Opening opponents to be revealed

Championship 2005 DrawThe draw for the 2005 football and hurling championships will take place this Sunday at Croke Park. It will be shown on RTÉ 2 at 7.30 that evening. Dates and venues will be finalised by the provincial councils before the end of the year.

A number of the fixtures have been pre-arranged. The Connacht football championship will see Galway play New York and Roscommon play London, as the ties against overseas teams are played on a rotational basis.

The Ulster hurling championship is also predetermined. Down will play London in Casement Park in the quarter-finals with the winners meeting Derry in the semi-finals. The other semi-final will be between Antrim and New York in Gaelic Park, New York.

Football's provincial draws feature a full turn-out with the exception of Kilkenny, who again will not compete.

Next year sees the new arrangements for the hurling championships coming into force with just 12 teams contesting the All-Ireland series.

All the Munster counties except Kerry will go into the draw for their provincial championship, whereas in Leinster, Wexford, Offaly, Kilkenny, Dublin and Laois are in contention. Antrim are Ulster's only representatives.

There is no Connacht hurling championship. Galway will take their place in the qualifier round robins with the early losers from the provinces.