A new season of inter-county GAA is upon us but several teams will have an unexpected wait to get their campaigns underway, as Storm Eowyn continues to wreak havoc.
The Allianz Football and Hurling Leagues get underway this weekend, with several mouthwatering fixtures ahead.
The opening weekend of the leagues takes place after the country was battered on Friday morning by the huge winds delivered by Storm Eowyn.
In areas of Galway, gusts upwards of 180kph were recorded, with the mean speed in those areas qualifying as hurricane force. Tens of thousands of homes were left without electricity, and a man in Donegal was killed when a tree fell onto his car.
The damage caused by Storm Éowyn to infrastructure up and down the country will necessitate a massive repair drive, and it has taken its toll on the schedule for the opening weekend of the Allianz Leagues.
READ HERE: Jim McGuinness On Why He Brought In A Referee To Police One Particular Rule Change
READ HERE: Armagh Start 10 Of All-Ireland Side For Galway Rematch But Big Names Absent
GAA announce postponements of Allianz League games
The GAA confirmed on Saturday morning that one of the headline fixtures of the opening weekend, Kerry v Donegal in Tralee, had been postponed.
Last year's defeated All-Ireland semi-finalists were set to face off in Tralee in a mouthwatering tie as the new Gaelic football rules come into effect. However, the GAA confirmed that adverse weather conditions would prevent Donegal from travelling for the fixture, with a new date to be confirmed by Monday.
Elsewhere in the Football League, the Division Three fixture between Leitrim and Laois has been postponed by one day. The game has been pushed back to 2pm on Sunday, due to electrical issues caused by Storm Eowyn. The GAA said that the situation would be continually monitored and a final call made ahead of the proposed new throw-in time.
The Division Three clash had been set to be the first inter-county game played under the new rules, a pub quiz question of the future that will now have to be altered.
The final game postponed is the Division Three hurling fixture between Mayo and Cavan, scheduled to take place at MacHale Park in Castlebar. Mayo GAA said it had been postponed due to damage caused by Storm Eowyn.
Mayo and neighbouring county Galway were hit particularly hard by the high winds, with the Connacht GAA Air Dome in Bekan destroyed by the storm.
Later on Saturday morning, the GAA confirmed that the Division 1B hurling fixture between Westmeath and Laois had been postponed due to a frozen pitch in Mullingar.
As it stands, these are the only four Allianz League games postponed due to Storm Eowyn, but we will keep this post updated with any news that filters in during the weekend.
SEE ALSO: 'Sport Should Be Chaos'- How Local Commentators Are Prepping For New Rules
