PÁDRAIC JOYCE is scheduled to return to the Killererin team in time for Sunday’s AIB Connacht club football final against St Brigid’s at Tuam Stadium.
The veteran Galway forward and two-time All-Ireland winner missed the semi-final victory over Mayo champions Ballintubber last Sunday week as he was away on honeymoon, but Joyce is due back in Ireland tomorrow and therefore set to line out for Killererin in their quest to win a first provincial title since 1978.
There is a late change of venue for the Munster club football semi-final between Nemo Rangers and Waterford champions Stradbally, which has been moved from Páirc Uí Chaoimh to Páirc Uí Rinn.
The other semi-final between Tipperary champions Aherlow and Dr Crokes of Kerry takes place in Cashel, with both games starting at 2pm.
Also taking place on Sunday at 2pm is a special charity game to mark the retirement of Kildare footballer Anthony Rainbow after 20 years of county service – featuring a Kildare selection against a Rest of Ireland team, which will have a 2pm throw-in at Newbridge. All proceeds will go to the Kildare GAA Players’ Fund, St John of God’s, Celbridge, and St Brigid’s Hospice in the Curragh.
The Rest of Ireland team features several famous players from past and present, including Séamus Moynihan, Graham Geraghty, Darragh Ó Sé and Peter Canavan – while the Kildare team will be captained by Rainbow himself.
Also announced yesterday was the Cadbury Under-21 football team of 2005-2010 – which was voted on by the public to mark Cadbury’s five-year sponsorship of the competition. With almost 1,500 votes cast for 92 players from across all of Ireland, the results were interesting, with recently-crowned senior All-Ireland champions Cork having three players on the team, with Kerry, Tipperary, Mayo, Roscommon, Down, Donegal, Tyrone, Dublin and Laois also represented.
REST OF IRELAND TEAM (v Kildare):Christy Byrne (Kildare); Marc Ó Sé (Kerry), Séamus Moynihan (Kerry), Aidan O'Rourke (Armagh); Graham Geraghty (Meath), Glenn Ryan (Kildare), Kieran McGeeney (Armagh); Darragh Ó Sé (Kerry), Paul McGrane (Armagh); Brian Dooher (Tyrone), Eamonn O'Hara (Sligo), Michael Donnellan (Galway); Steven McDonnell (Armagh), Jarlath Fallon (Galway), Peter Canavan (Tyrone).
THE CADBURY UNDER-21 FOOTBALL 15 – 2005-2010:Brian Fox (Tipperary), Fintan Goold (Cork), Daniel Goulding (Cork), Pearce Hanley (Mayo), Keith Higgins (Mayo), Paul McComiskey (Down), Justin McMahon (Tyrone), Michael Murphy (Donegal), Rory O'Carroll (Dublin), David O'Gara (Roscommon), Colm O'Neill (Cork), Aidan O'Shea (Mayo), Tom Parsons (Mayo), Brendan Quigley (Laois), Killian Young (Kerry).
