Armagh standing firm on McGeeney

Armagh have named Kieran McGeeney at centre back for Sunday's NFL trip to Killarney. The All Star centre back is ready to play despite his All-Ireland club semi-final with Dublin's Na Fianna which takes place next weekend. County champions Crossmaglen's players - similarly involved in a week's time - have, however, been rested.

Otherwise the team features a return to action for veteran forward Ger Houlahan and Peter Loughran - who starred in last year's run to the league semifinals - who come in at centre forward and left wing forward respectively. James Byrne is named at right wing back in place of the regular Kieran Hughes who is away.

Dublin have left a vacancy at left corner forward for their match in Roscommon. Brendan O'Brien is injured and uncertainty surrounds Mick O'Keeffe, who has a nagging groin injury. Ian Robertson is felt not to be fully restored after a lengthy absence with injury.

Kildare welcome back goalkeeper Christy Byrne and All Star centrefielder Dermot Earley to the team to play Fermanagh. Elsewhere, Ken Doyle, like Byrne, plays his first game of the season at left half forward and Padraig Brennan replaces the injured Terry Rossiter. Also ruled out because of injury are defender Derek Maher and centrefielder Pat Winders.

Meanwhile, last night in the Berkeley Court hotel in Dublin, the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern launched the annual Comortas Peil Phaidi Ui She. The competition for Gaeltacht clubs is organised by the Kerry football manager and played in his own division of West Kerry. This year's tournament will be held on the 18-20th of this month.

Donegal's Jim McGuinness is the winner of the Bass/Ulster GAA Writers' Merit Award for January. The 27-year-old centrefielder had three high-profile outings last month and shone in all of them: as UUJ defeated UCD in the Ryan Cup semi-final, again in the final when the Jordanstown students took the trophy at the expense of NUI Galway and the following day as Ulster beat Leinster in the Railway Cup semi-final.

An injury picked up in the Railway Cup final required 10 stitches and rules him out of the Donegal team for the weekend. With Limerick having flatly rejected a Bank Holiday Monday date with Cork, should the counties meet in the semi-finals of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship, it was agreed at a Munster Council meeting last night that the game will go ahead on Sunday, June 4th at Thurles.

However, some delegates voiced their disappointment that Limerick did not accept the original date when live TV coverage was guaranteed by RTE.

Plans to stage a triple-decker programme at Pairc Ui Chaoimh on May 28th were rejected by Waterford. It was proposed that the senior hurling first round games between Cork and Kerry and Tipperary and Waterford and the intermediate hurling game between Tipperary and Waterford should occupy the same programme, but Waterford were worried about ticket allocation.

There is dismay in Limerick that only six clubs including one from the inner city have entered for this seasons' premier minor hurling championship. The clubs are Adare, Patrickswell, Na Piarsaigh, Newcastlewest, Pallas Green and Kilmallock. A by-law stipulates that there must be an entry of eight teams for competition, making it possible that it might not go ahead. The GAA's All-Ireland Rounders Congress will be held this Sunday in the Greenvale Hotel, Cookstown. Delegates from all four provinces will attend.

Those attending the All-Ireland club semi-final between Birr and Athenry at Thurles this Sunday are asked to note that Ardan O Riain is closed for maintenance work.

Dublin (SF v Roscommon) - D Byrne; M Cahill, P Christie, D Conlon; P Curran, P Andrews, S Ryan; C Whelan, J McGee; E Sheehy, C Moran, P Croft; J Gavin, D Darcy, AN Other.

Armagh - (SF v Kerry) - B Tierney; E McNulty, G Reid, J McNulty; J Byrne, K McGeeney, A McCann; P McGrane, A O'Neill; C O'Rourke, G Houlahan, P McKeever; P Loughran, D Marsden, S McDonnell.

Kildare (SF v Fermanagh) - C Byrne; B Lacey, R Quinn, A Rainbow; D Hughes, G Ryan, M Wright; D Earley, R Sweeney; C Reilly, K O'Dwyer, K Doyle; P Brennan, T Fennin, C Sheridan.