Offaly go with the 'old and the new' for O'Byrne Cup opener

NEW Offaly senior football manager Declan Kelly has gone with a mixture of the established and new players for the season's competitive opener against Laois in the O'Byrne Cup in Stradbally this Wednesday evening.

As expected, he has selected a number of players who won All-Ireland U-20 football medals under him in 2021 but they are surrounded by some vastly experienced players.

From that All-Ireland U-20 winning side, John Furlong will man the defence at centre half back, Morgan Tynan is at midfield while Cathal Flynn and Jack Bryant will lead the attack at centre half and full forward with Tullamore speed machine Cormac Egan in the full forward line.

Lee Pearson and Rory Egan are corner and wing backs – they are the only two of that All-Ireland winning side who have established themselves at senior level to date, though others have played. Pearson has been named as the new captain for 2024, replacing Declan Hogan.

Mikey Cunningham is an interesting choice as sub goalkeeper. A younger brother of established stalwart Peter, who is injured at the moment, Mikey Cunningham played in the attack in the first round U-20 win over Wexford in 2021 but didn't feature in the concluding stages. He has played in the attack for his club, Bracknagh in recent years but has been drafted into the Offaly panel as a goalkeeper.

Ian Duffy, who impressed last year, will start while Cunningham's selection as back up shows the dilemma management has faced as they bid to convert an outfield player into a goalkeeper. This has worked very well before with Shamrocks' Paddy Dunican. The Mucklagh man played minor and U-20 football in the attack for Offaly but secured his place on the senior squad as a goalkeeper and did well to claim the number one jersey as his own before emigrating abroad at the end of the 2022 season. Ferbane's Shane Nally, a utility defender and attacker for his club, was tried earlier in their training programme as goalkeeper but opted out – he had previously played in attack, midfield and defences for Offaly senior footballers, mainly in 2017 and 2018.

Another outstanding player in 2021, Cathal Donoghue has recovered from injury and makes a welcome return to the panel – Donoghue transferred from Kilcormac-Killoughey to Oughterard in Galway last year.

Well established players such as David Dempsey, Jordan Hayes (his return to the panel after missing most of last year on an Army tour of duty is a big boost), Dylan Hyland and Anton Sullivan are all selected while Declan Hogan, Nigel Dunne and Ruari McNamee are among the subs.

There is a debut for Ballinagar's Diarmuid Finneran at full back – Finneran played U-20 for the past couple of years and is a hard working, honest, old fashioned type defender who will concentrate on his primary duty of marking his man.

There is also a return to the team for Cappincur veteran Eoin Carroll. A long serving, strong and versatile player, it will be interesting to see how Carroll fares after missing a couple of seasons as he toured Australia but his physicality is a great asset around younger,lighter players.

Erin Rovers' Nathan Poland and Durrow's Kevin McDermott are on the subs bench – both were on Offaly U-20 football panels early in Kelly's managerial career as he began the climb up the ladder but haven't made it at senior level yet.

Offaly have a lot of fitness work done in recent weeks and have also played a handful of challenge games, with a mixed bag of results. There will be considerable interest in seeing how they fare under new management, though the National Football League is the initial priority and the conditions at this time of year also have to be taken into account.

The O'Byrne Cup is a knockout competition this year with the winners of Offaly and Laois at home to Dublin on Saturday, January 6.

OFFALY: Ian Duffy (Walsh Island); David Dempsey (Ballycommon), Diarmuid Finneran (Ballinagar), Lee Pearson (Edenderry); Rory Egan (Edenderry), John Furlong (Tullamore), Jack O'Brien (Durrow); Jordan Hayes (Edenderry), Morgan Tynan (Ballinagar); Eoin Carroll (Cappincur), Cathal Flynn (Ferbane), Dylan Hyland (Raheen); Cormac Egan (Tullamore), Jack Bryant (Shamrocks), Anton Sullivan (Rhode). Subs – Mikey Cunningham (goalkeeper, Bracknagh), Daire McDaid (Tullamore), Jordan Quinn (Kilcormac-Killoughey), Cathal Donoghue (Oughterard), Jack McEvoy (Clonbullogue), Declan Hogan (Tullamore), Nigel Dunne (Shamrocks), Nathan Poland (Erin Rovers), Kevin McDermott (Durrow), Dan Wyer (Durrow), Ruari McNamee (Rhode).