Dublin begin the defence of their provincial crown with a semi-final against Kildare at Naomh Mearnóg this afternoon.

Denise McKenna is injured but Dublin boss Paul Gilheaney has the rest of his players available for selection.

“I genuinely believe this will go down to the wire,” he said. “Kildare have (former Galway player) John Divilly in charge and they beat Cork in a challenge a few weeks ago. Dublin beat Kildare by seven points in last year’s semi-final but I expect this one to be close.”

In Sunday’s second Leinster semi-final, Meath have home advantage against Laois.

The Royals scored a six-point victory in Summerhill against Westmeath last weekend, but they were relegated from Division 1 this year and facing Laois represents a step-up in class.

Meanwhile, in Munster, Cork beat Clare 0-20 to 0-8 in the second round of the provincial senior football championship last night.