And then there were eight.
The draw for the quarter finals of the All-Ireland senior football championship will take place on Monday morning on RTÉ radio's Morning Ireland.
With the preliminary quarter finals wrapping up after Louth's 1-9 to 1-8 win over Cork in Inniskeen on Sunday, all eyes are now on the quarter finals which will take place next weekend in Croke Park.
Having had their invaluable week off, the four group stage winners will be joined by the victors of this weekend's preliminary quarter finals, with those teams facing their third game in as many weeks.
Repeat pairings from the group stages will be avoided in the draw, meaning that Armagh, for example will not be drawn against Derry or Galway seeing as they were in the same group.
2 June 2024; Greg McCabe of Armagh in action against Conor Glass of Derry during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 2 match between Derry and Armagh at Celtic Park in Derry. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Speaking after Galway's preliminary quarter final win over Monaghan, Padraic Joyce was critical of the timing of the draw.
"We won't know for two days who we're going to play," he told Off The Ball. "We can't even plan tactically." "I don't understand why the draw can't be made tomorrow evening," he said.
Louth will play in an All-Ireland quarter final for the first time in their history after Sam Mulroy's late free in Inniskeen. The Wee county have won three All-Irelands but that was before the time of All-Ireland quarter finals.
Potential pairings
Armagh: Louth or Roscommon
Donegal: Derry, Louth, Roscommon or Galway
Dublin: Derry or Galway
Kerry: Derry, Roscommon or Galway
Fixtures
The games will take place across next Saturday and Sunday in Croke Park, with the schedule to be announced on Monday.
It will then be an open draw for the All-Ireland semi-finals.
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