Armagh and Laois take top billing on the opening afternoon of the Bank of Ireland All-Ireland football quarter-finals at Croke Park this Sunday. Mick O'Dwyer's Leinster champions will be in distinctly northern company, with Fermanagh and Tyrone scheduled to open the day's entertainment.

Because it is not a bank holiday in the North, it was decided to give Sunday an Ulster flavour.

"My own feeling would be that it makes no difference what team you get at this stage of the competition," said Armagh manager Joe Kernan. "I think it is certainly an attractive game for neutral supporters. Games between counties with no championship history are of interest to people. Our own league experiences against Laois have not been all that good, but I would hope we are a different team now."

The All-Ireland champions have recovered from their early-summer blip against Monaghan in stunning fashion and must be regarded as a stronger force now than they were this time last season.

"Well, we are still there. Thankfully, we are clean as a whistle on the injury front, which is great. I think we did the right thing against Monaghan in that we had four All Stars not playing that day. We gave their injuries a chance to clear up instead of hurrying them back, even though they were anxious to play."

Fermanagh's adventurous season continues with a high-profile date in Croke Park. The gloss has arguably been taken off this historic appearance, however, by their pairing against Ulster powerhouse Tyrone.

"Well, look, it's a bit like dying," laughed Fermanagh PRO Tom Curry. "You can't turn back. A draw is a draw. What were we going to say, that we would have preferred Kerry? The situation for us is that we are playing Tyrone and are preparing accordingly. Perhaps some supporters would have preferred a more novel pairing, but that is irrelevant to us."

The game's most obvious reference point is the National League semi-final between the two in Croke Park in the spring. That was a disappointing game, with Tyrone running out as easy winners.

"If we were to dwell on that game, there would be no real point in travelling," reasoned Curry. "We would hope that we have developed as a team since that time and we are really looking forward to this game."

Roscommon and Kerry have been given the main billing for Bank Holiday Monday. It represents a tantalising game for Tom Carr's Roscommon side. All year long, it was Carr's stated ambition to bring his team to Croke Park, and it doesn't come much better than an All-Ireland quarter-final against the Kingdom.

Although the county's fervent supporters have already become gripped by the occasion, the team are keeping their approach low-key.

"It is just another game, really," said goalkeeper and team captain Shane Curran. "That is the way we are looking at it. We are keeping the same pattern going and we just hope it works for us."

Curran last played in Croke Park in the early 1990s, when it was an entirely different ground. The mere journey to Jones's Road is regarded as a reward by most counties but, as Curran sees it, the spectacle is something that supporters can enjoy more so than the teams.

"It is a long time since I played there and naturally we are looking forward to it. But we met again on Sunday morning after the Kildare game and immediately we had to turn our minds to preparing for this game. The weekend was tiring - at least for myself, I'm getting no younger - but the aim remains the same for us, to do as well as we can in the championship."

Monday's double-header opens with the meeting of Galway and Donegal.

This is the point where Galway's slow-burning campaign will, in the eyes of many, take momentum. They retained the Connacht championship with relative ease and are expected to do well in the All-Ireland series.

"It is definitely going to be a very tough game for us," acknowledged Donegal manager Brian McEniff. "In fact, it doesn't get much tougher. Galway are frontrunners for the All-Ireland and we will just have to see if we can lift it a step."

The teams recently played a challenge game in Sligo and so will be very familiar with one another.

"Yeah. I certainly would have no regrets about having organised that game, whatever about John (O'Mahony, Galway manager). I think both teams were looking for different things out of it. But these are teams that know each other anyway and I think it will be a good, open game of football."

Admission to both days at Croke Park will be by ticket only. All four matches will be broadcast live on RTÉ television. The throw-ins are 2.0 and 3.45 p.m. on both afternoons.