With the Armagh SFC final set to be played one week later than scheduled, the traditional curtain-raiser to the county final has been changed
The times, dates and venues have been confirmed for the Armagh Senior Football Championship semi-finals.
The Box-It Athletic Grounds will host the remainder of the series with all four quarter-final ties also taking place at the Armagh City venue.
Defending champions Clann Éireann will face Madden in the first semi-final on Friday, October 10.
Ruairi Lavery’s side were impressive in the group stages and progressed straight through to the last eight.
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However, they were pushed all the way by league winners Killeavy in the quarter-final, with a 0-12 haul from county star Conor Turbitt helping them to a 0-17 to 1-12 win.
Madden are back in the semi-finals for the third successive season and Mark Harte and Adrian O’Donnell’s side will be hoping to reach the county final for just the second time in their history.
They edged out Maghery in the quarter-finals with Niall Smith fisting the winning point in injury-time.
The second semi-final is a south Armagh derby clash between Crossmaglen Rangers and Cullyhanna.
The 2022 and 2023 champions were workmanlike in their quarter-final win over Carrickcruppen, but they were able to bring Oisin O’Neill back into the fold and new manager Shane Lennon has already stated that they have sights set on regaining the title.
Cullyhanna, meanwhile, had to come from behind to force extra-time before seeing off the challenge of St Peter’s in their quarter-final clash with Armagh ace Ross McQuillan scoring a brilliant goal from 50 metres.
The neighbouring clubs also met in the quarter-finals last season with Crossmaglen winning by the narrowest of margins before losing out to Clann Éireann in the semi-finals.
The Armagh SFC final is set for Sunday, October 26, one week later than originally scheduled after the preliminary quarter-finals were put back by one week due to the abandoned group game between St Pat’s and Mullaghbawn.
That means the Intermediate final won’t feature as the curtain-raiser for the senior final. Instead, the Intermediate and Junior finals will be played as a double at the Box-It Athletic Grounds on the weekend of October 18/19.
In the Intermediate semis, Grange face Sarsfields while St Paul’s take on Shane O’Neill’s. In the JFC, An Port Mor face Middletown with Clonmore in action against Corrinshego.
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