With indecent haste, the draws for the 2017 football and hurling championships took place on Thursday night, with All-Ireland champions Dublin starting their three-in-a-row bid against either Carlow or Wexford. After two years of Dublin v Westmeath Leinster finals, there will be a different match-up in the decider next year, with Tom Cribbin’s team falling on the same side of the draw and up against Offaly first off. On the opposite side, Kildare will play either Laois or Longford, Meath will face either Louth or Wicklow.
“We’re very much looking forward to getting back on the road,” said Jonny Cooper. “We take Leinster very seriously. We had a few days of celebrations after a long year where there were a lot of questions asked and then a lot of us went back to work and back to our clubs. We’ll treat either Wexford or Carlow with respect, they’ll be tough opponents.”
Elsewhere, Mayo start rolling the rock up the hill again in 2017 with an opener against Sligo in the Connacht quarter-final, assuming Niall Carew’s men come through their trip to New York. After that, the winners must beat title-holders Galway in the semi-final, with Roscommon and Leitrim on the far side of the draw.
“I keep saying it – Connacht is a really, really competitive province now,” said Tom Parsons. “Galway showed their worth last year. They beat us on merit and went on and had a good season. I’d say they were disappointed with how they went against Tipperary. And Roscommon showed really well last year through their league campaign and they will be in Division One again next year. So Connacht is tough and where we stand, if can get over Sligo, we’ll have to then come up against Galway and then potentially Roscommon. That’s a tough route.
“I think the whole country knows we are united now at this stage and we’re ready to go again. That Mayo team, there’s huge characters there. We were very disappointed last week. But we’re here now, we have our focus reset and Sligo next year is something we’ll be preparing for very soon.”
In Ulster, Monaghan and Fermanagh have been handed the longest route, starting against each other in the preliminary round. The upside for both teams is that they’re on the opposite side of the draw to Donegal and Tyrone. Donegal start against Antrim, while Tyrone begin against Derry with the winners of both games to meet in the semi-final.
Meanwhile in Munster, Cork and Kerry ended up on opposite sides of the draw, with Tipperary down to meet the winners of Cork and Waterford in the semi-final. Champions Kerry, meanwhile, will play either Clare or Limerick.
The hurling draws were pulled as well, with just as many interesting ties - if not more. Having become the first team to win an All-Ireland title starting their championship in the Munster quarter-final in 50 years, Tipperary will have to try to repeat the feat in 2017. Last night’s championship draw pits them against Cork, possibly in a reopened Páirc Uí Chaoimh, with the winners to meet Waterford. On the other side of the draw, the new managers in Limerick and Clare will meet for the chance to make a Munster final in their first season.
“Any time you get drawn in the semi-final rather than the quarter-final, it’s a good draw,” said Limerick’s Seamus Hickey. “I always say Munster is hard enough without having to play three games to win it. Ourselves and Clare are exactly the same. Hope springs eternal at this time of year and right up until there’s a ball pucked next year, we’ll be optimistic. We’ll pick ourselves up from this year and prepare ourselves.”
In Leinster hurling, the summer will kick into gear with the meeting of Dublin and Galway in the quarter-final. Davy Fitzgerald’s opening task as Wexford manager will come against one of the round robin teams – Laois, Kerry, Meath or Westmeath. Reward for coming through that will come in the shape of Kilkenny.
2017 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
LEINSTER
First round
Louth v Wicklow
Laois v Longford
Carlow v Wexford
Quarter-finals
Louth/Wicklow v Meath
Laois/Longford v Kildare
Carlow/Wexford v Dublin
Offaly v Westmeath
Semi-finals
Louth/Wicklow v Meath v Laois/Longford v Kildare
Carlow/Wexford v Dublin v Offaly v Westmeath
CONNACHT
Quarter-finals
Mayo v Sligo/New York
Leitrim v London
Semi-finals
Mayo/Sligo/New York v Galway
Leitrim/London v Roscommon
ULSTER
Preliminary round
Monaghan v Fermanagh
Quarter finals
Mon/Fer v Cavan
Derry v Tyrone
Donegal v Antrim
Down v Armagh
Semi-finals
Derry/Tyrone v Donegal/Antrim
Monaghan/Fermanagh/Cavan v Down/Armagh
MUNSTER
Quarter-finals
Cork v Waterford
Limerick v Clare
Semi-finals
Kerry v Limerick/Clare
Tipperary v Cork/Waterford
2017 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
LEINSTER
Qualifier Group: Laois, Westmeath, Meath, Kerry
Quarter-finals
Galway v Dublin (A)
Offaly v Qualifier 1 (B)
Wexford v Qualifier 2(C)
Semi-finals
Kilkenny v Wexford/Qualifier winner or runner-up
Galway/Dublin v Offaly/Qualifer winner or runner-up
MUNSTER
Quarter-final
Cork v Tipperary
Semi-finals
Limerick v Clare
Waterford v Cork/Tipperary
