By Ciaran Woods
c.woods@gaeliclife.com
THE LAUNCH of the 2009 O'Neills Dowd Cup weekend took place earlier this week at the O'Neills Superstore in Belfast. Taking place in the Dub Playing Fields in Belfast on February 7 and 8, the usual rivalry between the colleges is expected as all those taking part battle it out for the coveted Ulster trophy over the Saturday and Sunday competition.
This year a round robin system has been put in place in both the O'Neills Dowd Cup and McNally Plate qualifiers. With UUJ I, QUB I, St Mary's and Coleraine in the Dowd play offs and UUJ II, QUB II, Magee and Cavan Institute in the McNally play offs, there are sure to be some great tussles.
The Dowd Cup group games will be 15 minutes each way, as will the McNally Plate group games. After those, the bottom two teams in the Dowd Cup will drop down to play in the McNally Plate semi-finals alongside the top two from the McNally play-offs.
Jordanstown powered their way to victory last year and will once again enter the competition as favourites. However, a resurgent Queen's outfit as well as St Mary's are sure to provide sizeable obstacles to the Poly's defence of their title.
At the launch of the competition Ulster Ladies President Gerry Doherty thanked O'Neills for their continued sponsorship of the weekend. He also wished all the teams and their managers good luck for their qualifying games and said he looked forward to what should be another exciting competition.
Calling all past university footballers!
If you played football for any of the University of Ulster teams, Queen's or St Mary's then we want to hear from you.
At this year's Dowd Cup weekend a past players match is being organised between the University of Ulster and Queens / St Mary's.
It is planned to hold the match on Saturday February 7 at 3.00pm in the Dub following the play-off stages for the O'Neills Dowd Cup.
It's an ideal opportunity to renew old university friendships, go for a night out in Belfast and then come to watch the McNally Plate and O'Neills Dowd Cup Finals on Sunday.
If you are interested in taking part please contact Sheena Tally on 077-95160979 or email sheenatally@ladiesgaelic.ie as soon as possible.
Monaghan will have to do it the hard way if they are to retain their Ulster title, having been drawn in the preliminary round for this year's Ulster championship.
In what is effectively a quarter-final clash, the Farney girls have been drawn away to Donegal. Memories of last year when reigning champions Armagh went to Donegal and were turned over in the first round will still be fresh in the minds of the Monaghan camp, and with Donegal in flying form it's certainly a big challenge which awaits the champions in the opening round.
Should Monaghan see off the Donegal challenge, then an equally tricky assignment awaits them as they must travel to the Mourne county to take on Down in the semi-final. Down provided a stern test of Tyrone's credentials before the Red Hands eventually saw off their challenge late on last year. With a good run through the qualifiers last year under their belt, the Mourne girls look set to be a real force in this year's championship campaign.
The other side of the draw sees Tyrone play host to Armagh. The Red Hands of course reached last year's Ulster final but were overrun by Monaghan, while Armagh crashed out at the first hurdle at the hands of Donegal.
Tyrone subsequently made it through to the All-Ireland semi-final where they fell to eventual champions Cork, while for Armagh it proved to be their most disappointing season for some time.
Tyrone have got off to a slow start under their new management, while Armagh set their stall out early under new boss Gregory McGonigle. Only time will tell how their fortunes go over the course of the National League, but any previous form is likely to go out the window when the neighbours clash with a place in the Ulster decider the prize for the victors.
The full draw and dates are as follows:
Sat/Sun 6/7 June Preliminary Round
Donegal v Monaghan
Sat/Sun 13/14 June Semi Final
Tyrone v Armagh
Sat/Sun 20/21 June Semi Final
Down v Donegal or Monaghan
Sunday 5th July Final
Former All-star Caoimhe Marley from Lissummon has been named captain of the Armagh senior ladies for the 2009 season. The no-nonsense defender will be assisted by two vice captains, Caroline O'Hanlon from Carrickcruppen and Meabh Moriarty of Clann Eireann.
Armagh's preparations for the season continued last weekend with wins over Louth and Monaghan in challenge games. Notable absentees from the Armagh side were the O'Donnell twins, Bronagh and Alma. The Crossmaglen duo are both working in Dublin and will play no part in this year's league competition. The duo though are expected to return for the championship campaign.
Elsewhere, Eliza Downey has been named as the new Down captain. The defender, who was nominated for an All-star last season for her sterling performances for the Mourne side, will lead her side into action for the first time when they travel to Longford for the opening round of the National League on February 1.
