Wexford will be without key midfielder Eric Bradley when they travel to Parnell Park on Sunday to face Dublin in the first round of the Leinster under-21 football championship.
Bradley is also part of the Waterford United team which has a crucial FAI Cup third-round game with UCD at the same time on Sunday and it is to that task that the Adamstown clubman has made his commitment.
His loss is likely to be particularly heavy for the youthful Wexford side, who have 11 of their starting 15 eligible for the grade again next season.
Two years ago, Wexford enjoyed a memorable run in both the Leinster minor football championship and the All-Ireland senior colleges championship. The minor side lost to Dublin after a replay in the Leinster final while Good Counsel, New Ross claimed the school's first ever Hogan Cup.
That success has now helped build the county's strongest under-21 side in recent years. Seven of that minor side start on Sunday - Robert Mageean, Niall Murphy, David Murphy, Diarmuid Kinsella, JJ Doyle, Barry Byrne and Liam Murphy.
Along with Bradley, Mageean, Murphy and Byrne, David Kehoe and Edward Galavan were also a part of winning Good Counsel outfit. Also connecting the past to the present is current trainer Kevin Kehoe, who was joint manager at Good Counsel in 1999.
Dublin will also be without a couple of regulars in their starting line-up. Darren Magee is definitely out after suffering an ankle ligament injury in a recent challenge game with Derry, but more hopeful of starting is Declan Conlon, who continues to recover from a broken arm, as does Colin Moran from a shoulder injury.
Manager Lorcan Redmond has given Dublin a more reserved build-up to this championship but they have impressed in a number of challenge games recently and are eager to claim their first Leinster under-21 title in the grade since 1985.
The Wexford senior management will wait until the last minute before finalising their team to face Meath in the O'Byrne Cup semi-final in Gorey on Sunday morning (11.30 throw-in).
Centre back Willie Carley and midfielder Darragh Breen are definitely out through suspension, although captain Jack Berry and Paul Ffrench have returned from a club holiday and are available.
Meanwhile, Meath hurling manager John Davis heads into his first outing in the top flight of the league with feelings of both anticipation and apprehension.
Last season, Meath burnt a path through Division Two and earned the right to move alongside Galway, Offaly, Limerick, Clare, Antrim and Dublin. With that comes a whole new set of challenges; the chance to take on the heavyweights, and the pressures of survival.
Davis has endured his share of mixed emotions with Meath hurling in recent years and admits that the months ahead won't be easy: "Our main ambition is just to survive. If we have our full panel at our service then I think it is possible but I know that it's not easy to see where we will get the points.
"We are out on Sunday against Clare and I've just seen their team. They have some new names but there's a lot of experience and a lot of back-up in there as well. The problem for us is that we've lost eight of our regular panel from last year for various reasons, and we've had to bring in a lot of younger players."
The teams in the top division play their six games over the next eight weeks, which Davis is critical of.
"It's definitely a month too early. The weather conditions certainly aren't ideal, but I saw nothing wrong with playing a couple of games before Christmas. A lot of players were coming off the club season and to me it made sense to play some games then.
"And I also see no sense in the admission price hike to £7. That mightn't effect the top teams but for us it can't be good. It's always difficult to promote hurling in a strong football county but this is going to make it even more difficult.
WEXFORD (under-21 football v Dublin): D Kehoe; N Maguire, R Mageean, N Murphy; P Curtis, D Murphy, M Gahan; D Kinsella, E Galavan; JJ Doyle, B Byrne, R Barry; E Whelan, S Cullen, L Murphy.
OFFALY (SH v Galway): S Byrne; S Whelahan, K Kinahan, C Cassidy; J Brady, J Errity, N Claffey; J Pilkington, Barry Whelahan; J Dooley, G Oakley, B Murphy; R Hannify, G Hannify, D Murray.
GALWAY (SH v Meath): K Callanan; G Kennedy, L Hodgins, M Healy; P Walsh, C Moore, D Shaughnessy; R Gantley, D O'Brien; A Kerins, D Tierney, G Glynn; O Canning, M Kerins, C Murray.
