A late change of venue, red cards shown to David Clifford and Peter Harte, and a narrowest of wins for Tyrone in this weird and far from wonderful Allianz Football League Division One game.

Our writers look ahead to the major talking points ahead of the weekend's Allianz League action.

The harsh and punishing reality of life among Gaelic football’s elite stared Meath in the face as they made their return to Division One after a 14-year absence.

A dogged Tyrone gave newly-promoted Meath a flavour of the realities of competing in Gaelic football’s top tier as they eased to a five-point success at Healy Park.

Tyrone will play no All-Ireland Qualifier or Super 8 games in Healy Park this summer due to major remedial works.

Mickey Harte hasn’t given up hope of holding on to All-Star attacker Cathal McShane as speculation intensifies that he is on his way to an Aussie Rules career with the Brisbane Lions.

The GAA is not only about identity of course, but the first Ulster Club title for the hardest of hardcore GAA clubs in Kilcoo Eoghan Rúa will forever sustain this miniscule community of shepherds in a hollow of the Mourne mountains.

John Fogarty previews the weekend's GAA fixtures.

Naomh Conaill will take on either Kilcoo from Down or Fermanagh’s Derrygonnelly in the Ulster Club SFC final following the Donegal champions’ win over Clontibret tonight at Omagh’s Healy Park.

Trillick 0-12 Errigal Ciaran 2-4

Defending champions Coalisland got over a tricky first-round hurdle at Edendrok tonight, easing to a 1-14 to 0-12 win over Ardboe to set up a repeat of last year’s LCC Group Tyrone SFC final against Killyclogher.

These are no ordinary times in Gaelic football and this is no run-of-the-mill five-in-a-row bid.

In the 2017 Division 1 final, Kerry brought Dublin’s 36-game unbeaten record across League and Championship to an end. Next Sunday, they aim to prevent Jim Gavin’s men from extending their defeat-less Championship run to 36. Thirty-three Championship wins and two draws have brought Dublin to the brink of creating GAA history. Here are 15 facts and figures behind their remarkable five-in-a-row tilt:

Mayo forward Grace Kelly has been named LGFA Player of the Month award for July.

Niall Sludden has promised that Tyrone won’t be afraid to shake things up, should they find themselves in a crisis at Croke Park on Sunday.

Mayo are hardly Dublin’s bogey team but in the eyes of many of the capital’s supporters they are bogeymen. They are the team they warn their children about. Condemned to death only to rise and haunt opponents again and again.

For the widespread criticism of the Super 8, a lot of it has been constructive. It might be on its last legs but there is no end of suggested treatments.

Managing at the top level now a largely thankless task

Strange one, this. Very strange.

Fake football was the order of the day in Omagh as the biggest indictment of a Championship format unfit for purpose was served up.

Diarmuid Connolly’s first Championship start for Dublin in 26 months was marked with a win as Dublin confirmed their All-Ireland semi-final against Mayo this Saturday.

Nothing but a win over Donegal extends Mayo's Championship for at least another week.

The Cork footballers must be “streetwise” and “patient” during Saturday’s must-win Super 8 tie against Tyrone, a fixture which selector Sean Hayes has described as the “game of our lives”.

"We cannot ask our teams and supporters to endure another season where our flagship stadium is unavailable to host the games it was built for."

Dublin forward Niamh McEvoy sounded a warning to her teammates that they still have a lot of improving to do if they are to retain their TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Senior Football Championship, following a show of force against Waterford at the weekend in O’Moore Park, Portlaoise.

A Rachel Kearns goal midway through the second half at Omagh’s Healy Park proved decisive as Mayo held off a battling Tyrone to win this TG4 All Ireland SFC Group 4 opener by three points.

Capacity concerns and Galway and Mayo’s refusal to toss a coin for home advantage meant their All-Ireland SFC Round 4 game was fixed for the LIT Gaelic Grounds this Saturday evening (7pm).

It’s taken him the best part of three years, but Michael Cassidy’s perseverance and patience have paid off.

Tyrone boss Mickey Harte is sweating on the fitness of Brian Kennedy and Kieran McGeary ahead of Saturday’s Ulster SFC semi-final with Donegal.

Mickey Harte says he’s hoping the great sleeping giant of Ulster football doesn’t reawaken this weekend.

On their day, Tyrone are a match for any opponent, but on an off-day, anything can happen.

Galway’s tortuous search for a balance between defensive security and offensive potency took a painful hit as they missed out on a place in the Division One league final.

Tyrone shot down Galway’s bid to reach the NFL Division 1 league final as they stormed back to win comfortably at Healy Park.

Ronan McNamee wasn’t surprised at the level of criticism aimed at Tyrone earlier in their Division 1 campaign.

Keeping Tyrone to a single point in the first half of their league opener — and that a dead ball converted by goalkeeper Niall Morgan — is testament to the early development of new Kerry manager Peter Keane’s defensive strategy, says Ronan McNamee.

“Ah, there’s nothing hi. A few factories up there in the Industrial Estate. Apart from that, you have the few pubs and shops and that’s it. Things just seem to be closing down every few months. It’s getting worse instead of getting better.”

Such has been Rory Beggan’s total focus on Sunday’s Ulster club final, his club manager wasn’t even aware he was missing the All-Stars trip to Philadelphia this weekend.

Rory Beggan’s converted free in the fifth minute of stoppage time sealed a dramatic comeback for Monaghan champions Scotstown and put them through to the AIB Ulster club SFC final.

Mickey Harte insists there are no scars left to pick from last year's All-Ireland semi-final when a Tyrone side carrying momentum and a degree of expectation was dissected and dispatched with a frightening efficiency by Dublin in Croke Park.

Cathal McShane believes battle-hardened Tyrone have a vital edge over Donegal as they prepare to collide at Ballybofey tomorrow.

Former Tyrone star Owen Mulligan has suggested the county narrowed their Omagh pitch for the Super 8 clash with Dublin in preparation for this weekend’s showdown with Donegal.

Mickey Harte is refusing to shed any more light on why the Healy Park pitch was narrowed for Tyrone's recent Super 8 defeat to Dublin.

After he drops off his marker to turn and face the goal the Tribesmen are attacking, Burke sees the landscape in front of him as Magnus Carlsen would a chessboard.

Sky say they did not, nor would they, make such a request.