Breaffy will aim for their fifth consecutive senior women's All-Ireland rounders title against Limekiln on Sunday as TG4 streams the finals live on YouTube.
The Mayo club faces the Dublin side at the National centre of excellence in Abbotstown at 3.30pm. The match headlines a schedule that also includes the junior and intermediate women's deciders.
Breaffy captain Michelle Hopkins said broadcasting the three matches will help dispel the assumption that rounders is only for children.
"Everyone would say something along the lines of they loved playing the game in primary school, but they had no idea that you could play it at adult level," she said.
"That's absolutely massive for our sport, to have that kind of platform. The fact that all of these finals will be streamed will open up the game to a whole new audience."
Breaffy, widely known in the wider Irish public as the home club of the O'Shea brothers, are a powerhouse in the rounders world. Hopkins and her team are chasing history on Sunday as they seek a sixth championship in seven years, having previously won the title in 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Expansion and separation of finals
The sport has experienced a surge in interest since the Covid pandemic. Over 80 clubs nationwide now field adult teams, and more than 100 sides entered this year's All-Ireland championship across the junior, intermediate and senior grades.
In previous years, all three senior finals took place on the same day. A couple of years ago, Breaffy contested the women's, men's and mixed senior finals simultaneously.
"We won the women's and won the mixed, too, but unfortunately, our senior men's team just came up short. But that was a busy day," Hopkins said.
That congested schedule led GAA rounders officials to give each category its own day. The women's finals take place today in Abbotstown, while the men's finals will be held at the Offaly GAA Centre of Excellence on Sunday, September 6. The mixed finals will conclude the season at Mallow GAA in Cork on Sunday, September 13.
Shirley Lennon, secretary of GAA rounders, said the change ensures each showcase can stand on its own.
"In the past, we had teams who were playing in the mixed final and maybe the senior men's or women's," Lennon said. "And it meant that players were forced to play finals straight after each other."
Growing the game nationwide
Lennon noted that while rounders is flourishing, its popularity remains concentrated in specific regions.
"There are pockets around the country where it is stronger, certain parts of Connacht and Munster for example, and we have always been strong down in the south-east, Wexford and Carlow," Lennon said. "But what we want to do is bring it to other parts of the country, reawaken what people remember from playing the game at school."
One of the main attractions of the sport is its mixed code, which divides teams into five male and four female players on the field.
"I love the inclusivity of rounders," Hopkins said. "It is what most people would say. It is the only GAA code where men and women can play together. There aren't too many sports in the world where that can happen, so it is unique."
Hopkins previously played regularly in Castlebar until that team disbanded in 2009. She rekindled her passion for the game in 2017 when Colm Jordan, who had maintained the sport at under-age level in Breaffy, established a senior side.
Over the past ten years, the Mayo club has emerged as one of the most successful rounders outfits in the country. They approach Sunday's All-Ireland final undefeated this season, utilising a large panel of 36 players.
"We have needed them, because we have been carrying a few injuries and what not this year," Hopkins said.
County success and upcoming fixtures
Hopkins will travel to Mallow in a fortnight alongside three female teammates and five men to face Wexford's Glynn Barntown in the senior mixed final, hoping to add another trophy to the cabinet.
She hopes Breaffy can continue the winning feeling in Mayo following the county football team ending a 75-year wait to lift the Sam Maguire Cup earlier this summer.
"It's still hard to believe," Hopkins said. "Some days you wake up and you nearly can't believe that Mayo won the All-Ireland. But we just want to continue that feeling."
A full breakdown of the upcoming schedule across all grades confirms the scale of the expanded championship:
- Sunday, August 30 at Abbotstown (Live on TG4 YouTube channel): Junior Women's Final at 11am between St. Kieran's (Limerick) and St. Senan's (Limerick); Intermediate Women's Final at 1pm between Elphin (Roscommon) and Galway City Rapparees (Galway); Senior Women's Final at 3.30pm between Breaffy (Mayo) and Limekiln (Dublin).
- Sunday, September 6 at Offaly GAA Centre of Excellence: Junior Men's Final at 11am between Gusserane (Wexford) and Myshall (Carlow); Intermediate Men's Final at 1pm between St. Clare's (Cavan) and St. Senan's (Limerick); Senior Men's Final at 3.30pm between Carrickmacross Emmets (Monaghan) and Erne Eagles (Cavan).
- Sunday, September 13 at Mallow GAA, Cork: Junior Mixed Final at 11am between Galway City Rapparees (Galway) and Kilmore (Roscommon); Intermediate Mixed Final at 1pm between Emo (Laois) and Galway City Rapparees (Galway); Senior Mixed Final at 3.30pm between Breaffy (Mayo) and Glynn Barntown (Wexford).
