Slaughtneil win appeal to have semi-final put back by 24 hours

Slaughtneil captain Francis McEldowney lifted the club's first Ulster title in November

Ulster club football champions Slaughtneil have succeeded in having their All-Ireland semi-final against Austin Stacks put back by 24 hours.

The game has been originally scheduled for Saturday, 14 February but now will take place in Portlaoise a day later.

Slaughtneil requested the date change because several of the club's squad are involved in a wedding on 14 February.

Portaferry's All-Ireland Club Hurling semi-final against Kilmallock will take place at Thurles on 7 February.

The Saturday game will be part of a double-header at Semple Stadium with Galway champions Gort facing Ballyhale Shamrocks in the second semi-final later in the afternoon.

That will leave Portaferry facing a 220-mile journey to Thurles whereas Kilmallock is little more than an hour's drive from the Tipperary town.

However, Portaferry manager Sean Young says that the club will be happy to travel to Thurles.

"If you had spoken to our squad this time last year, they would have settled for playing an All-Ireland Club semi-final in Thurles," Young told BBC Sport Northern Ireland on Monday.

"Ideally, we maybe would have hoped for a Dublin venue as it might have been better for some of our supporters but we were told that Parnell Park was basically out of the question because the surface is not the best for hurling at that time of the year.

"Portlaoise is certainly a bit more central but the reality is that Thurles is only another hour or so down the road.

"We were always planning to travel down on the Friday evening wherever the game was played so we are happy to play in Thurles."

The other football semi-final between Corofin and Leinster champions St Vincent's will be played at Tullamore on Saturday, 14 February.