The fixtures
Derry v Armagh Sunday 2pm (Live on RTE 2, BBC 2)
Tipperary v Kerry Sunday 4pm (Live on RTE 2)
Wicklow v Carlow Sunday 3.30 pm
The Previews
Derry v Armagh
With all due respect to the fright that New York gave to Galway a fortnight ago, it’s only this weekend that the football championship begins in earnest. Quite apt, then, that it’s getting underway in Ulster, easily the most competitive province in recent times.
A sign of just how tough it is up north is that a county with the footballing pedigree of Derry last appeared in the Ulster decider ten years ago and they haven’t won the Anglo-Celt cup since 1998. They have appeared in All-Ireland semi finals and won two National Leagues since the turn of the century so it’s not that they have disappeared into the wilderness altogether, they just happened to be shoved down the pecking order in Ulster by two of the greatest ever Armagh and Tyrone sides.
Armagh aren’t quite at the level they were in the early to mid 2000’s but they look quite formidable nonetheless. Andy Mallon is as tidy a defender as you’ll find in the country while Ciarán McKeever and Finian Moriarty will line up in a strong looking half back line.
In the absence of Ronan Clarke up front, Stevie McDonnell will be the main focus of the attack, but given the form he has been in so far this season, particularly in the Division Two final, he could do damage if given the right supply. Aaron Kernan has an accurate enough boot to do just that and it is a sign of how well he adapted to his new centre forward role in the league that he has been selected in the position for Sunday.
Derry will be looking to some of their stalwarts to protect a 16 year unbeaten championship record in Celtic Park. Kevin McGuckian is a solid full back, Fergal Doherty is one of the best midfielders in the country and the threat the Bradley brothers carry up front has been illustrated down through the years.
If this tie was based on league form, then it’s a no brainer. Derry started off with an impressive win over Tyrone and then completely capitulated, eventually resulting in their relegation from the top tier. Armagh, on the other hand, although a division below, impressed throughout the league and eventually overcame Down in a final which far surpassed the Division One decider in terms of the quality of football on show.
Paddy O’Rourke has made only one change from the Armagh side that won the Division 2 title three weeks ago with Malachy Mackin coming in to the half forward line in place of Barry Shannon. Michael McGoldrick misses out for Derry while James Kielt has to be content with a place on the bench after starting the majority of games in the Oak Leafers’ ill-fated league campaign.
Teams:
Armagh: P Hearty; A Mallon, K Toner, B Donaghy; P Duffy, C McKeever, F Moriarty; C Vernon, J Lavery; M Mackin, A Kernan, G Swift; B Mallon, S McDonnell, R Henderson.
Derry: B Gillis; B Óg McAlary, K McGuckian, D McBride; F O’Kane, B McGuigan, M Bateson; F Doherty, Patsy Bradley; S McGoldrick, M Lynch, D Mullan; Paddy Bradley, E Bradley, R Wilkinson.
Odds:
Derry 10/11, Armagh 11/10, Draw 15/2
JOE Prediction: Armagh have all the momentum and look well placed to come away from Celtic Park with a victory.
Tipperary v Kerry
There’s been a lot of talk ahead of the Championship that Kerry are a team in transition and that their hopes of repeating the All-Ireland triumph of last September will be fatally dented by the loss to AFL of Tadgh Kennelly and Tommy Walsh and the retirements of Darragh Ó Sé and Diarmuid Murphy. While no one can doubt that players of the pedigree of those four will be very difficult to replace, the writing off of Kerry’s chances will be music to Jack O’Connor’s ears.
If anyone needed a reminder of the strength that the Kingdom possess, they will find it in the starting line-up named by O’Connor for Sunday’s Munster Championship opener against Tipperary. With Mike McCarthy recently returning to the fold, no fewer than ten of the side that started last year’s All-Ireland final have been named. After missing out on most of last year, Kieran Donaghy comes in to bolster the full forward line, while O’Connor can afford the luxury of leaving last year’s captain Darran O’Sullivan on the bench. Crisis? What crisis.
Kieran Donaghy will start at full forward for the Kingdom
This season has been a mixed bag as far as Tipperary are concerned. There is no doubting the fact that they have made giant strides in recent times, but were relegated from Division Two in the league after two successive promotions. Their under 21 side, however, defeated Kerry in the Munster final and were closer to Donegal in the All-Ireland semi-final than the scoreline would suggest.
Of that team, Peter Acheson has been drafted into the line-up for Sunday while Ciaran McGrath makes his championship debut in the half back line. For Kerry, Marc and Tomás Ó Sé and Colm Cooper have all recovered from injury to take their place in the first fifteen.
Teams:
Kerry: B Kealy; M Ó Sé, T Griffin, T O’Sullivan; T Ó Sé, M McCarthy, K Young; S Scanlon, M Quirke; P Galvin, D O’Sullivan, D Walsh; C Cooper, K Donaghy, B Sheehan.
Tipperary: P Fitzgerald; P Codd, N Curran, C McDonald; C Aylward, R Costigan, C McGrath; K Mulryan, G Hannigan; P Acheson, P Austin, H Coghlan; S Carey, B Grogan, B Mulvihill.
Odds:
Tipperary 7/1, Kerry 1/12, Draw 14/1
JOE Prediction: In Thurles, Tipp will put it up to the Champions, but this should be a formality for Kerry.
Wicklow v Carlow
The Leinster Championship gets off to a fairly quiet start in Portlaoise on Sunday with the clash of two teams who languished in mid-table mediocrity in Division four of the league this season. Most years, this fixture would barely register on the radar but it has been given added spice by the fact that Thomas Walsh returns to play for his native Carlow after three years togging out for the Garden County.
Thomas Walsh returns to Carlow after three years with Wicklow
Wicklow have also attracted the interest of many football punters over the last couple of years, thanks to the involvement of the evergreen Mick O’Dwyer and some of the remarkable games they have been involved in, such as their shock victory over Kildare at headquarters in 2008 and their progression to the last twelve of the championship last year.
They will do extremely well to match that feat this year, but as he’s shown over the years, you write off Micko at your peril. Never a man too drastic in his decision making, O’Dwyer has retained thirteen of the side that lost out to Kildare last year. As referred to earlier, Walsh has returned to Carlow colours and Ciaran Hyland misses out through injury. Nicky Mernagh will make his championship debut, while Dara Ó Hannaidh has returned from Sweden to take his place at full back.
Luke Dempsey has named five debutants in his line-up for Sunday. Brendan Murphy makes his first championship start after returning from AFL side Sydney Swans almost a year ago and forms a strong looking partnership with Thomas Walsh. Padraig Murphy and Benny Kavanagh will come in to the full back line and Paul McElligot and Darragh Foley start up front. Eric McCormack is still not fit to return having sustained an injury against London in March.
Teams:
Wicklow: M Travers; S Kelly, D O hAnnaidh, A Byrne; P McWalter, B McGrath, D Hayden; J Stafford, JP Dalton; L Glynn, T Hannon, N Mernagh; D Odlum, S Furlong, P Earls.
Carlow: J Clarke; P Murphy, L Murphy, B Kavanagh; A Curran, J Hayden, P McElligot; B Murphy, T Walsh; S Gannon, D Foley, M Carpenter; S Rea, J Murphy, J Kavanagh.
Odds:
Wicklow 1/3, Carlow 3/1 Draw 15/2
JOE Prediction: Walsh and Murphy could dominate the midfield, but even still, Wicklow look too strong.
