Munster’s football championship draw has opened a route for a team from the lower divisions to contest the Sam Maguire. Last season’s Munster finalists, Clare, currently a Division Three team, are on the same side of the draw as Waterford and Tipperary, both of whom are in Division Four and at present without managers.
It means that one of the teams promoted next year to Division Two will not compete in the Sam Maguire.
Champions Kerry will play the winners of the Limerick-Cork quarter-final in the semi-finals.
In Ulster, new Derry manager Mickey Harte is on the same side of next year’s Ulster football as Tyrone, who he guided to three All-Ireland titles in the 2000s. First though, he has to overcome Donegal and their returning manager Jim McGuinness.
Tyrone, All-Ireland winners again in 2021, have to get past the winners of the Monaghan and Cavan tie.
That fixture is the opening match of next year’s championship, which starts with a preliminary round. Just five counties were in the draw for the preliminary round: the two counties drawn plus Derry, Donegal and Down.
Excluded were those counties that have played in the preliminaries in the past two years: Tyrone, Fermanagh, Armagh and Antrim.
The other side of the draw doesn’t have any Division One teams. The 2023 finalists Armagh, relegated to Division Two, will be favourites to reach another final. They face Fermanagh in the quarter-finals and if successful, the winners of Down and Antrim in the semi-finals.
The Leinster football draw has put All-Ireland champions Dublin on track for a quarter-final against Tailteann Cup holders Meath, providing they defeat Longford. Last season’s provincial finalists Louth, who have had to replace Harte as manager after his decamping to Derry, are on the other side of the draw.
Dublin All-Ireland medallist Ger Brennan has taken over and his team will face the winners of Carlow and Wexford in the quarter-final. Kildare, who pushed Dublin hard in the Leinster semi-final, play Westmeath in the quarter-finals but stay on the opposite side of the draw to the champions.
A midlands derby between Offaly and Laois completes the quarter-finals with the winners joining the survivors of Dublin/Longford/Meath in the semi-finals.
In the west, Mayo and Galway are on opposite sides of the draw but assuming Mayo survive the trip to New York, they have to play Roscommon, who defeated them in last season’s quarter-finals.
Connacht was the focus of much attention last year when Division Four counties occupied the entirety of one half of the draw, meaning that one of them would enter the Sam Maguire. In the end it was Sligo who reached the final and after losing to Galway, contested the All-Ireland round-robin stages.
It also featured New York’s first win in the championship when they defeated Leitrim. Next year, Mayo will make the trip to the US, whereas Galway are in London, so it wasn’t possible to repeat the implications of last year’s draw.
Champions Galway may find themselves in a repeat of the 2023 Connacht final, as are drawn against the winners of Sligo v Leitrim.
Munster SFC 2024
Quarter-final: Tipperary v Waterford, winners to play Clare; Limerick v Cork, winners to play Kerry.
Ulster SFC 2024
Preliminary round: Monaghan v Cavan. Quarter-finals: Down v Antrim, Fermanagh v Armagh, Derry v Donegal, Monaghan/Cavan v Tyrone; Semi-finals: Monaghan/Cavan/Tyrone v Derry/Donegal, Down/Antrim v Fermanagh/Armagh.
Leinster SFC 2024
First round: Westmeath v Wicklow, Carlow v Wexford, Longford v Meath; Quarter-finals: Kildare v Westmeath/Wicklow, Louth v Carlow/Wexford, Dublin v Longford/Meath, Offaly v Laois; Semi-finals: Louth/Carlow/Wexford v Kildare/Westmeath/Wicklow, Dublin/ Longford/Meath v Offaly/Laois.
Connacht SFC 2024
Quarter-finals: New York v Mayo, London v Galway, Sligo v Leitrim; Semi-finals: New York/Mayo v Roscommon, Sligo/Leitrim v London/Galway.
