24-05-2025
Are Dublin back? Beating Galway was impressive, but it's too soon to class them as All-Ireland contenders
DUBLIN'S brilliant win in Salthill last Saturday was much more than just the last sting of a dying wasp.
Their fans are buzzing again and rightly so.
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Meath great Graham Geraghty writes for SunSport throughout the Championship season
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Ciarán Kilkenny rolled back the years in Salthill last week
But judgement will have to be reserved before they are tipped to keep flying for the rest of the summer. The Jacks are back? Not quite.
Still, as a response to the performance they produced in
Being honest, even amid the joy and jubilation, there was a sense coming away from Portlaoise that day that the Royals had caught Dublin on the hop.
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The Dubs were clearly off-colour and they had a few injuries which also played into Meath hands.
Now, credit should not be taken away from Robbie Brennan's team because they played well and were full value for
But the Sky Blues showed what they are still capable of by getting the better of a team of Galway's calibre — and it has really thrown the cat among the pigeons in the group of death.
This format has understandably been criticised for affording teams too wide a margin for error.
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But try telling the All-Ireland champions that there is no jeopardy as they prepare to launch their Sam Maguire defence today against a Derry side who have been waiting in the long grass.
As their failure to win a single game attests, the Oak Leafers were really poor throughout the National League. And they could not live with Donegal in the Ulster Championship.
Limerick GAA fans troll RTE pundit Donal Og Cusack after win over Cork
But Paddy Tally is sure to have used the last seven weeks wisely. Some of their injuries have had time to heal and there are positive sounds coming from Foyleside.
Having more time to adapt to the new rules should also stand to Tally's men, who probably found it difficult to alter their previous system of getting everyone behind the ball and hitting the opposition on the counter.
Rejuvenated by their break from competitive action, Derry will not make it easy for Armagh today.
It would be foolhardy to underestimate the threat posed by a team that can boast talent such as Brendan Rogers, Conor Glass and Shane McGuigan.
After Galway came up short against the Dubs, could we end the first round of the All-Ireland series with both of last year's finalists empty-handed?
While an Armagh win at the Athletic Grounds is my expectation, no outcome will greatly surprise me. And in Derry's case, the only way is up.
Even without their talisman, Rian O'Neill, Armagh were desperately unlucky to
He remains absent for today, though
There are not many players who possess the type of X-factor that O'Neill does.
He is a fantastic footballer with the potential to really excel under the new rules.
DONEGAL DOING WELL
Today's other all-Ulster clash also has the makings of a tight affair.
You would have to give Donegal a tentative nod but Tyrone only lost their Ulster semi-final to Armagh by a point and this one could be equally close.
The impact Michael Murphy has had since returning to the Donegal fold following a two-year hiatus has to be admired. The man is a machine.
When the chips were down in the Ulster final, he was always ready to step up. He's a generational player. Donegal are blessed to have him.
For Louth, their first outing as Leinster champions should be an extremely difficult one when they take on Monaghan.
This is technically a home game for the Wee County.
But St Conleth's Park in Kildare will not offer them much in the way of an advantage.
Even as a Meath man, I can only admit that the images and videos of the celebrations that took place throughout Louth over the past fortnight were fantastic to see and thoroughly deserved.
Yet the fear now would be that the festivities carried on for a little too long.
On the other hand, Monaghan will be coming in nice and fresh after waiting patiently in the wings since their Ulster quarter-final defeat to Donegal five weeks ago.
I am sure that Louth got back down to business in the last week or so.
Nevertheless, it is very tough to detach yourself from the type of hysteria going on around you after achieving something that had not been done in 68 years.
Ger Brennan would be the type of guy to do a good job of keeping his players grounded.
However, Monaghan are a formidable force and I fancy them to prevail.
MEATH'S TASK
The challenge for Meath in moving on from their experience of the Leinster final will be an altogether different one as they face Cork in the Championship for the first time since the Rebels got the better of a team I was part of in the 2007 All-Ireland semi-finals.
A great chance to win a provincial title slipped away last time out so there was huge disappointment throughout the county.
Significant improvement will be required in the middle third of the field particularly for Meath.
Jordan Morris, who we all feared may be sidelined for the year, now has another couple of weeks under his belt so he could have a big say.
While my heart is saying Meath, my head is reminding me that Cork have shown their capability in the past couple of years by beating the likes of Mayo and Donegal.
They were also hugely unfortunate not to overcome Kerry in the Munster semi-final.
That being said, home advantage in Navan could get Meath off to a winning start before their attention shifts to the trip to Roscommon.
