Bonnar previously coached the Carlow senior hurlers for a three-year period in which he brought the side up to Division One of the National Hurling League and the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.

Under his management, Carlow won the Christy Ring Cup and the Joe McDonagh Cup in two consecutive years to reach the top of the inter-county hurling pyramid.

The Cashel King Cormacs club man has also managed the Tipperary camogie side – with whom he won an All-Ireland in 1999 – the Wexford senior hurlers and Waterford Institute of Technology.

All three jobs have seen Bonnar help the sides to silverware during his tenures and the 57-year-old has also had various backroom roles with other inter-county sides since getting into coaching.

The former Tipperary hurler is currently working with Kilkenny club Dicksboro alongside ex-Waterford boss Padraig Fanning.

Upon taking up the role as manager of the Tipperary senior hurlers, Bonnar is replacing former head coach Liam Sheedy, who brought All-Ireland success to the Premier County in both his tenures.

Bonnar relishes the opportunity to take on “his biggest, but proudest challenge” as Tipperary Hurling Manager.

“I realise that one of the most successful Tipperary teams ever is obviously coming to a natural transition with the departure of Liam Sheedy and the recent retirement of Brendan Maher and I would like to congratulate them on their amazing careers for Tipperary,” Bonnar said.

“However, I am confident with the experience still in the current squad and the many successful U20/21 and minor teams over the last number of years, there are many talented hurlers in Tipperary bursting to take their opportunity to be successful at senior level, just like I am as the new manager.”

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The game will be held at O’Connor Park and coverage of the game will be on GAAGO.

The two teams have had contrasting seasons so far with Carlow impressing but ultimately falling short in the National Football League Division Four while Longford did the opposite in Division Three.

Carlow impressed in Division Four after their strong displays against Waterford and Wexford, against whom they looked a level above.

However, they looked a level below Division Three-bound Louth in their semi-final tie, missing out on promotion as a result.

Their attack looked sharp in all three games.

The quality of Jamie Clarke, Paul Broderick and Darragh Foley in the final third shone throughout the season and the trio will certainly give the Longford defence problems.

The O’Farrell County had a particularly hard time in their season opener against Derry, conceding 21 points.

Cavan registered more (22) but Longford put up a fight to soften the blow.

Longford looked a class below Derry but had close games with Cavan and Fermanagh, the latter being a draw.

The former fell away from them in the second half but their second-half performance against Tipperary in the relegation showcased their potential.

The Fermanagh game was almost a win for the Slashers but a late equaliser prevented that.

Padraic Davis’ men showed some grit in defence and blew Davy Power’s Munster Champions out of the water (and Division Three).

Rian Brady has starred for them in the final third and will look to continue his good form in the Leinster SFC.

Darren Gallagher’s goalscoring exploits have proved important while the ever-reliable Robbie Smyth has also been a feature in this capable Longford attack.

Considering what they did to Division Three defences this year, it is tough to look past Longford in this tie.

Team News

Carlow

C Cunningham, L Roberts, S Redmond, J Moore, J Morrissey, J Murphy, S Bambrick, S Gannon, E Ruth, R Dunphy, C Hulton, J Clarke, C Crowley, P Broderick, D Foley

Longford

P Collum, P Fox, A Farrell, E Macken, I O’Sullivan, M Quinn, C P Smyth, K Diffley, D Gallagher, D Reynolds, D McGivney, D McElligott, R Smyth, J Hagan, R Brady

Predicted Winner: Longford by 5.

Betting

Carlow 2/1

Draw 15/2

Longford 1/2

A Twitter List by IrishScoresGAA

The post Leinster Football Preview, Live scores & Team News : Carlow v Longford appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

These three games will bring the number of teams in the provincial championship down from 11 to eight.

Kilkenny does not field a team for Gaelic football.

You can view the full draw here.

Leinster Round One

Offaly v Louth

Division Two-bound Offaly will play Mickey Harte’s Louth in Navan.

Both sides have been promoted in the National Football League this season and will want to carry that momentum over to the championship.

Offaly took the top spot in Division Three South after three wins from three and dispatched Fermanagh to win promotion.

They have not yet played the Division Three final against Derry, at the time of writing.

However, John Maughan’s side did not make it easy for themselves.

Fortunately, veteran Niall McNamee took on the role of super-sub as he got Offaly over the line on multiple occasions.

Louth, on the other hand, has improved vastly under Mickey Harte.

A dramatic one-point loss to Antrim in the first round of the National Football League was the only blemish on an otherwise stellar record.

Second-halves become clinics for the Wee County as they cruised to three wins in a row to earn promotion.

Led by captain Sam Mulroy, Louth put on fantastic displays to distance themselves from the competition and take control of proceedings.

Offaly may be the higher-ranked side but an upset is not unlikely.

Prediction: Louth by 3

Wicklow v Wexford

Wicklow and Wexford will go head-to-head in Aughrim in the first round.

Wicklow masterminded the great escape in their relegation play-off against Cavan.

Their 3-11 (20) to 0-18 (18) win over the Ulster champions was their first of the season after a brutal campaign as the whipping boys in Division Three South.

Seanie Furlong’s 2-3 was instrumental in the shock win for Davy Byrne’s side.

I can. He's called Seanie Furlong.

— Ciarán Walshe (@walshec5) June 12, 2021

Wexford had a similarly underwhelming National Football League campaign.

However, their two losses to Carlow and Waterford in Division Four South were much closer games.

Furthermore, the side showed their quality in the Division Four Shield final against Sligo.

John Turbitt hit six points over the bar while Ben Brosnan and Liam Coleman found the net for the Model County.

Their scoring ability will be important in a clash such as this.

Shane Roche could lead Wexford to their first win in the Leinster Senior Football Championship since 2014.

Prediction: Wexford by 1

Carlow v Longford

Carlow and Longford contest the final first-round fixture of the 2021 Leinster Senior Football Championship.

Carlow will want to bounce back after missing out on promotion to Division Three after Louth beat them by eight points.

The Dolman County made it look easy against Waterford and edged Wexford in the South section of Division Four but could not make it count.

However, 61 points from three games is an impressive haul, as well as six goals in the same period.

A stunning comeback against Wexford is the highlight of their season so far.

The Fighting Cock County will look to go one further.

Longford enters the championship side of the season after surviving relegation to Division Four on the last day.

A humiliating defeat at the hand of Rory Gallagher’s resurgent Derry started the year off on a low point.

But a final day with Fermanagh gave the side hope as they almost left Brewster Park with a win in front of spectators.

Longford then brought their A-game to Pearse Park where they dominated Munster champions Tipperary to maintain their Division Three status.

The most impressive part of the win was their solidity at the back as they shut down the Tipperary forwards.

It will be a close game between Carlow and Longford but it could be an entertaining one.

Prediction: Longford by 3

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