It’s only eleven days since Donegal lifted the Sam Maguire Cup and only four days since Kilkenny lifted the Liam McCarthy Cup. Yet while the 2012 celebrations are still ongoing, the first steps towards the 2013 championships are about to take place with these evening’s provincial draws in Croke Park.

33 sides are in the race for the Sam Maguire Cup while there are 15 teams in contention for the Liam McCarthy Cup. With advent of the backdoor safety net, the significance of the provincial draws has been diluted to an extent but for the weaker counties in particular, these pairings are significant.

In the Hogan Stand dressing-room in Croke Park is where the six provincial draws will take place. The four in football in Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster with the two in hurling in Munster and Leinster.

We’ll start with Leinster hurling with ten teams in contention and reigning champions Galway already through to the semi-finals.

In the Leinster SHC preliminary round it will be Antrim v Westmeath.

The Leinster SHC first round ties are Antrim/Westmeath v Laois and Carlow v London.

The Leinster SHC quarter-finals then see Antrim/Westmeath/Laois v Carlow/London; Offaly v Kilkenny; Wexford v Dublin.

And in the Leinster SHC semi-finals it will be Galway v Antrim/Westmeath/LaoisCarlow/London while Offaly/Kilkenny will meet Dublin/Wexford in the other last four clash.

No doubt that Galway will be pleased with that draw as it is certainly favorable towards them getting back to another Leinster final having avoided all the other big guns in the province. For Offaly that is an extremely difficult start having to meet Kilkenny at the quarter-final stage.

A good chance for one of the weaker counties make it to the last four as well. London will face Carlow in their first encounter in Leinster.

We’re turning to the Munster senior hurling championship draw next.

In the Munster SHC it will be Tipperary against Limerick in a semi-final tie.

While in the other Munster SHC semi-final, Cork will have a bye into the last four. And it will be Clare v Waterford in the Munster SHC quarter-final to kick off the provincial senior hurling action in the southern province.

Tipperary will be happy with that draw having avoided the quarter-final tie and going straight into the last four. Clare and Waterford clashing again in the opening round is an interesting tie with the Banner seeking to build on their recent underage successes.

So to recap then the Leinster senior hurling championship draw for 2013 is:

Preliminary Round: Antrim v Westmeath.
First Round: Antrim/Westmeath v Laois; Carlow v London.
Quarter-Finals: Antrim/Westmeath/Laois v Carlow/London; Offaly v Kilkenny; Wexford v Dublin.
Semi-Finals: Galway v Antrim/Westmeath/LaoisCarlow/London; Offaly/Kilkenny v Wexford/Dublin.

And the Munster senior hurling championship draw for 2013 is:

Quarter-Final: Clare v Waterford.
Semi-Finals: Clare/Waterford v Cork; Tipperary v Limerick.

The focus now shifts to the four Gaelic Football provincial draws for the 2013 campaign with Munster first up.

In the Munster SFC first out is Clare, who get a bye into the semi-finals.

While Clare will face Cork or Limerick who meet in the Munster SFC quarter-final. On the other side it is Kerry against Tipperary in the other quarter-final with Waterford having received a bye into the semi-final stage.

The odds will have shortened on a Cork and Kerry Munster final as they are stationed on opposite sides of the draw. Very tough on Tipperary to again face the difficult task of a quarter-final meeting with Kerry for the fourth successive year.

Connacht is next up.

And it’s Galway against Mayo in the preliminary round with New York v Leitrim and London v Sligo already pre-determined pairings.

And the Connacht semi-final pairings are Galway/Mayo v Roscommon; New York/Leitrim v Sligo/London.

The clash between Galway and Mayo is the standout glamour tie there with Roscommon awaiting in the semi-final. Sligo and Leitrim in particular look to have benefitted given the side of the draw that they are on.

So to recap, here is the 2013 Munster SFC draw:

Quarter-Finals: Cork v Limerick; Kerry v Tipperary.
Semi-Finals: Cork/Limerick v Clare; Kerry/Tipperary v Waterford.

And here is the 2013 Connacht SFC draw:

Preliminary Rounds: New York v Leitrim; Sligo v London; Galway v Mayo.
Semi-Finals: Galway/Mayo v Roscommon; New York/Leitrim v Sligo/London.

Next up is Ulster with the newly crowned All-Ireland champions Donegal involved here.

In the preliminary round it is Cavan who will face Armagh.

In the quarter-finals we have Fermanagh awaiting the winners of Cavan and Armagh while Donegal will face Tyrone.

While the other two quarter-finals will see Antrim against Monaghan while Derry will battle with Down.

The semi-final ties in Ulster will be Donegal/Tyrone against Derry/Down while Cavan/Armagh/Fermanagh meet Antrim/Monaghan.

So to recap again, here is the 2013 Ulster SFC draw with the meeting of Donegal against Tyrone the most eye-catching fixture.

Preliminary Round: Cavan v Armagh.
Quarter-Finals: Fermanagh v Cavan/Armagh; Antrim v Monaghan; Derry v Down; Donegal v Tyrone.
Semi-Finals: Fermanagh/Cavan/Armagh v Antrim/Monaghan; Derry/Down v Donegal/Tyrone.

And finally we move to the Leinster senior football draw for next year with 12 teams involved.

First out for the preliminary round is Wicklow and they will meet Longford. The winners of that tie face Meath in the quarter-final.

Also in the preliminary round, it will be Laois against Louth. In the quarter-final the winners of that pairing will clash with Wexford.

In the third preliminary round game, Westmeath will be up against Carlow. The winners here will meet Dublin in the quarter-final.

And that means the last quarter-final will be between Offaly and Kildare.

And to recap, here is the 2013 Leinster SFC draw.

Preliminary Rounds: Wicklow v Longford; Laois v Louth; Westmeath v Carlow.
Quarter-Finals: Wicklow/Longford v Meath; Laois/Louth v Wexford; Westmeath/Carlow v Dublin; Offaly v Kildare.
Semi-Finals: Wicklow/Longford/Meath v Laois/Louth/Wexford; Westmeath/Carlow/Dublin v Offaly/Kildare.

Some striking fixtures there in the football championship, particularly in the Connacht meeting of Galway and Mayo while the Ulster clash of Tyrone and Donegal also catches the eye.

We’re seven months away from the start of the 2013 season but the preparations can now begin in earnest with the provincial pairings known. Thanks for joining us for this evening’s championship draw.