Tipp give O’Keeffe championship debut
The inclusion of O’Keeffe at left half-back is one of three changes made by manager Declan Ryan to last year’s All-Ireland winning team. David Young comes into the team at right half-back while Seamus Callanan will start at right half-forward. That duo both featured as substitutes during last September’s success against Kilkenny in Croke Park. Declan Fanning has retired since that clash, Brendan Maher is sidelined through an ankle injury and Conor O’Mahony is the third player to make way. Shane McGrath has shaken off a knee injury to start at midfield alongside Gearóid Ryan.
Billy Joe Padden will make his championship debut in Armagh colours in tomorrow’s Ulster SFC quarter-final against Down in the Morgan Athletic Grounds. The former Mayo star switched allegiances to the Orchard County at the start of this season and has been named at centre-forward in Paddy O’Rourke’s starting lineup. Armagh have made four changes from the team that exited the All-Ireland qualifiers at the hands of Dublin last July with Kevin Dyas, Tony Kernan, Padden and Micheal O’Rourke coming into the team at the expense of Vinny Martin, Finian Moriarty, Gareth Swift and Brian Mallon.
