And so it begins. A positively obscene eight days after the 2014 season officially ended with the replay of the Tipperary county final, football is back . A weekend of pipe-openers – 19 in all – most of them in towns and on pitches that don’t normally see inter-county action. It’s as if the sport is trying to sneak back out into the world unnoticed.
These games draw crowds all the same, for the most part made up of nosy locals getting out of the house. While the frenzied ardour that saw 18,000 people turn up for a McKenna Cup semi-final between Armagh and Tyrone in January 2006 has cooled with time, there still ought to be reasonable attendances in the likes of Mullingar, Newbridge and Armagh. As for the worth of what they'll see, let's not hold our breath just yet. Dr McKenna Cup (All throw-ins 2pm) Inasmuch as the first weekend of the year can have a tie of the round, you'll find it in the Athletic Grounds in Armagh tomorrow where the home side take on Tyrone. Only this pair could find a way to get into a squabble in the depths of winter – a few stray words from Tyrone secretary Dominic McCaughey in his annual report has evidently got Armagh backs up so they're fixin' for a settlin' here.
A few faces have moved on on either side – notably Aaron Kernan and Brian Mallon for Armagh, with Stephen O’Neill, Conor Gormley and Martin Penrose gone from the successful older Tyrone brigade. Though the names change, the needle is unlikely to, regardless of the time of year.
Elsewhere up north, Derry and Donegal get going in Owenbeg, Down take on Cavan in Newry and Antrim play St Mary's in Creggan. The other tie of interest is on today in Castleblayney where Monaghan face a UUJ side that already leads the Sigerson betting. With Patrick McBrearty, Caolán Mooney and, most interesting of all, Cillian O'Connor added to their ranks from last year, the college team should be formidable. O'Byrne Cup (Throw-ins 2pm unless stated) Square One revisited for Kildare, who spent the early part of last year with a skeleton squad through injuries and now find themselves without a huge chunk of playing staff for other reasons. The post-Johnny Doyle era has begun in earnest and the loss of Seán Hurley, Paddy Brophy and Daniel Flynn to Australia is a killer. Hugh McGrillen has gone travelling and Brian Flanagan has retired.
It could be a while before we know who and what Jason Ryan’s side are this year. They start off against Louth tomorrow (in Newbridge) another county trying to figure out where they stand after the retirements of Paddy Keenan and Shane Lennon. Among new manager Colin Kelly’s tasks will be to coax along young Ryan Burns – roundly tipped as the future of the Louth attack – and to keep him out of the hands of the Aussies.
The other ties see Longford play DCU today in Pearse Park (2.30), Dublin and NUI Maynooth face off tomorrow in Parnell Park, as well as Offaly v Laois in Tullamore, Carlow v UCD in Dr Cullen Park, Westmeath v Meath in Mullingar, Wexford v DIT in Gorey and Wicklow v Carlow IT in Blessington.
Connacht FBD League (All throw-ins 2pm) Or, as it ought to be known, the Leitrim All-Ireland. Unlikely as it seems, the country's most put-upon county side are going for three titles in a row here, having beaten all-comers in 2013 and 2014. Retaining it without Emlyn Mulligan, whose class they will have to forego for a year as he heads off travelling, will be particularly arduous but new manager Shane Ward will target the competition nonetheless.
Their campaign starts against GMIT in Cloone tomorrow.
Other games out west will see Mayo play NUIG in Castlebar, Roscommon play IT Sligo in Strokestown and Sligo take on Galway in Enniscrone. With all but one of the Connacht counties are starting under new management – John Evans is the only returning bainisteoir – there are a lot of new wicks looking for sparks here.
McGrath Cup (All throw-ins 2pm) The lowest-key of all the pre-season openers, only two preliminary round games are down for decision in Munster. Brian Cuthbert has picked a Cork team with nine newcomers for their game with Mary Immaculate College in Mallow and has rewarded county champions Ballincollig with a raft of call-ups. An interesting inclusion is Michael Cussen at midfield, his first appearance for the Cork footballers since coming off the bench at the end of the 2009 All Ireland final.
The other game sees Waterford play UL in Fraher Field.
