THIS year’s Ulster Junior championship will see London take part in the provincial competition for the first time. The ladies from the English capital will travel to the province for games against Antrim and Derry. Manager Jimmy Creedon and player Martha Jordan were in attendance at the championship launch in Armagh and both are looking forward to their visits in early May.
After the provincial competition is complete, London will be back to play in Group B of the All-Ireland nine team junior championship. They will meet Antrim once again and also travel to Carlow. They will have one home match when they welcome Longford to Ruislip. London have appeared in seven All Ireland junior finals, winning twice, in 1993 and 2008.
Five teams will be hoping to claim the Ulster intermediate title. First up is the preliminary group meeting of reigning All Ireland junior champions Fermanagh and Tyrone. The winner won’t have time to rest on their laurels as a week later they will meet Down in the semi-final. The other semi-final will see neighbours Monaghan and Cavan meet. The final is set for the weekend of May 17-18 May.
The senior final is a repeat of last year’s decider between Armagh and Donegal which the Orchard girls won by 2 points (0-17 to 1-12). What makes this a potential spicy affair is the fact that Donegal’s manager is James Daly, an Armagh native. These two have played some cracking games in recent times and another close encounter is expected.
Armagh’s Clodagh McCambridge and Donegal’s Rosin Rodgers will meet again in the Ulster senior final on May 18
Down will hope to defend their intermediate title. Monaghan, Fermanagh, Cavan and Tyrone will also be hoping for success
Antrim, Derry and London will play each other with the top two meeting in the Junior final
