Michael Murphy
Who will win the All-Ireland? It’s going to be really close between Dublin and Derry. If anything, the league final has changed my mind in a roundabout way. It was a necessary shock for Dublin and I think they will have learned so much from the final. With Cluxton, McCarthy and Fitzsimons to come back I think they will make the necessary adjustments to shore up the middle of that defence.
Who will win the four provinces? Derry, Dublin, Kerry and I’m going to opt for Mayo even though I’m expecting a lift from Galway.
Who will be player of the year? I’m going to go for Con O’Callaghan. He was quiet last year but still threatened a hell of a lot. After the last day, he and other Dublin players will have taken a lot out of it and in Leinster he’ll be able to train through to the All-Ireland stages.
Who do you think will make an unexpected impact? Lachlan Murray of Derry. He scored 1-4 against Roscommon and 0-3 from play in the league final. At 21 he’s young and carefree and just goes for it. His confidence is sky high at the moment.
What new trends do you think will emerge this season? I’m hoping that teams will see the value in pressing high throughout games. It really adds to the excitement.
Darragh Ó Sé
Who will win the All-Ireland? The Dubs, unfortunately. They have ready-made solutions for any problems that arise. The bit of pain from last weekend won’t do them one bit of harm either.
Who will win the four provinces? Kerry in Munster, Dublin in Leinster, Mayo in Connacht. Up north, I’ll go with Donegal, depending on how Derry approach it.
Who will be Footballer of the Year? Con O’Callaghan I reckon. He looks leaner than he did before. He didn’t play great last Sunday but he was playing in front of a beaten midfield and it will sharpen his edge for the summer to come.
Who do you think will make an unexpected impact in the 2024 championship? I think Cork – but sure I’ve been saying that for years! Some year it will happen. They’ve shown in different league games they can do it and they had a couple of great wins in last year’s championship
What new trends do you think will emerge this season? I think you will see more long kick-outs. The Dubs pushed up so far last week and now other teams can see the worth of kicking it over them. Derry opened them up for four or five goal chances. The short, safe stuff takes so much energy and it could be a thing of the past.
Dean Rock
Who will win the All-Ireland? Dublin. Their first two league games were disappointing but they really turned it around after those defeats and Dessie has lots of options now throughout the squad. Kerry and Derry are also in the mix, but if Dublin can maintain the form they showed for much of the league then they can retain Sam.
Who will win the four provinces? Dublin, Kerry, Derry, Mayo. Dublin remain the team to catch in Leinster and it is hard to see them being stopped again this year. During the league little was shown by other teams the province to suggest the gap has closed. Kerry remain the strongest team in Munster, with Ulster and Connacht the most competitive provinces.
Who will be Footballer of the Year? David Clifford
Who do you think will make an unexpected impact in the 2024 championship? Cork. We used to play them in challenge matches and they’d give us plenty, I remember they hockeyed us one year down in Kilkenny. For whatever reason they have struggled to deliver that form in the championship, but they have the talent to do so – as have Galway if they get all their players fit.
What new trends do you think will emerge this season? Teams taking risks and leaving more men higher up the pitch to punish wandering goalkeepers. We got to see how teams might approach the summer by how Derry and Dublin played in the National League final, it could lead to teams taking more risks during the summer.
Malachy Clerkin
Who will win the All-Ireland? Derry have everything required – the best midfield, real tactical cohesion, the whole county behind them. If not now, when?
Who will win the four provinces? Dublin and Kerry will presumably tidy away Leinster and Munster without much fuss. Galway will be in the Connacht final without extending themselves so we can take that as the day when they kick-start their year. As for Ulster, I presume Derry will leave it to the other cats to scrap away in the bag. Donegal could be the beneficiaries.
Who will be Footballer of the Year? Could be one of those years where the All-Ireland winners’ vote gets split. In which case, I’ll go for Paudie Clifford stealing up on the inside.
Who do you think will make an unexpected impact in the 2024 championship? Nobody thinks Mayo are serious contenders, least of all most Mayo people, it seems. Hard to see them winning the whole thing but I wouldn’t be shocked if they had Croke Park rocking one of the days.
What new trends do you think will emerge this season? At least one goalkeeper will score a goal. Forwards will become wiser about taking quick marks and playing a pass rather than shooting. Some Ulster teams will be at less than full-throttle in the Ulster championship.
Seán Moran
Who will win the All-Ireland?
Derry and not simply for recency bias. They have been coming for two years and this season look improved as well as having made progress by taking the scalps of their closest rivals – as Mickey Harte did with Tyrone in 2003. Dublin could confound this but so much went into last year and that recent burst in the league that there mightn’t be a whole lot left.
Who will win the four provinces?
Dublin and Kerry for the usual reasons. Mayo because they will be on a mission to Roscommon after last year and the easing of Galway’s injury problems is so difficult to predict. Armagh because they have the less taxing side of the draw and Derry will need some down time.
Who will be player of the year?
Shane McGuigan. His form has hardly dipped from All Star levels this year and if Derry go on to great things, he will have been front and centre.
Who do you think will make an unexpected impact?
Not sure anyone will. Who made one last year?
What new trends do you think will emerge this season?
Teams may be prepared to use strategies to harass wandering goalkeepers into losing possession. As the Provos used to say, you’d only have to get lucky once.
Marie Crowe
Who will win the All-Ireland? Dublin, their squad depth has increased and they still have Stephen Cluxton, Michael Fitzsimons, James McCarthy, Jack McCaffery and Cormac Costello, all who got little or no game time in the league, at their disposal.
Who will win the four provinces? Dublin, Kerry, Mayo and Armagh.
Who will be Footballer of the Year? Con O’Callaghan. Dublin are going more direct this year, getting quick ball into him and once he gets the ball in hand it’s very hard to stop him.
Who do you think will make an unexpected impact in the 2024 championship? Kildare, after a disaster in the league I’d expect a reaction and a rebound. They were close in many of the rounds of the league, they will learn a lot from it and they have quality footballers.
What new trends do you think will emerge this season? I think we will see more teams kicking, high, direct, hanging ball into the full forward line.
Gordon Manning
Who will win the All-Ireland? Derry, but in the broader picture it looks like a one from three scenario – Dublin and Kerry being the other live protagonists. It would be a surprise if this year’s All-Ireland champions wasn’t one of the trio, but Derry start the summer a nose in front of the elite pack.
Who will win the four provinces?
Dublin, Kerry, Armagh, Galway. Leinster and Munster look nailed on again, while Armagh’s easier path to an Ulster final might work in their favour as they avoid the attritional side of the draw which includes Derry, Donegal, Tyrone.
Who will be Footballer of the Year?
Conor Glass.
Who do you think will make an unexpected impact in the 2024 championship?
Cork finished their league campaign positively and have the athleticism and talent to trouble teams in the All-Ireland series.
What new trends do you think will emerge this season?
As teams try to load their attacking play, the plus-one roaming goalie will become a far more common sight. As a result, we are likely to see a growing number of long-distance efforts kicked towards empty goals, much to the dismay of helpless goalkeepers frantically scurrying back.
Denis Walsh
Who will win the All-Ireland? Kerry have stalled, Derry have fired too many bullets already, Dublin’s squad is arguably deeper now than at any time since peak Jim Gavin. Two in a row.
Who will win the four provinces?
Dublin, Kerry, Galway, Derry. Who cares? Next question.
Who will be Footballer of the Year?
Conor Glass is the clear front-runner, but he will probably need Derry to reach the All-Ireland final. Otherwise, Con O’Callaghan.
Who do you think will make an unexpected impact on the 2024 championship?
If they can survive Killarney without too much structural damage, Cork are getting better.
What new trends do you think will emerge this season?
In the league there were 34 games with three goals or more – 12 of them in Division One. Derry and Dublin were the leading goalscorers in the top division. Is that the germ of a trend?
