Debate over the raft of new playing rules drawn up by Jim Gavin’s football review committee has dominated GAA circles in the final months of 2024.
And with all the reforms, with the exception of the four-point goal retained following the interpro trial, was enthusiastically adopted by enormous majorities during the Extraordinary Congress on November 30, the new rules will be in effect for the tasty series of opening matches of the Allianz Football League on Saturday January 25.
The first weekend in January will see the All-Ireland Club Football semi-finals and final, with Errigal Ciaran, Ulster champion against Kerry’s Dr Crokes and Dublin team Cuala against Sligo’s Coolera/Strandhill, but the new rules will not be applied for these matches.
Amid all the debate over the perceived evils of modern possession-based Gaelic football, Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney was one of the most prominent voices, insisting the sport had never been healthier and that changing the rules of the game was not necessary.
However, Special Congress delegates disagreed and with pre-season competitions such as the Dr McKenna Cup shelved for 2025, McGeeney’s Sam Maguire Cup Winners and Galway will be the first Division One teams to road test the new rules in a competitive environment at Salthill in a repeat of last July’s All-Ireland final.
O’Rourke faces Tally in league opener
The first night of Football League action will see two new managers on the sidelines in Omagh as Tyrone by Malachy O’Rourke take next to a Derry outfit which has paddy account at the helm after the Oak Leafers finally ended their four-month search for a successor to Mickey Harte five weeks ago.
You could be forgiven for forgetting that Derry will enter the league as starters (remember the victory on penalties against Dublin last March?) and it will be interesting to see what approach Tally takes to its competition following the championship’s implosion, which led to Harte’s departure after just one season.
The opening night of championship matches will also see Dublin, without retired greats Brian Fenton and James McCarthy, renew their rivalry with Mayo at Croke Park in addition to Cavan hosting a Monaghan side, now managed by Gabriel Bannigan after the departure of Viney Corey, in a Division 2 derby in Ulster.
But while Fenton and McCarthy have seemingly left the inter-county scene, Donegal fans will happily welcome Michael Murphy of his two-year break, but they will have to travel all the way to Killarney to see the Glenswilly man in action on Sunday’s league opener.
As the league unfolds, it will be fascinating to see what impact Murphy can have with a Donegal side who probably still feel it should have been them – not Galway – who faced Armagh in the decider against all Ireland.
Jim McGuinness’ calculation is that Murphy’s composure – and even his outspokenness – could have made all the difference in last July’s All-Ireland semi-final when Donegal, who had beaten Armagh in the penalty shootout, goal in Ulster final, lost 1-14 to 0-15 against the Tribesmen.
There will be little time to catch your breath in league football as Armagh take on Tyrone in the second round on Saturday February 1 at the Athletic Grounds, the same evening Murphy and his teammates play the Dubs at Ballybofey.
The teams will be in action seven weekends out of nine, from the end of January until the final round of matches on the weekend of March 22-23, with the league finals taking place a week later.
Will Donegal and particularly Derry, after the way 2024 has gone, want to be in the Division 1 final just a week before their Ulster Championship opener at Ballybofey?
All-Ireland champions Armagh were drawn to face Antrim in their provincial opener a week later, with Cavan hosting Tyrone and Down against Fermanagh on the same weekend.
The winners of Donegal v Derry will face Monaghan on April 19-20, with the winners of the last quarter-finals having just a week to prepare for their provincial semi-final with Le Morne or Erne County.
The other Ulster semi-final between Antrim or Armagh and Cavan or Tyrone will also take place on the weekend of April 26-27, with the provincial decider scheduled for May 11.
The All-Ireland Championship group stage will begin a week later with the format unchanged from the last two seasons despite some grumbles.
Knockout football begins with preliminary quarter-finals on June 21-22 and Sam Maguire’s action ends on July 27 – with the possibility of a replay two weeks later if a motion calling for their return is passed at the GAA conference next February.
Malachy O’Rourke, Paddy Tally and Gabriel Bannigan weren’t the only inter-county managerial changes in Ulster during the autumn.
Antrim hurlers will be guided in 2025 by the formidable Clare Man Davy Fitzgerald, who takes over at Safrans by Darren Gleeson following previous roles with Waterford (twice), his home county and Wexford, which included guiding Banner’s men to the 2013 All-Ireland title.
Fitzgerald’s Antrim will open their Allianz Hurling League campaign in the revamped Division One B against Dublin at Croke Park on January 25, which will be the first of six games in seven weeks for the Saffrons.
Antrim host Westmeath on February 2 before facing Offaly in Tullamore seven days later and after a weekend off, the Saffrons will host Fitzgerald’s old side Waterford at Corrigan Park on February 23 before clashes with Carlow (Netwatch Cullen Park) and Laois (Ballycastle).
The top two teams after the final day on March 22 – in which Antrim will not participate due to the seven-team division – will achieve promotion to the newly strengthened Division One A.
Waterford and Dublin are likely to be the two counties of choice, but Fitzgerald will surely see them both as eminently beatable, but also knowing full well that Westmeath, Offaly, Carlow and Laois will need to be fully respected.