Maurice Fitzgerald has been named in the starting line-up as Kerry begin the defence of their All-Ireland title against Tipperary in Clonmel on Sunday. Fitzgerald will start at centre half forward alongside Dennis O'Dwyer and Aodan MacGearailt. This will be Fitzgerald's first championship start for Kerry since the 1999 Munster Final defeat to Cork, although he did play an important role in the Kingdom's All-Ireland victory last year, featuring as a substitute in all of Kerry's six championship games. His inclusion in Sunday's team also means he has played in every championship since 1988.
Eleven of the team which started in last October's All-Ireland Football Final replay against Galway are included in this Sunday's line-up. Mike Hassett was not considered as he is suffering from a hamstring injury. Tipperary have made changes following their defeat by Limerick in last week's McGrath Cup final, with Kevin Mulryan, Dan Hackett and Tommy Connors coming into the team.
Donegal will introduce three newcomers for their game against Fermanagh in the Ulster Football Championship. Eamon Doherty, Paul McGonigle and Andrew Gallagher will all make their debuts. Fermanagh will also introduce new blood into the team, with championship debuts for goalkeeper Ronan Gallagher, midfielder Ollie Mulligan and under 21 defenders Ryan McCluskey and Martin McGrath.
Carlow will also have four debutants for their championship clash against Wicklow. Goalkeeper Paudge McGrath, defenders John Hickey and Morgan Drea and forward Brian Kelly will all play. Goalkeeper Alan Quirke has his first championship outing for Cork footballers against Waterford. Podsie O'Mahony, Seán Óg Ó'hAilpin, Ronan McCarthy and Colin Corkery have also been named in the Cork team, while Fionan Murray takes over from Philip Clifford in attack.
Kerry: D O’Keeffe; B O’Shea, S Moynihan, M Lyons; T O Se, E Fitzmaurice, T O’Sullivan; D O Se, D Daly; D O’Dwyer, M Fitzgerald, A MacGearailt; MF Russell, D O Cinneide, J Crowley.
Tipperary: P Ryan, N Kelly, C O'Dwyer, D Hackett, W Morrissey, S Collum, L Cronin, E Hanrahan, K Mulryan, J Shanahan, S Maher, T Connors, P Lambert, T Ormonde, D O'Brien.
Donegal: T Blake, S Carr, E Doherty, P Campbell, M Crossan, D Diver, R Sweeney, J Gildea, P McGonigle, J Gallagher, M Hegarty, A Gallagher, J McGuinness, A Sweeney, B Devaney.
Carlow: P McGrath, J Hickey, B Farrell, V Fleming, S O'Brien, J Byrne, M Drea, J McGrath, S Kavanagh, P Nolan, W Quinlan, M Carpenter, B Kelly, J Nevin, A Bowe.
Cork: A Quirke, S Óg Ó hAlpín, R McCarthy, A Lynch, E Sexton, G Canty, Martin Cronin, N Murphy, M O'Sullivan, BG O'Sullivan, C O'Sullivan, P O'Mahony.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
