In the second part of our 'State of the Nation' feature, Padraig Kelly assesses how the top 15 GAA football teams in the country now stand after an extremely challenging 2020 ....
How the GAA football counties rate from 16 to 32
1 DUBLIN
IT'S now six in-a-row for Dublin and this particular train is showing no signs of slowing down.
They may have been under new management, they may have lost Jack McCaffrey and Diarmuid Connolly, the season may have returned to a pre-2001 format with one shot for all, but that didn't stop Dessie Farrell's side from lifting Sam Maguire once again having rarely gotten out of second gear.
That revised format probably made their job that bit easier with expected rivals Kerry and Donegal failing to get out of their provinces, but it would have taken something special to get the better of them anyway.
Mayo did at least test them in the final, well for most of the game anyway, and they are not infallible, but it would take a brave man to predict them from creating more history this year with a seventh consecutive triumph.
If there is any slight glimmer of hope it is the fact that five players who started the All-Ireland final are now over 30, but in truth the only possible retiree is likely to be 39-year-old Stephen Cluxton. Given that next season is set to be a short one, don't bank on him hanging up the gloves just yet.
2 KERRY
KERRY were knocked out at the first hurdle in 2020 so it's hard to justify them being number two in this list, but they still remain the side most likely to end Dublin's dominance.
Understandably, the dramatic Munster Championship loss to Cork, when Mark Keane struck for a goal in the last seconds of extra-time, ensured that Peter Keane's future as manager came under scrutiny. However, he will be back for the 2021 campaign although some backroom changes are expected with new U20 manager Declan O'Sullivan set to be a possible addition.
It wasn't all bad for the Kingdom this year and they did claim the Division One title. Their U20s and Minors both also claimed provincial titles, the latter's the county's eighth success in Munster in-a-row, and that should supplement a young, exciting squad.
Key men like Paul Geaney, Stephen O'Brien, and James O'Donoghue were also on the treatment table over the winter months, so if they get those back up to speed Kerry should be more formidable in 2021 – they couldn't be any worse in the Championship anyway.
3 MAYO
AH Mayo, how much heartache can one county suffer?
Their All-Ireland final loss to Dublin was their seventh since 2004 and the long wait for a first Sam Maguire since 1951 continues.
If there is one consolation, a side that was supposedly on their last legs got a proper injection of new talent this year with the likes of Ryan O'Donoghue, Oisin Mullin, Eoghan McLaughlin and Tommy Conroy enjoying breakout seasons, even if some of those were quiet in the final loss to Dublin.
Relegation to Division Two is not a big deal – they lost two games by a point last year, drew another and beat Galway by 15 – and they should make an instant return to the top flight.
David Clarke (37), Chris Barrett (33), Lee Keegan (31), Kevin McLoughlin (31), Aidan O'Shea (30) were final starters on the wrong side of the big 3-0, but the emergence of the likes of Mullin and Conory should convince them to hang around for another season.
4 DONEGAL
PERHAPS Donegal were distracted by talk of a potentially epic All-Ireland semi-final with Dublin, but one bad day is enough to spoil a season.
Last week manager Declan Bonner said that he struggled to even think about the Ulster final loss to Cavan, and that shock defeat would only have been made sorer by the encouragement of their dogfight win over Tyrone and the destruction of Armagh on their way to that Athletic Grounds decider.
The loss of Stephen McMenamin to injury for the Cavan match was a big blow and the Red Hugh's defender is one of the side's most important players now. They will also look forward to hopefully having Paddy McBrearty back for a full season with the ace attacker returning during the Championship.
Neil McGee has already committed to a 17th season in green and gold and no major changes are expected to the panel. Expect the Tir Chonaill side to go far this season.
5 TYRONE
FOR the first time since 2003, Tyrone are preparing for life under new management as Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher have replaced the outgoing Mickey Harte.
Harte's legacy can never be touched but there will undeniably be a bit of extra excitement as a new era attempts to breaks through.
That Red Hand buzz is only heightened when you consider the attack they may be capable of putting out in 2021.
Conor McKenna already looked the part following his retirement from the AFL and Cathal McShane will return after an ankle injury ruled him out of last year's Championship. Throw in the emergence of Darragh Canavan and all of a sudden Tyrone have a potentially supreme attack.
Lee Brennan, Connor McAliskey and Jonathan Munroe have rejoined the preliminary panel while Paul Donaghy, who excelled in Dungannon's stunning triumph last year, has also been drafted in. Coalisland's Tiarnan Quinn is also a forward worth watching having really caught the eye for the Tyrone U20s last season.
6 GALWAY
JIM McGuinness's presence at Galway training in October may have raised expectations but ultimately Pádraic Joyce's side failed to make a mark in last year's Championship – and the former Donegal boss went onto explain that he was only helping out and was not part of the management team.
It was a strange year for Galway as Sligo conceded their Connacht semi-final due to Covid-19 issues before they went down to a point to Mayo in the provincial final. They had their chances to win and you feel that if Damien Comer hadn't been restricted to a 21-minute cameo, they would have found a way to at least force extra-time.
Joyce no doubt will be looking to the U20s, who claimed the All-Ireland title last month, for options to further bolster his squad. The likes of Paul Kelly have already made their senior debuts, but if there is one player their fans will be watching closely then it's undoubtedly Tomo Culhane. He scored 1-6 in the final against Dublin having scored 0-10 in the All-Ireland Minor final loss to Cork in 2019.
7 MONAGHAN
MONAGHAN remain a top-eight team in Ireland even if their last two Championship campaigns have been underwhelming.
It's now two seasons in-a-row that Cavan have knocked them out of Ulster while there was also a heavy defeat at the hands of Armagh in last year's Qualifiers.
Seamus McEnaney and his side did retain their Division One status last year and that means that the Farney county will be meeting the big boys for a seventh straight season – even if it's set to be just the big Ulster boys this time around.
McEnaney will at least take some solace from the fact that they should have beaten the Breffni county men last time out, and that would have probably have led to at least an Ulster final appearance.
Conor Laverty and Peter Donnelly have exited the set-up after a single season to take on roles in their own counties and 'Banty' has moved fast to replace them. Highly-rated strength and conditioning coach Jonny Davis will replace Donnelly while it's the acquisition of Buckley that is most notable. The Kerryman is very well regarded in coaching circles.
Darren Hughes has told the Irish News that he will be back on board for the 2021 season.
8 CAVAN
THE comeback kings enter the new season as Ulster champions but also as a Division Three side – although they will be grateful to a recent GAA amendment that means that provincial holders escape the clutches of the Taitleann Cup.
It's a neat summary of Cavan football in recent years. They have been a real up and down team, literally as they have moved through the divisions, but surely now it's time for them to seize the day following their first provincial win since 1997.
Brilliant comebacks against Monaghan and Down were sandwiched either side of a tough examination by Antrim. Slim and none were the two chances they were given for the final against Donegal but Mickey Graham's side were well worth the four-point winning margin, especially as they had two men sent to the sin-bin. Dublin beat them well in the All-Ireland semi-final despite a gutsy first-half performance.
Promotion back to Division Two is the first big aim of the season.
9 ROSCOMMON
OVER the last six seasons, Roscommon have been promoted to Division One three times and have been sent back down twice. With their group set to contain Dublin, Kerry and Galway, they will do well to escape the relegation play-offs.
The Connacht side are desperately trying to break into that top eight, but they seem continuously stuck in that purgatory between the top tier and the middle ranking teams in the country.
Mayo took care of them easily enough in this year's Championship. Since then, manager Anthony Cunningham has been confirmed as staying in place until at least the end of the 2022 season.
His 2019 Connacht title ensures he has some credit in the bank and the aim this year is to really look like a threat to the top five or six teams in the country.
Consistency has been an issue for the county with management teams and players coming and going freely over the last lock of years, so that faith in Cunningham seems a logical decision.
10 ARMAGH
THE Armagh conundrum remains difficult to solve. In the League they looked very good at times as they secured a return to Division One for the first time since 2012.
But after seeing off Derry in Ulster, the side were absolutely torn to shreds by Donegal in the semi-final for a tough reminder that there is a long way to go. Kieran McGeeney, fairly, took a lot of slack after that 1-22 to 0-13 loss, but his players simply didn't perform. Everyone is entitled to an off day though and the Orchard county must respond in kind.
Kerry legend Kieran Donaghy, as revealed by the Irish News, is a surprise addition to the backroom team and there's no denying that he has the experience of top-level football that could be invaluable.
Jamie Clarke is taking some time to consider his inter-county future but Ciaron O'Hanlon is amongst those returning to the Orchard panel.
Armagh also received an unexpected boost on Sunday as Ross McQuillan called time on his Australian Football League career with Essendon.
11 MEATH
ONE of the most disappointing results of the 2020 season was Meath's feeble effort against Dublin in the Leinster final, where they lost 3-21 to 0-9.
Andy McEntee's side had been relegated from Division One, but they went down fighting with their defeats including a one-point loss to Mayo, a three-point loss to Kerry, a two-point loss to Galway and a four-point loss to Dublin.
Their run to the Leinster final saw them hit 12 goals in the wins over Wicklow and Kildare to further raise expectations, but they were beaten out the gate.
McEntee then joined a debate on Dublin's dominance on The Sunday Game along with Pat Gilroy, but it left viewers underwhelmed.
Whatever the answer, he will need to find some way to readdress the balance in Leinster because the famous Meath-Dublin rivalry is becoming nothing more than a bullying exercise.
12 CORK
THERE is a belief, particularly amongst some of the southern media fraternity, that Cork are very quickly going to become a major player in the All-Ireland picture once again.
All-Ireland U20 and Minor titles in 2019 certainly backed up that feeling, and when Collingwood AFL player Mark Keane struck a goal late in extra-time to dump out Kerry in the Munster semi-final, Cork's arrival looked like it would be accelerated.
Then came their provincial final loss to Tipperary and a reminder that they cannot get too carried away just yet.
They are still on a positive path though, and manager Ronan McCarthy has signed on for another two years. John Hayes and Bobbie O'Dwyer have been added to the backroom team.
New county board chairman Marc Sheehan talked about returning to the top table when announcing McCarthy's extension, and they should have a shot at back-to-back promotions as they aim to return to Division One.
13 KILDARE
KILDARE flirted with relegation to Division Three last season having picked up just two points from their first four games, but they actually ended up third after finishing with three consecutive victories.
That was extended to four as they saw off a stiff Offaly challenge in Leinster, and a final spot looked on as they led Meath by six points in the semi-final. However, the concession of five goals in the second half saw those hopes quickly extinguished.
The off-season saw a string of Kildare retirements with Keith Cribbin, Tommy Moolick and Johnny Byrne calling it a day. Former Allstar Peter Kelly had already hung up the boots in September.
One man who won't be going anywhere is manager Jack O'Connor and the Kerry man will likely dip further into the U20 team that won the 2018 All-Ireland title. Mark Dempsey, Aaron Masterson, and Jimmy Hyland from that side all featured against Meath this year, and expect that number to grow in 2021.
14 TIPPERARY
TIPPERARY made the last four of the All-Ireland series last year following their first Munster title since 1935, but they still need to show more consistency to move up the rankings.
They earned a narrow win over Clare in Munster before Conor Sweeney's majestic free kept them alive against Limerick, but it was their final performance against Cork on the weekend of the 100th anniversary of Bloody Sunday that will live long in the memory.
The concession of 5-20 against Mayo in the All-Ireland semi-final was a real downer, although their own good goal chances made it into double figures and they will regret only taking three of those.
AFL player Colin O'Riordan was available for those famous days, but that was more a result of the peculiar time-frame of last season and he will not be about this term with his focus instead on the Sydney Swans. Michael Quinlivan and Liam Casey were also only around as Covid-19 has disrupted their plans to travel, and it remains to be seen if they are about for this campaign.
15 WESTMEATH
WESTMEATH hold an honour that they probably don't want. Their 11-point Leinster loss to Dublin last year was the closest that anyone got to Dessie Farrell's side in the provincial tournament. Indeed, of the five teams Dublin beat on their way to Sam, only Mayo came closer than Westmeath.
Like a lot of teams, it seems that League performances are becoming increasingly more important than the Championship and Westmeath did pretty well in Division Two.
