Allianz GAA Football Interprovincial Provincial series: All you need to know

FRIDAY 18 OCTOBER
Leinster v Connacht, Croke Park, 6pm
Munster v Ulster, Croke Park, 8pm

SATURDAY 19 OCTOBER
Shield final, Croke Park, 5.30pm
Cup final, Croke Park, 7.30pm

ONLINE
Reports on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News app and a live blog on rte.ie/sport covering the shield and cup finals on Saturday.

TV
Both semi-finals on TG4 from 5.30pm. The shield final will be live on the RTÉ News Channel and RTÉ Player from 5.30pm, with live coverage of the cup final on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player from 7.15pm.

WEATHER
Friday: Heavy rain is set to move into the Dublin area from late afternoon. Highest temperatures of 14 to 16 degrees, in a fresh to strong southerly wind.
Saturday: Mainly dry and bright with sunny spells and well-scattered showers. However, cloud will thicken from the southwest later in the afternoon and evening with some rain developing there later in the evening. Highest temperatures of 11 to 14 degrees in light to moderate southwest to south winds. For more go to met.ie.

An ode to the past but with a purpose in mind

For the first time since 2016, the inter-pro series is back. It was a played over a December weekend eight years ago, prior to that February and October were points in the calendar where the once much-loved competition was contested before dwindling crowds.

In its heyday, what we all knew as the Railway Cup, first played in 1927, was certainly a big deal: the finals played out before sizeable attendances at Croke Park on St Patrick's Day. The national holiday also saw the start of racing's Flat season at the Phoenix Park; Michael O'Hehir would cover one of the finals at Croker before dashing off to lend his unique tones to the sound of pounding hooves. In 1949, another standout voice, Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, made