GAELIC GAMES/CHAMPIONSHIP 2009 NEWS:EOIN KELLY returns to the Tipperary team for his first appearance since last year's All-Ireland semi-final defeat by Waterford, as Liam Sheedy's team open their defence of the Munster championship against Cork in Thurles this Sunday.
The five-time All Star comes in at left corner forward in a selection that shows two changes from the side that lost the National Hurling League final to Kilkenny after extra time.
Kelly and his successor as captain, Conor O’Mahony, replace Thomas Stapleton and the injured Shane Maher. There are two players making their championship debut, Pádraic Maher and Noel McGrath, both of whom had exceptional games in the league final.
Maher is retained in the named team at centre back, where he had to switch at an early stage against Kilkenny, with O’Mahony the current All Star in the position named at left wing in either a decoy selection or simply in recognition of his limited recent match practice because of injury.
For Sunday’s meeting between the All-Ireland and Ulster football champions, Brian Dooher, who twice led Tyrone to All-Ireland titles, will miss his team’s opening Ulster football championship match against Armagh in Clones. The champions’ captain has failed to recover from injury in time for Sunday but Stephen O’Neill starts, having recovered from the knee injury that has ruled him out of action since the opening round of the National League against Dublin in Croke Park last January.
Dooher will, however, be on the Tyrone bench as Mickey Harte’s side takes on the reigning provincial champions.
O’Neill, who started the year in sensational form both in the McKenna Cup and the big Croke Park league opener against Dublin, which launched the GAA’s 125th anniversary celebrations, is part of a menacing full-forward line along with footballer-of-the-year Seán Cavanagh and Owen Mulligan.
Overall Harte has included 13 of those who played in last September’s All-Ireland final win over Kerry. The only changes are goalkeeper John Devine, whose father passed away on the eve of that final and who was replaced by Pascal McConnell, and corner back PJ Quinn, who indirectly comes in for the injured Ryan Mellon.
Opponents Armagh, in pursuit of an eighth provincial title in 11 years, name two newcomers to the team, Barry Shannon, who starts at left corner back, and James Lavery at centrefield.
The Ulster champions saw a major clear-out over this year with the retirement of influential members of the 2002 All-Ireland winning team, Paul McGrane, Francie Bellew, Paddy McKeever and Oisín McConville.
Brendan Donaghy steps into Bellew’s shoes on the edge of the square having played wing back in last year’s championship whereas Kieran Toner and Lavery form a new-look centrefield in the absence of Charlie Vernon, who sustained a broken jaw earlier this month.
There are just two survivors of the All-Ireland triumph seven years ago, Steven McDonnell and Ronan Clarke, who link up again in the full-forward line where they have become one of the game’s most threatening attacking double acts.
Meanwhile, Wexford hurling manager Colm Bonnar and his selectors have announced the team to play Offaly tomorrow evening in Wexford Park. They give debuts to three newcomers to senior championship: Tomás Waters and Andrew Shore are both in the half-forward line with Peter Atkinson from HWH Bunclody coming in at corner forward.
Experienced goalkeeper Damien Fitzhenry, who played his first championship in 1993, and corner back David O’Connor, who debuted in 2001, return to the fold. Ritchie Kehoe plays at centre back filling the position vacated by the injured Stephen Nolan.
Stephen Banville, who avoided suspension at a recent hearing after the league Division Two final, plays at full forward.
The Cardinal Ó Fiaich Library and Archive, Armagh, will host its second national GAA programme and memorabilia collectors’ fair tomorrow from 10.30am.
TIPPERARY (SH v Cork): B Cummins; P Stapleton, P Curran, C O’Brien; D Fanning, P Maher, C O’Mahony; J Woodlock, S McGrath; L Corbett, S Callanan, J O’Brien; N McGrath, M Webster, E Kelly.
TYRONE (SF v Armagh): J Devine; PJ Quinn, Justin McMahon, R McMenamin; D Harte, C Gormley, P Jordan; K Hughes, E McGinley; M Penrose, T McGugan, Joe McMahon; S O’Neill, S Cavanagh, O Mulligan.
ARMAGH (SF v Tyrone): P Hearty; A Mallon, B Donaghy, B Shannon; F Moriarty, C McKeever (capt.), A Kernan; K Toner, J Lavery; P Duffy, M O’Rourke, B Mallon; S McDonnell, R Clarke, T Kernan.
WEXFORD (SH v Offaly: D Fitzhenry; M Travers, P Roche, D OConnor; M Jacob, R Kehoe, C Kenny; S Doyle, D Redmond; T Waters, A Shore, D Lyng (capt); R Jacob, S Banville, P Atkinson.
LAOIS (SH v Galway): T Doran; JA Delaney, D Maher, B Stapleton; M Whelan, B Campion (capt), M McEvoy; J Young, J Walsh; D Peacock, W Hyland, O Holohan; J Purcell, J Rowney, E Jackman.
