Meath must play minus banned five

THE FIVE Meath footballers given eight-week suspensions arising from last month's Parnell Park melee will miss Sunday's Leinster championship opener against Carlow at Croke Park after losing appeals to the GAA's Central Appeals Committee (CAC).

The five - Shane McAnarney, Séamus Kenny, Niall McKeigue, Nigel Crawford and Brendan Murphy - still have possible resort to the Disputes Resolution Authority (DRA), as their bans, among the 16 handed out after that infamous league clash, would also rule them out of Meath's following match, against Wexford, in two weeks' time, should, of course, Meath progress. But no decision on that will be made until after Sunday's game. The players have seven days to appeal to the DRA.

"The DRA option will only be considered for definite after Sunday," said the Meath press officer, Brendan Cummins. "Our focus now is on Carlow and has to be. It would be an insult to them if we looked beyond that, and a real danger for ourselves as well."

Besides the suspended five, Anthony Moyles and Shane O'Rourke are ruled out with injury; Moyles is recovering from a groin operation, and O'Rourke has a hamstring injury.

Three other Meath players - Darren Fay, Caoimhín King and Peadar Byrne - got four-week bans, which expire by Sunday.

The Meath County Board had backed the appeals, heard on Tuesday night, arguing that a Wexford official on the CCCC committee could be viewed as having had a vested interest. This, however, was deemed hypothetical by the CAC as there was no guarantee Meath would play Wexford.

The CAC also rejected the appeal against the eight-week suspension of Dublin's Bernard Brogan, which rules him out of Dublin's opening game against Louth on June 8th. Ciarán Whelan and Eamonn Fennell, who both chose to accept eight-week bans, will also miss that game.

Meanwhile, the Galway football manager, Liam Sammon, includes four debutants for Sunday's Connacht quarter-final against Roscommon at Pearse Stadium: defender Gareth Bradshaw, midfielder Mark Lydon and forwards Damien Dunleavy and Paul Conroy, who captained Galway last summer to their first All-Ireland minor title in 21 years.

Roscommon's Michael Ryan brings in three newcomers: Mark O'Carroll, Conor Devanney and Senan Kilbride; while John Rogers and Jonathan Dunning return after an absence of two years.

The Kildare forward John Doyle remains a doubt for Sunday's second game at Croke Park, the meeting with Wicklow; he injured a rib two weeks ago.

Brian Flanagan is ruled out with a broken jaw, but defender Kevin O'Neill, midfielder Killian Brennan and forward Padraig O'Neill have recovered from injuries.

Antrim manager, Jody Gormley, has named a near full-strength team for the Ulster football first-round meeting with Cavan at Casement Park. CJ McGourty and Ciarán Close are joined in the full-forward line by Paddy Cunningham, and Michael McCann is at centre field alongside Aodhán Gallagher.

Finally, GAA president Nickey Brennan has led the tributes to Michael "Spike" Nolan, treasurer of the Tipperary county board, who died on Tuesday. Brennan said Nolan was one of the GAA's greatest servants.

From the Moneygall club, "Spike" Nolan won an All-Ireland under-21 hurling medal with Tipperary in 1967 and represented his county in football as well as hurling. He was also a referee and administrator over many years.

GALWAY (SF v Roscommon): P Doherty; K Fitzgerald, F Hanley, G Bradshaw; D Meehan, N Coyne, G Sice; B Cullinane, M Lydon; D Dunleavy, P Joyce, P Conroy; M Clancy, M Meehan, F Breathnach.

ROSCOMMON (SF v Galway): G Claffey; P O'Connor, A McDermott, S McDermott; J Rogers, M O'Carroll, D Hoey; S O'Neill, K Mannion; C Devaney; G Cox, C Cregg; S Kilbride, J Dunning, G Henaghan.

ANTRIM (SF v Cavan): S McGreevy; K O'Boyle, A McClean, J Loughery; T Scullion, J Crozier, S Kelly; A Gallagher, M McCann; P Close, K Niblock, T McCann; P Cunningham, CJ McGourty, C Close.