This weekend sees the start of the Leinster Football Championship, where a total of 11 teams will compete for the Delaney Cup.
We hope that the fare on offer will excite and that moments of skill will light up the various venues around the province. There may be a shock result or two along the way.
However, the hope that Dublin will be kicked off their pedestal as provincial kingpins seems very, very remote.
More often than not during RTÉ Sport’s GAA Championship launch, the phrase “forgone conclusion” was trotted out by the assembled pundits as to where the spoils will be heading in Leinster this summer.
Dublin have won nine out of the last ten titles – the winning sequence interrupted by Meath’s five-goal salvo against their bitter rivals at the semi-final stage in 2010.
The 2015 campaign kicks off with three preliminary round games, as Offaly play host to Longford and Laois make the visit to Carlow this coming Saturday.
Louth v Westmeath – a repeat of their clash at the same stage last year – takes place on Sunday afternoon.
The quarter-final line-up sees Dublin take on the winner of the Offaly-Longford clash at Croke Park on 31 May. Jason Ryan’s Kildare have an away engagement against the victor of Carlow-Laois on 6 June.
A week later on 14 June, Wexford make their bow against either Louth or Westmeath and Meath take on Wicklow in Navan.
Both semi-finals will take place at Croke Park on Sunday, 28 June - Offaly/Longford/Dublin v Carlow/Laois/Kildare -
Westmeath/Louth/Wexford v Meath/Wexford.
The Leinster final is down for decision at Croke Park on Sunday, 12 July.
Carlow
Carlow’s recent league campaign saw them fall away badly after a bright start that had them in contention for a promotion spot. The narrow defeat to Offaly started the demise but boss Turlough O’Brien will have been pleased that his side were competitive for much of the spring.
For the second consecutive season, Carlow will have to do without their influential midfielder Brendan Murphy, who has opted to go to the US for the summer. However, attacker Paul Broderick is nearing a return to action after missing most of the league with a foot injury.
Carlow have home advantage against Laois in their opener. They will look to make that count, but a winning start looks beyond them, however.
Dublin
While not as swashbuckling this year as they were in 2014 en route to winning another league title, the Dubs are still in great shape as they set off on the journey to retain their provincial crown and win back Sam Maguire.
The league campaign saw them boast the meanest defence in the top flight as Jim Gavin looks to lessen the perception that Dublin are cavalier and off-the-cuff.
The coach used 35 players during the campaign with the likes of Emmett O Conghaile, John Small and Darren Daly getting their chance to impress.
Having Ciarán Kilkenny back is a real plus – an orchestra conductor of sorts in the Dublin attack – while Dean Rock’s accuracy from placed balls will ensure that any opposition indiscipline is well and truly penalised.
Dublin will win Leinster again, with Meath the likely opposition in the decider. Bigger hurdles lie in store after that, with Gavin’s men determined to avoid any ambushes.
Kildare
The Lilywhites are not in full bloom at the moment following their relegation to Division 3 on Easter Sunday. These are worrying times for boss Jason Ryan and his charges ahead of a summer campaign that sees them on the same side of the draw as Dublin!
After their drop into the league’s third tier – and a successive relegation at that under Ryan’s watch – the manager said that “a lot of work is now required” to get the show back on the road.
Last year, Armagh responded in a positive way after their relegation to Division 3. You’d have your doubts whether Kildare can arrest their slide in the weeks and months ago. A potential Leinster quarter-final away to Laois, as of now, is fraught with much danger.
Laois
The O’Moore County just about preserved their status in Division 2 of the league – a bonus of sorts in advance of a championship campaign where they should be targeting a provincial semi-final date with Dublin.
Laois are not short of talented footballers, with the likes of Niall Donoher, Donie Kingston and Ross Munnelly around. In his second year in charge, Tomás Ó Flatharta will be hoping that his troops can go on a bit of a run through the back door.
The midlanders should have enough to comfortably ease past Carlow this Saturday evening.
Longford
Jack Sheedy masterminded promotion from Division 4, and while Longford were well beaten by Offaly in divisional final, the Dubliner's focus will be firmly fixed on the championship encounter with the Faithful this coming weekend.
The league final, however, saw the Longford full-back line in particular, struggle for long parts. Their attack also failed to function with much fluidity. It's obvious now that Sean McCormack's decision to leave the panel in advance of that game has left a big void.
You’d expect an improvement this weekend, but it may not be enough to overcome Offaly at O’Connor Park.
Louth
A bleak spring for Louth ended with relegation to Division 4. Paddy Keenan's decision to retire last autumn was a surprise for a county who have slipped a far bit since that day they probably should have won Leinster in 2010.
Boss Colin Kelly has enlisted one Mick O’Dwyer to help inspire the side ahead of their Leinster opener against Westmeath on Sunday next.
Home advantage should aid the Wee County cause and a victory will leave them in good heart ahead of another winnable match against Wexford in the quarter-final.
Meath
Meath are seen by many as the number two side in Leinster at the moment but are still well adrift of the Dubs. It’s Mick O’Dowd’s fourth year at the helm and should be capable of steering his troops to another Leinster final.
The hope in Meath is that, unlike last year, they will be able to give Dublin some sort of a game. Beyond that, making an All-Ireland quarter-final has to be the goal.
Offaly
The sparse crowd at Croke Park on Saturday, 25 April would no doubt have been impressed by Offaly’s second-half performance in crushing Longford in the Division 4 decider. Graham Guilfoyle, Willie Mulhall and Paul McConway fired home brilliant goals to cap a good day out for the Faithful.
Pat Flanagan seems to have got the pep back in Offaly’s step and you’d fancy them to beat Longford and so set up a date with Dublin at the end of the month.
Westmeath
Tom Cribbin’s arrival as manager did bring about a revival in the early part of the spring with wins over Laois and Kildare in Division 2. However, that early promise evaporated and a successive relegation was their lot at the end of the campaign.
Next Sunday’s trip to face Louth won’t unduly faze Westmeath, but there’s no great degree of confidence that they can emerge victorious.
Wexford
The Slaneysiders have certainly slipped badly in recent times and will be operating out of Division 4 for 2016. Former Tipperary minor boss David Power, in his first season in charge, is looking to build things up again and he has the backing of the county board to do that.
Wexford are capable of making the semi-final again and that would be a decent platform to salvage what has been a disappointing year up to now.
Wicklow
There was not much to get excited about for Wicklow during the league, as they picked up only three points from their seven games.
A trip to Navan to face Meath on 14 June is their next competitive assignment. The odds are stacked against the Garden County, all right!
