Eight county games taking place and the last club weekend of the year

Niall McIntyre

It’s the last club weekend of the year.

And the inter-county season is back already.

We talk about players never really getting a break but this weekend offers cast-iron proof that one GAA season runs straight into the next.

There are more arguments against the O’Byrne Cups and all the other pre-season competitions than there are for, but they’re going ahead again and that’s not going to change now.

Because from Longford to Laois, from Carlow to Offaly, there are county games taking place in what will be windy and water covered GAA grounds all over the country.

Do we really need them? Definitely not.

What adds some interest to them this time around, however, is seeing how the new rules regarding the hand-pass, the sin bin, the advanced mark and so on fare.

This will be their first competitive weekend in operation.

Trial rules in place for this weekends O Byrne Cup game with Wicklow pic.twitter.com/MsSp5fKC1k

— Longford GAA (@OfficialLDGAA) December 3, 2018

But that doesn’t make them the main event this weekend.

The winter of 2018 has been ruled by club GAA and this weekend has just another brilliant offering of fixtures. From three Leinster finals to three All-Ireland ladies football finals, we’re in for a treat.

Here are the weekend’s fixtures.