O Se and Westmeath given away date

Following Sunday's incidental defeat by Dublin in his first outing as Westmeath manager, Páidí Ó Sé learnt yesterday of a more significant trip to Tullamore to face an Offaly team on home soil when he starts his championship campaign with the county next summer. Not quite an insurmountable task, but a daunting opening fixture nonetheless.

All the dates and venues for next summer's provincial championship have been finalised by the Leinster Council, and Westmeath are set to face Offaly in one of the three first-round matches, with the game to be played on May 16th.

Wexford will play Louth on the same day at Parnell Park, while Carlow meet Longford also in Tullamore a week earlier, May 9th.

For Westmeath, the testing draw in Leinster doesn't end there. Should they beat Offaly in Tullamore, they will then face Dublin in Croke Park in the provincial quarter-final, set for June 6th.

The winners of the Wexford-Louth tie will play Kildare in another quarter-final at Croke Park on the same day, but after that GAA headquarters will be used for football purposes by the province only for the two semi-finals, and the final - which is set for July 18th.

The other two quarter-finals will be played at smaller venues. Wicklow and Meath will meet in Portlaoise on May 23rd, and the winners of the Carlow-Longford tie will meet Laois in either Carlow or Mullingar a week later, May 30th.

What makes Ó Sé's journey with Westmeath to Tullamore all the more demanding is Offaly's strong record at home in recent years, including a win over Laois at the O'Connor Park venue in 2002. While no one was reading beyond the surface of Sunday's loss to Dublin - a challenge game to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the St Jude's club - Ó Sé did admit afterwards that "a lot of stuff needed to be ironed out".

Offaly, however, will also enter the game under the new management of Galway native Gerry Fahy, and the expectation on them to perform at home will probably be as great - if a little less conspicuous - as that facing Ó Sé.

The Leinster Council's decision to play fewer championship games at Croke Park next summer had been expected, primarily because of the growing costs in opening the stadium for matches. Last summer they played the three first-round games as a triple bill at Croke Park on May 11th, but that attracted a crowd of only 11,000, whereas it is claimed a minimum of around 45,000 is now necessary to meet the costs of opening the stadium.

In Leinster hurling, Croke Park is only certain of staging the provincial final, set for July 4th. The two semi-finals, to be played on June 13th, may yet go to Croke Park, but a final decision will be made only when the exact pairings are known.

It is known Wexford meet Kilkenny in one semi-final, while the other game will involve the winners of the preliminary group A against Offaly, and winners of the preliminary group B against Dublin - in other words, the two quarter-finals. They will be played on May 29th/30th at the home venues of the preliminary group winners.

The Munster Council have also finalised their dates and most of the venues for next year's provincial championship. For new Kerry football manager Jack O'Connor the first outing, like Ó Sé, will be away from home when he takes his team to Ennis to face Clare on May 25th. Should they come through that fixture, however, Kerry will have the home venue of Killarney for the semi-final against Cork on June 13th.

In the other half of the football draw, Limerick and Tipperary will meet in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on May 16th, and the winners get a semi-final meeting with Waterford on June 13th in either Fermoy or Limerick.

For the hurling, the two first-round games are set for May 16th, with Clare meeting Waterford in Thurles, and champions Cork playing Kerry in either Páirc Uí Chaoimh or Fitzgerald Stadium.

Limerick will have home advantage when they meet the winners of the Cork-Kerry tie on May 30th, while the Tipperary clash with either Clare of Waterford is to be played in either Limerick or Cork a week later on June 6th.