Inside Track: Attention now turns to the provincial championships

The National League has just been put to bed. It was reckoned by many to have been the most competitive for a long time, over the four divisions.

Donegal, Meath, Down and Carlow were winners. Though it didn’t rate as high as the others’, Carlow’s success in Division Four was groundbreaking. Never before did the county with the multi-coloured jerseys win a league title of any kind.

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The Leinster championship went the county’s way in 1944, but until last Saturday week, the O’Byrne Cup was the only other senior trophy to go that direction.

The focus is now on the provincial championships, which face the starter this weekend. Carlow are one of six teams in action in Leinster. The three winners go forward to the quarter-finals, the stage at which Louth face Wexford, next Sunday week.

While the Leinster ties will attract attention, the game sure to create the greatest interest is the meeting up north of Tyrone and Armagh.

This is the only preliminary tie in the Ulster championship, and is sure to be a real rip-roarer, a repeat of the 2003 All-Ireland final.

Though just avoiding relegation from the top division, Armagh had a much better league than their neighbours.

They could well emerge as the main danger to the favourites, Donegal, and maybe make a mark in the All-Ireland series, regardless of how they fare at provincial level.

Most often a two-horse race, the Connacht has a more open look about it this time. That’s because Roscommon have elbowed their way in alongside Galway and Mayo.

The Rossies had a good league, and having been drawn to enjoy the beano, a trip to New York to play the team comprised of ex-pats and locals this weekend, a place in the semi-finals looks assured.

Aidan O’Shea is facing into his 19th championship campaign with Mayo. He has won plenty of provincial titles along the way, but not the big one.

His county holds a prominent place in championship hard-luck stories. That’s due to the number of times the green-and-reds have been short-headed on All-Ireland final day since they last won the Sam Maguire in 1951. O’Shea has been there for all of the recent ones.

Hope springs eternal in Mayo, and it’s probably no different this year. Getting out of Connacht will be as problematic as ever – after that, Andy Moran’s side will take their chance.

You can’t look beyond Kerry or Cork down south, maybe only Kerry. The champions caught a real tartar in the league final, while Cork had a good Division Two campaign, making it back to the top tier.

The Rebels may not be able to close the gap, but could rattle a few cages when it comes to the All-Ireland series.

It has taken Louth and, to a lesser degree, Meath, to inject life back into the Leinster race. For far too long, this was Dublin’s preserve, a mere stepping stone to the more lucrative September prize (Now on offer in July.)

It was Meath who knocked the Dubs off their mantle, beating the warm favourites in last year’s semi-final. As we know only too well in this county, that win wasn’t a precursor of better to come from the Royals. Louth’s win over their neighbours last May was memorable.

It wasn’t commented upon too often, but that day, Louth had a notable achievement – playing in a third successive final for the first time.

A fourth appearance will enhance the record, leaving the possibility open for a second provincial win in succession, last achieved back in the years when it was 17-a-side, 1909 and 1910.

And now an attempt to explain the set-up for the All-Ireland series, which is different from other years. The first round will be contested by 16 teams, eight provincial finalists and eight others, depending where they had finished in the league.

In Round One, the provincial finalists will have home advantage, taking on the other eight. The winners will go through to Round One A, while the losers will go into Round One B.

The Round One A winners will then meet, with whoever’s successful going into the quarter-finals. The four losers will meet the quartet to emerge from Round One B, and these games will also complete the last eight.

Clear? As mud?