Conlon in as Carr gives youth its head

"If you're good enough, you're old enough," or so they say, and Dublin football manager Tom Carr can't be accused of wrapping players up in cotton wool. Dublin's team for the O'Byrne Cup match with Carlow at Dr Cullen Park on Saturday is experimental in nature yet includes many young players - most notably 18-year-old Declan Conlon - who are considered capable of ultimately holding down a championship place.

Conlon's elevation to the team is remarkable, even allowing for the "secondary" nature of the competition and its timing in what is considered the closed season for serious GAA games, and comes just a couple of months after his call-up to the panel after three years of dual representation with the county's minor teams.

A member of the Dublin minor hurling team for three years and captain of the football team that reached the provincial minor final last year, Conlon, from the Trinity Gaels club, has been drafted in at full back for Saturday's engagement. He will have another dual player, Liam Walsh, alongside him in the full back line.

Indeed, the Dublin management are intent to examine their strength-in-depth. Karl Donnelly, who plays Superleague basketball with St Vincent's, has been selected to partner Eric Horgan in a new-look midfield pairing; Enda Crennan, who made a favourable impression in the New Year's Day exhibition matches, has been named at right half forward; and the all-new full forward line of Brendan O'Brien, Brian Irwin and Noel O'Donoghue also get opportunities to impress.

Paul Curran, Dublin's last All-Star, back in 1996, is very much the senior member of the side and he will line out at centre half back. Keith Galvin moves out to half back and Tommy Lynch, who has figured in the National League campaign to date, switches back to left corner back against a Carlow side who beat Wexford in an earlier round.

Westmeath, meanwhile, have named an unchanged team from the one that comfortably accounted for Laois in a first-round O'Byrne Cup match last Sunday for their second outing in the competition with Offaly at Mullingar on Sunday.

Incidentally, former Westmeath manager Barney Rock's name is the latest to be associated with the recently vacated manager's position in Cavan, although, with Stephen King and Mattie Kerrigan also touted as possible successors to Liam Austin, the former Dublin player is considered an outsider. The 40 clubs in the county have until tomorrow night's executive committee meeting to forward nominations for the manager's position.

Meanwhile, Harry Chivers, who held the position for 10 years up until last year, has been nominated to run for chairman at the Derry County Board convention later this month. Jim McKeever, who succeeded Chivers last year, is also nominated to continue in the position, but the intriguing aspect is that Chivers was in the chair during the acrimonious split with football manager Eamonn Coleman and, now the All-Ireland winning boss is back in charge of the team along with Adrian McGuckin.

Dublin (SF v Carlow): K Gorman; L Walsh, D Conlon, T Lynch; P Croft, P Curran, K Galvin; E Horgan, K Donnelly; E Crennan, S Connell, C Moran; B O'Brien, B Irwin, N O'Donoghue.

Westmeath (SF v Offaly): D Ryan; A Lyons, D Murphy, D Brady; D Healy, K Ryan, D Mitchell; D O'Shaughnessy, R O'Connell; P Conway, T Cleary, S Colleary; G Heavin, M Flanagan, D Dolan.