With Donegal and Mayo summarily dumped out of their provincial championships, this summer has already had its fair of unexpected moments. Oisin McConville and Paul Flynn are expecting more fireworks this weekend, as Leinster and Ulster semi-finals take centre-stage.

©INPHO/Lorcan Doherty

Louth might be the team in Leinster you mistrust the least, but Down will have to beat Armagh 7 days after beating Donegal just to confirm their place in the Sam Maguire – an emailer thinks this is unfair, but Murph is not so sure.

©INPHO/James Crombie

And we salute the GAA’s way of dressing up every shock defeat as being exactly what the doctor ordered. But maybe getting beaten badly… is bad? And we hear from Graeme the Fisherman about the great Heartbreak of ’86.

Click the player at the top of the page to play the show. Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’  ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.

Straight from the training ground we chat to Ireland’s Harvey Vale.

How close did he come to taking a penalty in Prague, his journey from the Chelsea Academy to the infamous Maresca ”bomb squad”, life at QPR and if he’s still in love with the game (He is!)

www.secondcaptains.com/2026/04/30/e…

[image or embed]

— Second Captains (@secondcaptains.bsky.social) 30 April 2026 at 12:45

Go to Patreon

CHECK OUT OUR UPCOMING LIVE SHOWS & GET TICKETS WHEREVER YOU ARE.

LIVE SHOW TICKETS

BECOME A SECOND CAPTAINS WORLD SERVICE MEMBER AND GET COMPLETE ACCESS TO ALL OUR SHOWS AND ARCHIVE.

JOIN US