With the Railway Cup football semi-finals on the horizon, there are problems in store for holders Munster and Leinster. All-Ireland finalists Cork and Meath will be returning from winter holidays only on the weekend of the semi-finals.
Munster, who are defending the title for the first time in 17 years, face the difficulty of having both leading counties, Cork and Kerry, abroad for most of January.
Kerry are currently away and will miss preparations, but the players will be back in time for the opening defence against Connacht. Munster will again be managed by Paidi O Se, together with John O'Keeffe, Cork's Paddy Sheahan and Tipperary's Seamus McCarthy.
Leinster manager Matt Kerrigan has greater options, but the absence of the All-Ireland champions would deprive the province of a number of definite starters for their semi-final with Ulster in Casement Park.
Kerrigan's Ulster counterpart, Brian McEniff, has named his panel for Sunday's preparatory match against Derry this Sunday. It includes six of the side which started the province's last successful final two years ago.
Meath's holiday will not, however, disrupt the O'Byrne Cup second round against Westmeath next Sunday. The county has decided to field a combination of reserves and under-21s - rather than hold up the competition or withdraw from it.
Leinster secretary Michael Delaney has responded to criticism of the timing of the O'Byrne Cup by pointing out that the counties themselves have opted to play it at this time of the year.
"We have no desire to be dragging players out in January, but the counties unanimously decided that they wanted to play it now because with the League coming up, they would need challenge matches," he said.
The O'Byrne Cup is administered by the Leinster Council and any net receipts after team expenses have been paid go towards the province's fund for hardship cases. Originally income was used to swell the Players' Injury Fund, but since that became largely self-financing, the money - and revenue from the Walsh Cup and Kehoe Cup hurling competitions - is now diverted to the hardship fund.
In Munster, their secondary competition, the McGrath Cup, has undergone a change of format. In recent years every teams in the province have taken part - as opposed to the four weaker counties to whom entry was originally restricted - on a round-robin basis.
This year the McGrath Cup reverts to its old composition and knockout format. It won't be played until March 12th, when the semi-finals see Clare take on Limerick at Ennis and Tipperary travel to Dungarvan to play Waterford. The home final is scheduled for April 2nd, and the winners will travel to London at the end of April for the overall final.
Meanwhile, after Sunday's brief flirtation with senior football, Kilkenny will be setting their sights on this year's Junior championship. At the moment, team affairs are being looked after by a committee of three, including former county manager P J O'Connor, but there are hopes that another former coach, Peter Dukelow, will be in a position to resume the reins.
Dukelow, an army officer, had been transferred to Cork from Kilkenny but has now left the force to take up an administrative position with Kilkenny College. This career move has encouraged Kilkenny officials to think that he might reconsider his resignation.
ULSTER (SF panel v Derry): P McCann, K Madden (Antrim); K Hughes, O McConville, K McGeeney, P McGrane, E McNulty, D Marsden (Armagh); T Farrelly, D McCabe, P Reilly (Cavan); T Blake, B Devenney, D Diver, J McGuinness (Donegal); P Brewster, G McCartan, M Magill, S Mulholland (Down); R Gallagher, P McGuinness (Fermanagh); D McArdle (Monaghan); Pascal Canavan, Peter Canavan, B Dooher, E Gormley, C McAnallen, F McConnell (Tyrone).
