THE FOOTBALL championship gets under way on Irish soil on Sunday, after Mayo won in New York last weekend, with two fixtures that will struggle to entice much national interest. Still, the Ulster championship will be as full-blooded as ever in Enniskillen, with Malachy O’Rourke’s Fermanagh hosting a Down team which will probably be without leading marksman Benny Coulter.
International Rules star Coulter has not trained for several weeks because of a heel injury that was further assessed last night, with manager Ross Carr due to announce his starting line-up today. Liam Doyle is definitely ruled out with an ankle problem.
Fermanagh have their own concerns, with All Star full back Barry Owens yet to recover from cruciate knee ligament damage, but Peter Sherry and Damien Kelly could yet be included in today’s team announcement. Veteran midfielder Marty McGrath is set to return from a knee injury.
The winners will progress to a quarter-final tie with Cavan on June 6th.
The Leinster football championship also has a low-key start, with Carlow hoping to forget a disastrous Division Four campaign against Louth at Parnell Park. Luke Dempsey’s team only finished above London and Kilkenny in the league. Corner backs Shane Myers and Ciarán Nolan, along with wing backs Seán Gannon and Shane Redmond, make their championship debuts.
Louth are without Aaron Hoey (hamstring) but manager Eamonn McEneaney is confident defender Pádraig Rath (Achilles tendon) and midfielder Paddy Keenan (hamstring) will recover in time.
Louth had a respectable Division Three campaign, finishing fourth behind Down, Tipperary and Offaly, with McEneaney believing they are making the required progress to become provincial contenders over the coming seasons.
“The average age of our panel is 22, 23 now and that augurs well,” he said. “The players have the lifestyle of successful county players and just need to go out and play to their potential.”
Louth will face Laois on June 14th if they progress.
CARLOW(SF v Louth): J Clarke; S Myers, J Hayden, K Nolan; S Gannon, B English, S Redmond; J Murphy, W Minchin; B Murphy, D Hayden, JJ Smith; E McCormack, D St Ledger, M Carpenter.
