GAELIC GAMES: All-Ireland champions Tyrone have named an improvised line-up for the weekend's first-round Ulster championship match with Derry at Healy Park in Omagh. Seán Moran reports
Footballer of the year Stephen O'Neill has lost his fitness battle with a hamstring injury and also out are Gerard Cavlan, Mickey McGee, Joe McMahon and Martin Penrose.
All told there are six changes from the side that started last September's All-Ireland final against Kerry. Peter Canavan has retired but all of the other absentees are out through injury. As well as O'Neill, McGee and McMahon, Brian McGuigan is a long-term loss with a broken leg and although Enda McGinley made a remarkable recovery from a cruciate injury, he isn't deemed quite ready to start on Sunday.
On a rare, up-note Owen Mulligan has recovered from a foot injury and starts.
Of the replacements the highly regarded Raymond Mulgrew comes in for his championship debut, at left wing forward. Cormac McGinley is selected at full back in place of McMahon, allowing Conor Gormley to move out to centre back where he played to great effect during last year's All-Ireland run-in.
McGinley will be starting his first summer match for the county under Mickey Harte's management. His previous appearance for the county was at centre back during the shock defeat by Sligo in the 2002 qualifiers.
Ciarán Gourley is named in the left corner instead of McGee.
Centrefield sees a new championship partnership in Colin Holmes and Peter Donnelly. It will be the latter's first championship start since this time last year when he started in the first-round defeat of Down.
A previous partnership, the All-Ireland winning 2003 pairing of Seán Cavanagh and Kevin Hughes, both form the spine of the attack, Cavanagh on the 40 and Hughes at full forward.
Opponents Derry are in almost as straitened a position with a number of front-line players out through injury. Defender Seán Lockhart, Gerard O'Kane, Paul Cartin and Patsy Bradley are all unavailable to start although Lockhart and Cartin are named on the bench and may be pressed into service at some stage.
Meanwhile, Galway welcome back Pádraic Joyce for the refixed Connacht first round tie against Sligo. The former captain was omitted last week because of an Achilles' tendon injury but he has recovered sufficiently to take his place.
In a straight swap with Joe Bergin, Joyce comes in at right wing forward with Niall Coleman switching to the left. Bergin's match fitness after injury was questionable last week and now manager Peter Ford doesn't have to take a chance and can reintroduce him more gradually.
Sligo have named the same side for the visit to Pearse Stadium.
According to Kildare secretary Kathleen O'Neill, county manager John Crofton is holding off naming his team because of a number of injury concerns.
"John said that there's a lot of players touch-and-go," she explained, "and he wants to give them the best possible chance of proving their fitness."
Meath have also deferred naming their team until tomorrow. The main injury concern is Anthony Moyles, who broke his arm in a club match and missed the first-round win over Louth. Anxious to give him as much time as possible to recover, manager Eamon Barry and his selectors have delayed announcing their selection.
Meanwhile, The Galway football board will hold a golden jubilee dinner on this day week, June 2nd, in the Galway Bay hotel in Salthill to honour the 1956 All-Ireland football champions.
Guest of honour will be former GAA president Joe McDonagh and also present will be the match referee, former Meath All-Ireland winner Peter McDermott. Some tickets are still available and can be obtained by contacting the GAA office at Pearse Stadium, (091) 862500 or John Power at (093) 41240.
TYRONE: P McConnell; R McMenamin, C McGinley, C Gourley; D Harte, C Gormley, P Jordan; C Holmes, P Donnelly; B Dooher, S Cavanagh, R Mulgrew; R Mellon, K Hughes, O Mulligan.
DERRY: B Gillis; K McGuckin, K McCloy, F McEldowney; L Hinphey, P McFlynn, J O'Kane; J McBride, J Diver; M Lynch, B McGoldrick, F Doherty; E Muldoon, P Bradley, E Bradley.
GALWAY: A Keane; K Fitzgerald, F Hanley, D Meehan; A Burke, D Blake, M Comer; P Clancy, P Geraghty; P Joyce, M Donnellan, N Coleman; D Savage, M Meehan, S Armstrong.
SLIGO: P Greene, R Donovan, N McGuire, C Harrison, J Davey, P McGowan, P Dooher, S Daly, B Egan, E O'Hara, B Cullen, A Marren, D Kelly, M Brehony, K Sweeney.
MAYO (v London): J Healy; D Geraghty, L O'Malley, K Higgins; P Kelly, J Nallen, P Gardiner; D Heaney, P Harte; A Moran, G Brady, A Dillon; C Mortimer, C MacDonald, A O'Malley.
