New spot in the calendar, but the same old championship

There will be no hint of a harvest air around this year's GAA championship.

No chance for primary schools to share in the excitement ahead of All-Ireland Sunday. It's not necessarily a shock to the system. We knew this earlier start was coming.

The sun, they say, is meant to dance on Easter Sunday morning, a celebratory jig after Christ's resurrection. There may be dancing at the crossroads before that if Wexford come out on top against Galway in their Leinster hurling opener. In football, Fermanagh welcome Tyrone to their patch.

All of this happening on the Easter weekend. A weekend in times past where the GAA's annual congress took centre stage and the Circuit of Ireland Rally traversed the country.

Some events remain fixed, however, with Fairyhouse playing host to the time-honoured Irish Grand National and the links at Rosses Point providing a picturesque background for the West of Ireland golf. Charlie Mulqueen of the Cork Examiner setting the scene on RTÉ Radio: "You join us here at a wet and windy Rosses Point". It wasn't always that inclement!

CHAMPIONSHIP 2022 ON RTÉ SPORT

We're not at that point in the year of ice-cream weather, but championships weekends are now upon us. By the time the longest day arrives we'll be at the All-Ireland series juncture. Provincial winners in football will have had a few weeks to plot their next move; those still standing after the qualifiers should have some momentum, perhaps thinking they can take out a provincial kingpin.

Much focus will be on the Tailteann Cup. It should be respected. It could be very competitive. We had the All-Ireland B and the Tommy Murphy Cup. They never got the love.

Hurling's tier structured has worked well. The Munster and Leinster round-robin leaves little room