BALLYBOFEY. Belfast. Omagh. Enniskillen. Clones or Derry. Ulster football’s sunny pit stops this spring as old rivalries are dusted off and renewed.
Under the old rules, the Ulster Championship produced some compelling final affairs over the last few years.
Maybe the high stakes and nerve-shredding conclusions to Derry versus Donegal (2022), Derry versus Armagh (2023) and Donegal versus Armagh (2024) were reason enough to leave supporters howling for more.
Old rules, new rules, split season, no split season, endless Championship rejigs, Ulster football stood alone facing into the scorching winds of change.
Donegal versus Derry at MacCumhaill Park on Sunday. Is there a better curtain-raiser?
Hats, scarves and headbands, almost t-shirt weather, the colour in the town and the Villa Rose, the mistress in the corner never looked more inviting.
Still the goalposts keep on shifting.
Following some heavy-duty FRC engineering, it’s a new game, new rules. Two-pointers galore, 40m arcs, thump it long, three-up, solo and go and, whatever you do, hand that O’Neill’s size five back to your opponent.
Long before the Football Review Committee was conceived, Tyrone great Peter Canavan was lobbying for change.
Recruited by the FRC in January, Canavan is excited by what lies ahead in the Championship and sees only good times for forwards.
“I would say now the individuals on display carry more weight than ever before,” said the two-time All-Ireland winner.
“In previous years, you put 15 men behind the ball and when a key player gained possession, they’d be surrounded, and it was easier to nullify individual talent. Now, it’s much more difficult to nullify individual talent with the way the game will be played. It’s going to present more opportunities.”
For the game’s rare breeds like Conor McManus, David Clifford and Shane McGuigan it’s genuinely remarkable they flourished at all.
Facing into a sea of defensive meanness, McManus, Clifford and McGuigan remained relevant and brilliant while other, lesser players perished.
McManus has since surrendered to hip pain leaving the stage while it’s unfathomable to think what McGuigan and Clifford can achieve under Gaelic football’s new rules of engagement.
“You recall some of the scores Conor McManus managed from the sideline, first of all, because he could do it and, secondly, when he had 13 defenders around him he didn’t have much choice,” Canavan says.
“I’ve no doubt Conor is sitting scratching his head, thinking: ‘Why were these rules not implemented four years ago?’
“From a viewing spectacle, you didn’t have to watch the first 45-50 minutes of games [under the old rules] – you were time enough coming in when the game opened up in the last 10 minutes.
“You could see the way the game was going, and it was permeating down to schools’ games and underage football.”
Some will wonder what Gaelic football might have lost over the past decade or more.
“You only have to listen to the players themselves - they’re really enjoying playing this game.”
Canavan adds: “The importance of having quality fare at inter-county level – and I know it’s going to be harder to implement at club level – but children and clubs will replicate what they see their inter-county stars doing…
“When I watched the great Kerry teams, what did I do as a child? I replicated what they were doing. Same with Frank McGuigan in Ulster finals.”
Old rules, new rules - you get the feeling the Ulster Championship doesn’t really mind...
