Dublin and Kerry are the big winners from Tuesday’s All-Ireland senior football championship draw, while for Mickey Harte’s Derry there is the possibility of an immediate rematch against Donegal in the round-robin stages.
Derry, who were beaten by Donegal in a provincial quarter-final, were drawn in Group One – alongside the winners of the Connacht final (Galway or Mayo), the losers of the Ulster final (Donegal or Armagh) and Dessie’s Dolan’s Westmeath.
Should Armagh overcome Donegal in the Ulster decider, then it will see Harte and Jim McGuinness lock horns again only weeks after their titanic provincial battle in Celtic Park.
Group One looks to be the most treacherous of the four, but for Dublin and Kerry the summer has really opened up – provided they win their respective provincial finals there is a very manageable route to the All-Ireland quarter-final stages for two of the three leading Sam Maguire contenders.
If, as expected, Dublin win Leinster, they will be in Group Two alongside the loser of the Connacht final (Galway or Mayo), Roscommon and Cavan.
For Mayo and Galway, it would seem the Connacht final loser would actually benefit with a potentially more agreeable round-robin group.
Should Kerry win Munster, they will be in Group Four alongside the loser of the Leinster final (Dublin or Louth), Monaghan and Meath. If Louth lose the Leinster decider, they would have home advantage against Meath in the first round of the All-Ireland series, but the Wee County have used Páirc Tailteann in Navan as their home ground for championship matches in recent years.
Meanwhile, the Tailteann Cup draw also took place on Tuesday afternoon, with Glenn Ryan’s Kildare placed in a group alongside Leitrim, Longford and Waterford.
ALL-IRELAND SFC DRAW
GROUP 1: Connacht winner (Mayo/Galway), Ulster runner-up (Donegal/Armagh), Derry, Westmeath
GROUP 2: Leinster winner (Dublin/Louth), Connacht runner-up (Mayo/Galway), Roscommon, Cavan
GROUP 3: Ulster winner (Donegal/Armagh), Munster runner-up (Kerry/Clare), Tyrone, Cork
GROUP 4: Munster winner (Kerry/Clare), Leinster runner-up (Dublin/Louth), Monaghan, Meath
TAILTEANN CUP DRAW
GROUP 1: Kildare, Leitrim, Longford, Waterford
GROUP 2: Sligo, Antrim, Wexford, Tipperary
GROUP 3: Fermanagh, Laois, Wicklow, Carlow
GROUP 4: Down, Offaly, Limerick, London
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