At long last, the draws for the 2017 hurling and football championships are upon us.
For television purposes, the draw went on about an hour longer than it needed to but it's all showbiz.
The hurling draw is a relatively moribund event. There are only so many variations of draws that you can come up with in either province. And we've seen them all before.
The headlines are - Galway and Kilkenny will avoid each other until the Leinster championship. And Tipp and Waterford are set to meet in the Munster semi-final, assuming Tipp can navigate the challenge of an out-of-sorts Cork.
First up was the Leinster hurling championship. Kilkenny and Galway avoided meeting each other in the semi-final once more.
Galway meet Dublin in the quarter-final with the winners teed up to face the winners of Offaly and whichever qualifying team emerge in the semi-final.
As ever, Kilkenny have a bye to the Leinster semi-final. They will only have to negotiate the hurdle of Wexford or a qualifying group side.
There were another draw to establish who the teams that emerge from the qualifying group will meet.
Here's the draw for the 2017 @gaaleinster Senior Hurling Championship in full! Tweet your views on the draw to #GAA2017 pic.twitter.com/YE9xGyV1Tz
— The GAA (@officialgaa) October 13, 2016
In Munster, Waterford, Cork and Tipperary ended up on the same side of the draw. Cork and Tipp have to play a 'quarter-final' match. The winners go on to face Waterford.
Clare and Limerick meet in the other semi-final.
Here's the draw for the 2017 @MunsterGAA Senior Hurling Championship in full! Tweet your views on the draw to #GAA2017 pic.twitter.com/krLcnM7Wv9
— The GAA (@officialgaa) October 13, 2016
And so on to football...
First up was the Munster football championship where the traditional 'aristocrats' generously risked meeting each other by abandoning the seeding system.
They avoided each other in any event. Whether that results in Cork making the Munster final is an open question.
Cork meet Waterford in the first round and are due to meet Tipp again should they come through that. On form, they will surely enter as underdogs.
Kerry play the winners of Clare and Limerick on the other side. Young Joseph Brolly in his favourite spot in the Donnybrook studio has predicted a Tipp-Kerry final.
Munster Football championship 2017 pic.twitter.com/vFdRPKnLZw
— Valley Rovers GAA (@ValleyRoversGAA) October 13, 2016
In Connacht, it was Sligo's turn to get the trip to New York. Going by the Rossies' traumatic visit last year, Sligo could be vulnerable.
The headline news is that Mayo and Galway find themselves on the same side of the draw. Mayo will meet Sligo in the quarters with the winners facing Galway. Assuming Mayo come through the match will be played in Salthill.
The handy side of the draw sees Leitrim travel to Ruislip. The winners meet Roscommon in the Connacht semi-final, who should, regardless of the current turmoil, fancy their chances of reaching at worst a Connacht final.
Joe Brolly's thoughts: Says Mayo can win the All-Ireland but they require more ruthlessness on the line. He said that Aidan O'Shea should have been whipped off in the All-Ireland final.
Here's the draw for the 2017 @ConnachtGAA Senior Football Championship in full! Tweet your views on the draw to #GAA2017 pic.twitter.com/LWfauczXdC
— The GAA (@officialgaa) October 13, 2016
And onto the Ulster championship, the closest thing to a proper draw all evening. The headline is that Tyrone and Donegal are set to run into one another in the Ulster semi-final.
While the rest of the country gets to start in a quarter-final or a semi-final, Monaghan and Fermanagh have to begin in a preliminary round. The winners meet Cavan in the quarters. On the same side of the draw, Down meet Armagh.
Marty got very excited about Derry and Tyrone in the quarter-final. The winners meet the winners of Donegal and Antrim in the quarter-final.
Here's the draw for the 2017 Ulster Senior Football Championship in full! What are your views?#GAA2017 pic.twitter.com/Ldf5ychlMa
— The GAA (@officialgaa) October 13, 2016
In the annual culchie slaying contest formerly known as the Leinster championship, Louth met Wicklow in the first round with the winners facing Meath in the next round.
Longford avoided Offaly for the first time in four years, meeting Laois in the first round. The winners meet Kildare from Pot 2.
The winners of Carlow and Wexford play the role of Patsy's in the quarters final against Dublin. Jonny Cooper, drawing out the balls, announced that playing either Carlow or Wexford would be a "tough challenge."
Dublin's Jonny Cooper says Carlow or Wexford will be 'a tough challenge' https://t.co/uYwfYaweDR
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) October 13, 2016
On the same side of the draw, Offaly meet Westmeath in the quarters. Thus, Westmeath will miss out on a Leinster final for the first time in a couple of years.
carlow or wexford. looking forward to our next Dubs roadtrip @Hill16Army @Dubs_gaa @DubsGAAFans pic.twitter.com/3oNMWsK57e
— fíona ní churraoín (@ficurlon) October 13, 2016
Read more: 9 Clubs Teams You'll Find In Nearly Every County In The Country
