Good evening everyone and welcome to our live coverage of tonight’s draw. The curtain may have only just drawn on the 2015 season but already attention has turned to next year’s championships.
By the end of the evening, you’ll know exactly how difficult or easy your county’s opening fixture of the 2016 championship campaign will be.
The road to Croke Park starts here so settle in and stay tuned as we bring you the draws as they happen.
It’s hard to believe but we’re already looking ahead to next year’s inter-county season. Michael Lyster and Marty Morrissey will be joined by Cyril Farrell, Henry Shefflin, Dessie Dolan and Pat Spillane on RTÉ 2 at 8pm as counties anxiously await to discover their championship opponents.
As always, we love to hear from you. Let us know who you’d like your county to draw and why in the comments section below or you can tweet @The42_ie, leave a message on our Facebook wall or email ryan@the42.ie.
Just a few minutes away from the start of proceedings now. We’ll guide you through it all as it happens.
Right, here we go then. Six draws to be made and we’re starting with the Leinster SHC.
Marty Morrissey is conducting proceedings.
Dublin are first out of the pot and they’re paired with Wexford in the quarter-finals.
And here’s the complete Leinster SHC draw for 2016:
With Kerry involved in the Leinster draw, there are five teams in the Munster SHC draw. Cork, Tipperary, Limerick, Waterford and Clare are in the pot.
The first three teams out go straight through to the semi-finals and Waterford are first out to meet Davy Fitz’s Clare. Limerick are the other county into the last four.
The first and only quarter-final sees Tipperary face Cork.
And here’s the draw in full:
What have we made of the draws so far? Kieran Kingston’s first championship game in charge of Cork will be against Tipperary and Henry Shefflin believes the clash in Thurles will be a great ‘appetizer’ for the summer.
Cyril Farrell and Shefflin are on the RTÉ panel digesting those draws and trying to make sense of it all. Farrell believes Cork are worth a punt in 2016 and believes they could surprise a few people.
They’re taking a quick break over at Montrose but we still have the football draws to come.
Onto the Munster SFC draw now with six counties split between two pots.
Tipperary, Limerick, Waterford and Clare are in Bowl 1 while the big guns, Kerry and Cork, are in Bowl 2.
Tipp are first out of Bowl 1 and they will face Waterford.
Remember Cork and Kerry can meet in the semi-final but it’s Clare/Limerick first out of the pot and they’ll play the Munster champions Kerry.
So that means the winners of Tipperary and Waterford will take on Cork in the Munster SFC semi-final.
The big news is that Cork and Kerry are on opposite sides of the draw. Here’s a look at how it will shape-up in 2016:
Dessie Dolan and Pat Spillane are in the hot seats now and they’re reflecting on what we’ve just seen. There will be plenty of reaction to tonight’s draw on the site later and in the morning.
Right, we’re moving swiftly on and it’s time for the Connacht SFC draw for 2016.
We have predetermined rounds in Connacht with Roscommon travelling to New York and Mayo making the trip to London.
There’s a lot of things going on in this draw.
The winner of Roscommon/NY will face Leitrim in the quarter-finals while whoever comes out on top in Ruislip will take on Galway in the last four.
In the other semi-final, Sligo will await either Roscommon, New York or Leitrim.
And we’re off again. It’s time for the Ulster SFC draw for 2016.
All nine counties are in the one bowl. Here’s the structure:
Fermanagh and Antrim have been paired in the preliminary round in Ulster. In the quarter-finals in the top half of the draw, Derry take on Tyrone and Cavan face Armagh.
In the bottom half, Donegal will meet the winner of the preliminary round while defending champions Monaghan’s first task will be against Down.
Pat Spillane says Ulster remains the most entertaining provincial championship and here’s the 2016 draw:
Michael Reynolds and John Horan from the Leinster board have returned to conduct the Leinster SFC draw. There are two bowls in this draw and here’s the structure of the draw before we start:
Laois and Wicklow will meet in the first round, as will Louth and Carlow. The winner of the former have been given the daunting task of facing Dublin in the next round.
Longford take on Offaly in the other first round tie.
Problems with the touchscreen in the RTÉ studio as Marty is forced to solider on without any technology. Ever the professional, he survives as Wexford are drawn against Kildare in the quarter-finals.
Leinster and All-Ireland champions Dublin will run away with this year’s championship again, according to Pat Spillane. He wants Jim Gavin’s side to move away from Croke Park for their games and go down to Laois or Wicklow for the quarter-final.
And that’s a wrap, folks. The draws for the 2016 football and hurling championships have been made and the road to Croke Park has begun in earnest. Here are the hurling draws.
Sad to see so many of them so young.
Also Kieran “jap” Finlay. Monaghan legend who won numerous county honours in the 80s. Father of Paul Finlay.
Steward will also be remembered for creating the iconic Kronk gym and coaching Tommy Hearns in the 80s. Lennox and the K brothers only followed from the 1990s onwards.
Rip Joe fraiser
Jimmy Steins — what an absolute legend. So sad to see him go so young. Must have been a difficult Christmas for his family and friends.