THE SECOND EDITION of the Tailteann Cup begins this weekend, and after the exciting fare that unfolded last year, fears of the competition being undermined have been replaced by some intrigue.
Last year’s finalists Cavan will feature again, while fellow competition hopefuls Meath and Down have been pitted together in the same group. Their meeting in June is likely to be the pick of the ties.
In terms of competition format, the teams that top each of the four groups will advance directly to the quarter-finals, while the four second-placed teams will play one of the three best third-placed teams or New York in preliminary quarter-finals.
With that in mind, here’s a closer look at the four teams occupying each group and their chances in the 2023 Tailteann Cup.
Group 1
- Cavan
- Offaly
- Laois
- London
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Cavan immediately draw the eye in Group 1 having reached the final of the inaugural Tailteann Cup in 2022 against eventual winners Westmeath. They will hope to go directly into the quarter-finals, and complete their mission from last year, taking on Laois in the first round.
Mickey Graham’s side appeared to be quiet contenders for the Ulster title after winning Division 3, but they suffered an early exit at the hands of last year’s All-Ireland quarter-finalists Armagh. Losing out on a Sam Maguire place was an unfortunate consequence of that defeat, but Cavan have already proven that the Tailteann Cup is a worthy competition to them.
Offaly are likely to be Cavan’s closest contenders having narrowly missed out on a place in the Leinster final and the Sam Maguire race after an extra-time battle with Louth. After stunning Meath earlier in Leinster, Offaly will be strong challengers in the Tailteann Cup. They will certainly expect to beat London in the first round and get off to a winning start.
Laois and London enter off the back of heavy defeats in their respective provinces. London struggled in the league, finishing bottom of Division 4, while Laois will feel disappointed that they missed out on promotion. The Leinster outfit face a local derby against Offaly in the second round, while Cavan must travel over to London.
Group 2
- Meath
- Down
- Tipperary
- Waterford
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Group 2 contains some exciting fixtures as Meath and Down appear to be early front-runners for the title. The Royals are a somewhat surprise addition to the Tailteann Cup following mixed league results and a surprise defeat to Offaly in Leinster. However, they will be a powerful force in the competition if they can put those disappointments aside and refocus.
Colm O’Rourke is still surely contemplating the nature of their defeat to Offaly, particularly their poor first-half display which yielded just two points. They closed in on the Faithful county with a strong second-half rally that day but they ultimately fell short. Only complete performances will do if the Royals want to rescue their season and finish with some silverware.
Down are in similar territory. They stunned Donegal in the Ulster SFC quarter-final before crashing out against Armagh. They’ll be expected to claim a first-round win over Waterford to ease them into the competition.
While they conceded four goals against Armagh, Down have goal-poachers of their own – Pat Havern and Liam Kerr both netted against Donegal.
Tipperary have struggled to build on their Munster SFC success in 2020, losing form and key players from the panel. Robbie Kiely has retired, Michael Quinlivan is unavailable this year due to work commitments and their Munster-winning captain Conor Sweeney has been struck down with a cruciate injury.
Tipperary suffered relegation from Division 3 this year, while Waterford managed to pick up just one win in Division 4 in 2023. The Premier County will have a tricky assignment on Saturday when they take on Meath while Waterford will begin with a difficult trip to Down.
Group 3
- Limerick
- Wicklow
- Longford
- Carlow
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Group 3 is arguably the most open of the lot. All four sides will consider themselves to be quarter-final candidates.
Limerick and Longford were both victims of relegation in 2023, falling from Division 2 and Division 3 respectively. Limerick, who suffered a big upheaval following the departure of manager Ray Dempsey, were perhaps expected to struggle in the second tier. However, they will feel encouraged by their Munster SFC campaign under Mark Fitzgerald where they were only three points short against Clare in the semi-final.
Longford underperformed in the league having been mainstays in the third Division for the past eight years. They have come close to promotion in the past as well.
They started 2023 brightly under new manager Paddy Christie by capturing the O’Byrne Cup. But they failed to catch fire in the league and were forced to wait until the last round of the competition before picking up a win against Antrim.
Both sides will target the Tailteann Cup as a competition where they can recover from those setbacks and finish their seasons on an encouraging note. They meet in the first round.
Wicklow, who were promoted from Division 4 this year, have already beaten Carlow in the Leinster SFC this year and will hope to repeat the trick when the sides square off again later this month. Carlow have just two competitive wins under their belt so far this season, but given the difficulties that Longford and Limerick have endured in the league, they could also snatch wins against those teams.
Group 4
- Fermanagh
- Antrim
- Wexford
- Leitrim
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After earning the right to play Division 2 football next year, Fermanagh will back themselves as potential winners in Group 4. They lost out to Cavan in the Division 3 final and were subsequently outclassed by Derry in the Ulster SFC. But a home tie against Wexford in Round 1 provides them with a starting point to revive their season.
Defending Ulster champions Derry were always going to be tough for Fermanagh to conquer, but they did chalk up 2-8 in that tie with both of their goals coming from Che Cullen. Fermanagh will be hoping that he will be prolific again in the Tailteann Cup.
Wexford lost out to Laois in the Leinster championship and also fell short of promotion from Division 4, which makes travelling up to Fermanagh a tricky prospect for John Hegarty’s side.
Antrim and Leitrim will square off in the other Group 4 opener after the Saffrons survived relegation from Division 3 in the league. Neither side managed to pick up a win in their provincial championships as Leitrim suffered a shock defeat in New York while Antrim were overwhelmed by Armagh.
Leitrim will feel particularly wounded by their defeat and they will be targeting redemption when they travel up to Belfast to face Antrim.
Tailteann Cup
Round 1 (first named team at home)
Weekend 13-14 May
- Group 1: Cavan v Laois; Offaly v London.
- Group 2 Meath v Tipperary; Down v Waterford.
- Group 3: Limerick v Longford; Wicklow v Carlow.
- Group 4: Fermanagh v Wexford; Antrim v Leitrim.
Round 2 (first named team at home)
Weekend 20-21 May
- Group 1: Laois v Offaly; London v Cavan
- Group 2: Tipperary v Down; Waterford v Meath.
- Group 3: Longford v Wicklow; Carlow v Limerick.
- Group 4: Wexford v Antrim; Leitrim v Fermanagh.
Round 3 (neutral venues)
Weekend 3-4 June
- Group 1: Cavan v Offaly; Laois v London.
- Group 2: Meath v Down; Tipperary v Waterford.
- Group 3: Limerick v Wicklow; Longford v Carlow.
- Group 4: Fermanagh v Antrim; Wexford v Leitrim.
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