The summer spectacular commences with the Ulster championship arriving to monopolise attention over the next two months. Barring draws, there will be only eight games in all. But those eight games will be the subject of intense debate, expectation and argument which will fill endless newspaper columns, TV and radio programmes between now and mid July.
The contenders range from the highly fancied to the no hopers but there will always be the possibility of the sensational upset. A couple of exceptionally interesting games on the quarter final agenda has added enormously to the spice of the competition and it would be a foolhardy tipster who would confidently name the four teams who will feature in the semi finals.
ANTRIM
The county with the poorest record in the province over the past three decades and there has been little indication served up over their recent league campaign that things will improve for them this summer. The hapless Glensmen will be labelled as the rankest of outsiders to be one of the July finalists, not only because of their failure to climb out of the basement league division but also because they have the millstone of having to contest the dreaded preliminary round.
Team manager Jody Gormley will have been extremely disappointed that his panel were only able to finish third behind Offaly and Tipperary and that will have sapped belief.
Yet they have under performing Cavan as their Casement Park opposition and presumably they will hold genuine belief that at least they can surmount this hurdle. Should they manage that it will be a quarter final with Armagh and the end of the provincial road looms, the Tommy Murphy Cup beckons.
ARMAGH
Once the kingpins of Ulster, they have slid down the pecking order. A long and glorious era has ground to a close and it will be surprising if the Orchard men can emerge as provincial titleholders yet again. Evidence that they are in the process of rebuilding comes with their indifferent second division league performance where they finished in fourth place.
A hotch potch of displays, some excellent days at the office but counterbalanced by days when they looked a team of only moderate ability. Still they have a massive tradition and that counts for a great deal.
Should be more than capable of dispatching either Antrim or Cavan in their opening assignment so a semi final is on the cards. Here they will face, in all probability their ancient foe, Tyrone. This will however be a contest that will lack the intense passion of meetings between the duo over recent seasons, primarily due to the fact that neither will be considered as eventual All Ireland material.
Still possible provincial finalists come July.
CAVAN
Along with woebegone Antrim, the Breiffni side will be considered as no hopers and this for essentially the same reasons. Cavan have endured a miserable time over the past few months, just a solitary victory in the league and they have been relegated to the third division, one solitary win on their record. Team morale has to be at a low level and will not have been helped by the knowledge that preliminary round teams don't feature long in the race.
Nevertheless they will be travelling to Casement Park with the attitude that at least they can take a team who appear to be in even more difficult straits than themselves.
Which would then bring them to the Armagh match and that would be that. Into the qualifiers for a county who in the distant past ruled the Ulster roost, but those halcyon days are long gone.
DERRY
The newly crowned NFL Division one champions will be looked upon as one of the favourites to lift the Anglo-Celt Cup in mid summer. And indeed their credentials look impressive especially in the light of their excellent victory over Kerry in a rousing league decider.
Sturdy in defence, a solid midfield presence and one of the country's top forwards in Paddy Bradley, Derry certainly have a lot going for them.
But this is Ulster championship and Derry have an extremely treacherous opening date in Ballybofey. They can expect a warm welcome in the Donegal heartland and they know that this is going to be the toughest of tests for them. Their league exploits will count for nothing here.
Yet Derry will have the benefit of knowing all this, there will be not a scintilla of complacency in their make up as they prepare for Ballybofey. Donegal will have to be very good to beat them. If Derry emerge with a win from this particular cockpit then their provincial credentials will have soared even higher.
But Ballybofey is going to be the game of the quarter finals.
DONEGAL
Much the same as the above goes for Donegal. They were NFL winners in 2007 and while they didn't compete consistently in this Spring's campaign they did enough to suggest that they will not be that far off the mark. Certainly they will believe that with home turf to assist them, they can get the ball rolling by eliminating highfliers Derry.
This game is easily the most intriguing of all the early matches and is sure to attract enormous attention.
Donegal, if they come through to the semi final, will perhaps not possess the same aura as Derry would have, but they would still be considered as a very sound bet to reach the decider. A marker would have been laid down.
Yet if Donegal do fail to Derry, the will remain a side who have the potential to enjoy a sustained run in the qualifiers. A decent summer in the offing for them.
DOWN
The Mournemen have fallen on hard times, a pale shadow of the force they once were. No doubt they will return to the pinnacle but it won't be this year. They have been tasked with the job of attempting to beat Tyrone in Omagh. There will be few, among neutral opinion, who would put money on them to achieve that.
The Ross Carr team have just completed a limp league which saw them lose three of their seven games and they will remain in the third division. That kind of form indicates a prompt exit and it would be a remarkable feat on their part if they were to squeeze out a win over Tyrone. In any case their record against Tyrone is not particularly encouraging.
Down do possess players of quality, Liam Doyle, Benny Coulter, Ambrose Rodgers, players who have enjoyed success at underage grade up to All Ireland level. But so far this has not been transferred on to senior and they are a county currently operating well below expectation. The qualifying route will be their schedule but even here they would appear to be headed for a relatively short ride.
FERMANAGH
Come into the championship on the back of an encouraging league which has seen them climb up a division. Their meeting with Monaghan will be one of the more attractive pairings of the quarter final lineup. The Erne panel will also be boosted by a couple of other factors.
First of these is that they will be back on home turf, Brewster Park available again and this is bound to give the team an invigorating tonic. Secondly they will be able to view Monaghan as an opposition against whom they have a generally decent record in recent years, so they will not be overawed in any shape or form by the Farneymen.
So Fermanagh will have reason to reckon that they can put one over a Monaghan side who will be viewed as favourites. It will still take a terrific Fermanagh team effort to master a Monaghan team who will be exceptionally determined to progress on the advances that they have made in the past two season's.
Still chasing that so elusive first ever Ulster title, Fermanagh would still have a formidable semi final ahead of them should they dispatch Monaghan. Thus a provincial final appearance would, in the cold light of day, be viewed as a long shot. But it cannot be ruled out in the way that the chances of some others can be.
Monaghan for one, will be viewing the Brewster Park assignment with the utmost concern.
MONAGHAN
Monaghan have been the subject of considerable media attention over the past eighteen months or so. Their superb effort which saw them pipped by Kerry last summer was instrumental in that. In the league they didn't quite close out the deal, falling just short of claiming promotion to the first division.
Two ways to look at that. One is that it will have fired a shot across their bows and told them that they may not be quite the force many of their support believe they are. The late league slippage will have re focussed concentration and eliminate any hint of complacency. On the other hand, perhaps Monaghan really are not as sturdy a force as was reckoned. So Brewster Park is a critical day in the development of this present Monaghan panel. Clearly well capable of winning here and will be regarded as the likelier winners but this is not a rock solid bet by any manner of means. Defeat and it would be a serious blow, little appetite perhaps for a qualifying run.
Victory and a semi final of an equally tough nature. Monaghan have an uphill road to reach the Clones showpiece.
TYRONE
Not the dynamic force of old, still haven't unearthed a player who comes near to fill the gap left by the departure of Peter Canavan, but then this is a gap which will presumably never be totally filled.
Better news has been the return of the hugely influential playmaker Brian McGuigan though whether or not he can re capture the sheer brilliance of his creative talents prior to his lengthy injury absence, remains to be seen. Countless press stories centred on the availability/non availability of certain players keep the Tyrone profile high in the public's attention.
The Mickey Harte managed team will be a contender of course, they should dispose of Down without any undue hassle and that would bring them to a probable semi final with arch foes Armagh. Not quite the explosive affair as of recent years and a game which neither could be classed as favourites. A strong case for Tyrone to make the final but they couldn't be regarded, at least for the moment, as out and out championship favourites.
