Red-hot Semple test for Kieran Kingston against Tipperary

New Cork senior hurling manager Kieran Kingston will make his championship bow as manager against Tipperary in Semple Stadium next May.

Fri, 16 Oct, 2015 - 01:00

John Fogarty

In what is the counties’ first provincial meeting since the 2012 semi-final clash in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, when Tipperary edged Cork out by a point, the winners will face Limerick, with Waterford and Clare paired in the other semi-final.

Paired in last night’s live televised draw in RTÉ’s Donnybrook centre, it marks the counties’ fourth Munster quarter-final meeting since 2009 when they were drawn against each other in the provincial opener in the first of three consecutive years. By next year it will be 19 years since a county has won both the Munster and All-Ireland titles from the opening stage.

Should Tipp advance, they will face Limerick for a remarkable fifth season in a row. Waterford’s clash with Clare is their first meeting since the 2013 quarter-final when Clare won.

Kingston yesterday announced his suite of selectors. As he revealed earlier this week, his former All-Ireland winning team-mate Pat Harnett of Midleton will join him as well as three-time All-Ireland winning full-back Diarmuid O’Sullivan and Sarsfields’ Pat Ryan, who has guided the Glanmire outfit to recent senior successes. The trio along with Kingston will share coaching duties.

Local reports in Clare that Podge Collins is set to make himself available for both his father Colm’s footballers and Davy Fitzgerald’s hurlers could bring its own difficulties as both teams could play on the same weekend as they did this year. In May, the footballers faced Limerick the day before the hurlers faced TJ Ryan’s side in the Gaelic Grounds. According to the Clare Champion, Fitzgerald is willing to accommodate dual players after putting it to them this past season they had to make a choice.

In Leinster, Dublin and Wexford will face off to see who faces All-Ireland champions Kilkenny in a semi-final. Strangely, it appears the runners-up of the Leinster qualifiying group which includes Kerry have fared better in the draw than the prospective winners. Laois will face the second-placed team in a quarter-final whereas Galway clash with the table-toppers of Carlow, Offaly, Kerry and Westmeath.

In the Munster football championship, Cork and Kerry have been kept apart at the semi-final stage for the third year running. It’s the second year of the new competition format where the counties, while seeded, could have been drawn against one another at the last four stage. However, next year Cork face the winners of Tipperary and Waterford, with Kerry taking on the victors of the other quarter-final between Clare and Limerick.

Killarney will once again host the Munster final should Cork and Kerry progress as Páirc Uí Chaoimh is being redeveloped. As things stand, Cork are owed one game after this year’s replay.

The Ulster SFC draw is one of the most balanced in years. Fermanagh and Antrim will face this year’s runners-up Donegal in a quarter-final, with the victors progressing to a semi-final against Monaghan and Down. Were Donegal and Monaghan to meet, it would be the fourth year in a row that they have clashed in the province.

On the top half of the draw, Derry and Tyrone will renew acquaintances in an eagerly-awaited quarter-final. Cavan and Armagh meet for the first time since last year, when their parade scuffle marred their last-eight game.

For the third year running, Sligo will have a lengthy break between league and championship. In a Connacht semi-final, they face the winners of Leitrim and New York/Roscommon. A repeat of this year’s last-four game between Galway and Mayo is on the cards as the Tribesmen await the winners of Mayo and London on the other side of the draw.

In Leinster, All-Ireland champions Dublin take on the winners of Laois and Wicklow in a quarter-final, a game again likely to be staged in Croke Park. Meath are also on Dublin’s side of the draw although they must beat Louth or Carlow to face Jim Gavin’s side in a semi-final.

This year’s provincial finalists Westmeath will meet Longford or Offaly in a quarter-final. Should they advance, they will play Wexford or Kildare.