Bless us, reader, for we have sinned. Again. On Sunday evening coming home from Salthill, we put in a call to a referees’ assessor.

It’s become a custom of the National League’s fixture makers to start the competition with a bang.

We revert once again to our dog-eared Soundings poetry book in a vain attempt to encapsulate Paul Galvin’s retirement.

News that two of the three GAA presidential candidates don’t intend harming a hair on the heads of Gaelic football and hurling will come as welcome relief to many at club level.

This morning, GAA director general Páraic Duffy delivers his sixth and possibly penultimate annual report.

At the height of the often bitter Galway-Tipperary rivalry in the late 1980s, Nicky English’s free-taking technique was a bone of contention for many in the west.

In the dark recesses of January, few would say football is any fun — but then less and less of the current crop remember when it was actually enjoyable.

In the end it was no more than a rehearsal but that didn’t stop some reviewing the black card’s debut like it was its opening weekend.

Just over a week now, folks, until the dawn of a new age in Gaelic football.

Mutual consent.