opposition on Saturday, Barróg, secured their last-eight place with a big 1-23 to 0-11 win over St Judes in the last of the group action.

Having claimed the Go-Ahead Ireland Senior 2 Hurling title last season, Barróg have been impressive in their first season in the Senior 1 Championship, as they made their way to the knockout stages.

The Kilbarrack men have key players who can cause damage, including the likes of Daniel Moore and Joe Flanagan, while Paddy Doyle will no doubt be key to their effort this weekend. Barróg have been inconsistent, but on their day can bite, as they showed the last day against St Judes.

St Vincent's and Ballyboden St Endas are Saturday's second quarter-final.

Vinnies finished second in Group 2 with three wins and two defeats to their name. The 13-time Dublin senior hurling champs finished the group with a thumping 5-22 to 1-15 win over Whitehall Colmcille.

They have come up just short in reaching the Senior 1 Final in each of the last two seasons, so will be hoping to have another bite at the cherry this year.

Ballyboden, on the other hand, are looking for their first title since 2018 and go into this quarter-final clash in the exact same form as their opponents, which means this clash should be a tightly contested one.

Last year's beaten semi-finalists, Lucan Sarsfields, take on St Brigids at Dublin headquarters on Sunday. Lucan won every game except for their final Group 1 game against current Dublin, Leinster and All-Ireland champions Na Fianna.

Sarsfields have built on their impressive 2024 and will hope to continue the hunt for a first Dublin championship final since 2013 and a maiden county title.

St Brigids have bounced back from being involved in the relegation play-offs last year and impressed in the group stage this year, so will look to give their opponents a tough test this Sunday.

All-Star nominees John Bellew and Cian O’Sullivan could face off against each other in this tie, which, again, could go right to the wire.

Defending champions Na Fianna have picked up where they left off with their championship from last season and have won all five championship games so far.

They finished the group stage with the best point difference out of the two groups, with +60. The Glasnevin men will want to keep their form going and close in on a third successive Dublin title.

Eight-time Dublin champions Cuala help Na Fianna round off the quarter-final action.

Cuala started the Championship campaign poorly, with two defeats against Whitehall Colmcille and St Vincents.

But they have bounced back with three superb wins on the spin to help book a quarter-final spot in what should be an entertaining game.

Relegation Play-Offs

There is also the matter of the Senior 1 relegation play-offs, which take place on Saturday at O'Toole Park.

St Judes take on St Oliver Plunkett Eoghan Ruadh. Judes finished second bottom of Group 1 with two points and will be more confident than their opposition, who have lost every game of the championship so far.

Whitehall Colmcille and Craobh Chiaráin play in the second relegation play-off, and it's Whitehall who go into the game in the better form thanks to their two wins, while Craobh have lost every game and will need a big change in fortune if they're to keep their Senior 1 status for 2026.