Dublin include eight of All-Ireland team for opener

EIGHT players who featured for Dublin in the All-Ireland SFC final win over Kerry are included in Pat Gilroy’s squad for tomorrow’s Bord Na Mona O’Byrne Cup first round clash.

Cian O’Sullivan, Ger Brennan, Michael Darragh MacAuley, Bryan Cullen, Alan Brogan, Diarmuid Connolly and Barry Cahill all started the one-point win over the Kingdom, while Eamonn Fennell appeared as a late substitute for Denis Bastick. Gilroy has delayed naming his side for the visit to Dr Cullen Park (2pm) but he has named a strong squad for the first competitive outing of the year for the All-Ireland champions. The starting 15 will be announced shortly before throw-in but Gilroy is planning without the services of nine college-tied players.

Rory O’Carroll, James McCarthy and Paul Flynn, who all started against Kerry, are among those unavailable due to college commitments as are Philly McMahon and Eoghan O’Gara, who came on as subs against the Kingdom. Darragh Nelson, Nick Devereux, Colm Murphy and Craig Dias are also ruled out.

Meanwhile, a number of new faces are included in the Dublin squad, namely Shane Supple, Karl Connolly and John Small, a promising minor from the last two years. Davy Byrne, Rory Corcoran, Paddy Andrews and Blaine Kelly also make the Carlow trip.