Offaly paired with New York in Tailteann Cup draw

The luck of the draw held once again for Offaly as they were drawn against New York in the Tailteann Cup quarter-finals this morning (Monday).

With New York required to travel to Ireland regardless of whether they came out of the bowl first or not, Offaly will have home advantage in Tullamore.

In the first round of the Tailteann Cup, Offaly were given the chance to avenge their Leinster championship defeat to Wexford, and they were then drawn at home to Wicklow, whom they defeated by 0-18 to 0-10 yesterday (Sunday).

In the other Southern Section quarter-final, Carlow will host Westmeath.

The draw for Tailteann Cup quarter-finals was made on RTE Radio 1 this morning (Monday).

John Maughan spoke to RTE after the draw was made and again spoke enthusiastically about the Tailteann Cup.

"I’m looking forward to the fanfare and the excitement of New York coming to Tullamore," Maughan told RTE.

"I’m very, very happy to have a home game first of all. We’re thrilled to be in the Tailteann Cup, it’s a great competition.

"We’re delighted to be progressing along and we were eagerly anticipating the draw this morning, a bit excited and nervous so it’s great to have a home draw and we’re looking forward to next weekend," continued the former Mayo boss.

Maughan joked that "passports were ready and in date" should New York prefer a home game.

"We were disappointed to lose the first round of the Leinster championship to Wexford but we took a two-week break and on the Tuesday, when we returned to training, everybody turned up to training full of anticipation and excitement.

"The likes of Niall McNamee, one of the greatest footballers that Offaly has ever produced. To see the excitement and his dedication to the cause and playing in this competition is absolutely fantastic."

In the Northern Section quarter-finals, there will be two local derbies with Leitrim hosting Sligo and competition favourites Cavan travelling to Fermanagh.

All the quarter-finals will take place this weekend (June 4/5), with the dates and times to be confirmed later.

There will be an open draw for the semi-finals with no division between the southern and northern sections.

Tailteann Cup quarter-finals

(First named team at home)

Southern Section: Carlow v Westmeath; Offaly v New York.

Northern Section: Leitrim v Sligo; Fermanagh v Cavan.