The 2026 All-Ireland senior camogie championship will have a different structure, with two tiered groups.
Galway will join Cork, Tipperary and Waterford in Tier 1 next May with the top two teams going straight into the semi-finals, and the other two contesting quarter-finals against the top two teams from Tier 2.
Cathal Murray’s charges begin their National League campaign at home to Kilkenny on the weekend of February 14/15th.
Meanwhile, the camogie association are trialing new rules including penalties for helmet removal, restrictions on substitutions, dissent and sideline pucks.
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The Camogie Association has announced the master fixtures plan for 2026.
The National Leagues will get underway on 14th/15th February, with the All-Ireland Championships beginning on 23rd/24th May.
There is also a change in championship structures for 2026. The tier formats will remain, with Senior split into groups of four and six, and Intermediate into two groups of four. Seeding sees the 2025 semi-finalists entering Group One, with the top two sides in that group qualifying for the All-Ireland semi-finals. Third and fourth from Group One will progress to the quarter-finals, where they will face off against the top two sides from Group Two.
Meanwhile, a number of rules to be trialled during 2026 have been announced, applying to the National Leagues, Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Championships and U23 All-Ireland Championships only.
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Helmet removal: A player who during a game removes their helmet or has had it removed by a player/official from the player’s own team shall be presumed to be potentially injured and shall be instructed by the referee to leave the field of play to be assessed for injury and the helmet refitted.
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The removal of substitutions upon the completion of 30 minutes of each half, and upon the completion of 10 minutes of each half in extra-time.
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Increasing the penalties for dissent from players and team officials.
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Team captains (or a nominated player when either the captain is the team's goalkeeper, or the captain has left the field of play) are the only players permitted to speak to the referee to seek clarification of their decisions.
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Side-line pucks may be taken from the player's hand, if she is inside her own 45.
