With March now upon us, it means it’s only a matter of weeks before Wexford sides enter championship action for 2024, as our U20 footballers will be first into the fray on Tuesday March 26. That week will also see the commencement of the Minor Football and U20 Hurling championships.
With group stages now applying in all Leinster Championships apart from Senior Football, there follows an explainer guide to how they all work, and lists of all dates for Wexford fixtures:
Senior Hurling
This year’s Leinster Senior Hurling Championship will follow the usual format of a group of six teams, with the top two qualifying for the Leinster Final, and the third-placed team going into an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final.
Wexford’s matches will come in the following order:
Sunday April 21: Home v Dublin
Saturday April 27: Away v Antrim
Saturday May 4: Home v Galway
Sunday May 19: Away v Carlow
Sunday May 26: Away v Kilkenny
The Leinster Final will be played on Saturday June 8.
Senior Football
In the Senior Football Championship, Wexford will play Carlow in the first round on Sunday April 7, with the winners taking on Louth in a quarter-final a week later.
The semi-finals are fixed for Sunday April 28, and the final for Sunday May 12.
U20 Hurling
In U20 Hurling, Wexford have been placed in Group 2 of Tier 1, alongside Kilkenny and Laois. The other Tier 1 teams are Offaly, Dublin, and Galway.
Matches will be:
Saturday March 30: Away v Kilkenny
Saturday April 13: Home v Laois
The team that finishes third in the group will go into a preliminary quarter-final on Saturday April 27 v one of the Tier 2 teams (Antrim, Meath, Westmeath, Carlow, Kildare, Kerry).
The team that finishes second in the group will go into a quarter-final on Wednesday May 8 v one of the preliminary quarter-final winners.
The group winners will progress directly to a semi-final, to be played on Wednesday May 15.
The Leinster Final is scheduled for Wednesday May 22. Winners there go straight to the All-Ireland Final, to be played on the weekend of June 1st/2nd.
U20 Football
In U20 Football, the 11 teams entered are split into two groups of four, and one group of three. Wexford are in Group 2, alongside Carlow, Laois, and Wicklow.
Matches will be:
Tuesday March 26: Away v Wicklow
Tuesday April 2: Home v Laois
Tuesday April 9: Home v Carlow
The top two teams will qualify for the quarter-finals, to be played on Tuesday April 16. The group winner will play the runner-up of Group 3 (Dublin/Meath/Westmeath), while the group runner-up will play the runner-up of Group 1 (Kildare/Longford/Louth/Offaly).
Semi-finals are fixed for Tuesday April 23, and the final for Monday April 29.
Minor Hurling
In the Minor Hurling Championship, Wexford are in Tier 1, with Dublin, Galway, and Kilkenny.
Matches will be:
Saturday April 20: Away v Dublin
Saturday April 27: Home v Kilkenny
Saturday May 4: Home v Galway
Teams that finish third and fourth will go into quarter-finals on Saturday May 11, against teams emerging from Tier 2 of the Championship (Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wicklow, Carlow, Kerry, Kildare, Laois, Antrim, and a second Ulster team yet to be determined).
Teams that finish first and second in the group will go straight to the semi-finals, to be played on Saturday May 18.
The Leinster Final is fixed for Saturday May 25.
Minor Football
In Minor Football, the 11 entries are divided into two groups of four, and one group of three. Wexford are in the group of three, along with neighbours Carlow and Wicklow.
Matches will be:
Wednesday March 27: Away v Carlow
Wednesday April 3: Winner of Wexford/Carlow v Wicklow
Saturday April 13: Loser of Wexford/Carlow v Wicklow
The top two in the group will go into preliminary quarter-finals, to be played on Wednesday April 24. The group winner will play the team that finishes third in Group 1 (Dublin/Laois/Longford/Offaly), while the runner-up will play the team that finishes third in Group 2 (Kildare/Louth/Meath/Westmeath).
Quarter-finals are fixed for Wednesday May 1, semi-finals for Tuesday May 7, and the final for Monday May 20.
Teams that do not make a provincial final will go into new national competitions, at either Tier 2 or Tier 3 level, depending on their progress in the provincial championship.
