By Niall Gartland

AN Ulster Intermediate Camogie final against Cavan hasn’t come as a bolt from the blue for Tyrone boss Paul O’Grady.

The Breffni County opted out last year and nor did they return in time for this year’s Camogie Leagues, so to the outside world it looked like they’d effectively disbanded.

However, O’Grady was aware that the intention was always there to return for this season’s provincial and All-Ireland championships, so Tyrone will travel to Cavan this Sunday afternoon in pursuit of an Ulster Intermediate title – and there’s no guarantee whatsoever that it will be a straightforward day at the office.

Speaking ahead of the game, the Tyrone manager said: “Cavan had set out at the beginning of the year that they were going to play in the League and Championship.

“They pulled out of the league and then said they’d be back in for the Ulster Intermediate Championship, so we always knew it was coming. It wasn’t very well advertised at the time, but we knew it was in the pipeline since the beginning of the year.”

Tyrone had a useful Division 3A campaign heading into the Championship, though there are some regrets that they missed out on a league final place on score difference.

“We’ve left it behind us really. We should have been in the league final but shot ourselves in the foot in our game against Wicklow and ended up missing out on score difference as a result.”

On the whole though, O’Grady believes that the Tyrone senior camogs are playing well this year so hopes are understandably high of a fruitful Championship at both provincial and national level.

“We’re clicking well this year. We’ve got players back from injury and others have returned as well. There were a few things that disrupted last year, but this year things are lining up a bit better.

“We’re a bit more organised now. Last year, we had a bit of a shock with the way the year panned out, but this year we’re taking it step by step rather than getting ahead of ourselves.

“We’re definitely playing better, and I think we’ll be in a better position when it comes to the championship.”

“We’re getting really good game-time into girls at the moment, with good friendlies, and we’re using our panel well so we’re not overloading players. We’re managing that side of things much better this year, so thankfully we’re in a good position.”

Meanwhile, Tyrone’s U16 Camogs clinched the All Ireland C title on Sunday in Drogheda with a brilliant performance against Cavan winning on a final scoreline of 1-8 to 1-5.