Third time’s the charm or an immediate return flight?
Eamon Flanagan and Denis Barron will hope that Éire Óg can at least get back to their third intermediate football final in succession.
Shannon Gaels will be aiming to build on their run to the quarter-finals last year but know they will face a fired-up Kilbride side at home.
The home team will be led by player/joint manager Conor Devaney who takes charge of the side alongside Mark McCormack with Liam Tully involved behind the scenes. However, they have been hit hard by absentees. Evan Tully and Darren Clabby have emigrated, while Dan O’Neill, Declan McDermott and Anthony McDermott are absent this year. Aodhán Looby is out with a cruciate injury, and his loss is a sizeable blow.
Hugh Molloy, Nikita Berzins and Matthew Bourke went well for Shannon Gaels in the recent Tansey Cup final, and they will be expected to lead the charge to victory for the visitors.
Predicting how a club’s second team will fare, particularly in the opening game of the championship is challenging, but Pearses surprised many by progressing to the semi finals last year.
Repeating that feat will be an onerous task, particularly given that their senior outfit have been hampered by injuries to key personnel. Aaron Feehily and Shane Mulvey have retired, so Pearses have been dealt a tough hand.
Nigel Dineen knows that Elphin didn’t become a bad team overnight, despite losing last year’s semi-final against Éire Óg. Niall Higgins was a breakthrough player for Roscommon this season, so expect Elphin to have a fire light under them this summer.
A strange scenario as two clubs with half their parishes in Galway will meet in the opening round of the Roscommon IFC.
For Creggs, Noel Gately is still in Australia while Tomás Crean and Mark Dowd are currently travelling and will miss this game. Ronan Dowd missed most of the league through injury but has returned to full fitness.
For St. Croan’s, Dan Malone and Kevin Smyth have emigrated while Kevin Clancy is currently on this travels. Adam Keegan (collarbone) is also out Friday evening’s contest.
When these sides met in the O’Gara Cup, Creggs prevailed by 0-10 to 0-9. Another low scoring affair is a distinct possibility, but St. Croan’s should do enough.
An intriguing affair which pits last year’s county finalists against a Fuerty outfit that progressed to the quarter-final stage.
Thomas Greene and Liam Creaton are both gone to Canada in what is a blow for Éire Óg while Enda Crawley is working his way back to match sharpness.
However, their opponents have also been struck hard by the fact that Niall Kilroy has transferred out of the club due to his relocation to Dublin. Aengus Lyons has emigrated while Naoise Coyle is currently travelling and could miss all of Fuerty’s group games. Cormac Lavin (knee) and Adam Whyte (cruciate) are also confined to the sidelines.
Consequently, Éire Óg appear primed for a successful start to their campaign.
These two sides meet in the middle after Strokestown suffered relegation from senior while St. Michael’s jumped up a tier after claiming top honours in the Junior A championship last year.
Aside from Tony Lavin (knee) being out for perhaps the entirety of their campaign, Strokestown have been relatively unaffected by injuries.
On the other hand, St. Michael’s have been hit hard, particularly at the back, as goalkeeper Luca Hill (knee) and Michael King (travelling) miss out although the latter should return soon. Diarmuid Regan is rehabbing a cruciate injury while Niall McDermott has relocated to Dublin. Jim Harte is back from his travels.
Michael's will be eager to mark their return to intermediate level with a big scalp, but Strokestown should possess too much firepower.
Kilmore will be aiming to avoid a relegation dogfight while St. Brigid’s will be hoping to see their second outfit reach the knockout stages once more.
The Kiltoom-based outfit will need to perform a balancing act with Anthony Cunningham’s side lining out the evening before. Conor Gleeson, Jack McDonnell and Gavin Byrne have emigrated, but Cathal Dolan could get his chance to impress.
Kilmore have a narrow group to pick from as they have been dealt a series of blows in terms of player availability. Fiachra Doyle and John Gannon have relocated out of the country due to work commitments. Goalkeeper Jason McEvoy is also not available, and they’ll face a fight to secure a result here.
