History repeated as 2023 Connacht SFC draw revives Leitrim's memories of 2013

Memories of a tumultuous Connacht Senior Championship in 2013 will come flooding back after Andy Moran's Leitrim Senior Footballers were handed their best chance of reaching a Connacht Final after the GAA conducted the draw for next year's Provincial Football Championships on RTE Radio on Saturday.

In a startling coincidence, the draw for the 2023 Connacht Senior Football Championship throws up exactly the same scenario as it did in 2013 with the winners of Leitrim's trip to New York facing the winners of the London v Sligo clash for a place in the Connacht Senior Final.

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With the big three kept on the same side of the draw, Roscommon hosting Mayo with the winners taking on All-Ireland finalists Galway in the semi-final, the team who reaches the Connacht Final from the other side of the draw will also get the huge prize of a place in the Sam Maguire competition.

With a new format set to be unveiled next year with group stages in both the Sam Maguire and Tailteann Cup, winning the Connacht Semi-Final will see a Division 4 county in Leitrim, Sligo or London guaranteed a place in the battle for Sam Maguire along with the other seven provincial finalists, last year's Tailteann Cup winners Westmeath and the next seven top ranked teams from the Allianz National Football League.

Leitrim will travel to New York's Gaelic Park to take on the home side, a game where they have twice being taken to extra-time in their previous four visits while Sligo make the journey to McGovern Emerald Park in Ruislip.

The last time this same draw occurred, Leitrim hammered New York while London beat Sligo by a point in Ruislip. The Exiles then sensationally beat Leitrim after a replay in the semi-final with disciplinary issues seeing four Leitrim players dropped from the panel by then managers George Dugdale and Brian Breen.

London would go on to face Mayo in the final while Leitrim suffered a record breaking defeat at the hands of Armagh in the All-Ireland Qualifiers as an injury crisis and the absent four players meant Dugdale & Breen were without 12 first choice players for the Qualifier game.

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Breen & Dugdale were not reappointed to the position with former Kiltubrid manager Sean Hagan taking over, the Longford native spending just one year in the post.

In the other draws for the championship, Leitrim's neighbours had a mixed bag with Longford drawn against Offaly in the Leinster Quarter-Finals, the winners going on to face Colm O'Rourke's Meath while Cavan will face the winners of the Antrim and Armagh preliminary round game in the Ulster Quarter-Finals. Donegal will take Down in their Ulster Quarter-Final.

The full draw is as follows:

CONNACHT SFC

Quarter-Finals: New York v Leitrim; London v Sligo; Roscommon v Mayo

Semi-Finals: Galway v Roscommon or Mayo; London/Sligo v New York/Leitrim

LEINSTER SFC

First Round: Longford v Offaly; Wicklow v Carlow; Wexford v Laois [Round 1C]

Quarter-Finals: Kildare v Wicklow/Carlow; Dublin v Wexford/Laois; Meath v Longford/Offaly; Westmeath v Louth

Semi-Finals: Kildare/Wicklow/Carlow v Dublin/Wexford/Laois Meath v Longford/Offaly v Westmeath/Louth

We’re a team stresses Mohill captain Keith Beirne ahead of Sunday's Connacht Gold Leitrim SFC Final

MUNSTER SFC

Quarter-Finals: Tipperary v Waterford; Cork v Clare

Semi-Finals: Limerick v Cork/Clare; Tipperary/Waterford v Kerry

ULSTER SFC

Preliminary round: Armagh v Antrim

Quarter-Finals: Cavan v Armagh/Antrim; Fermanagh v Derry; Tyrone v Monaghan; Down v Donegal

Semi-Finals: Fermanagh/Derry v Tyrone/Monaghan; Down v Donegal v Cavan/Armagh/Antrim