Ladies football: All the news ahead of the National Leagues

TYRONE

Review of last year

IT was a tale of two seasons for Tyrone last year; in the league they were motoring along nicely, but the lockdown halted their momentum and they were a pale shadow of their usual selves when the action returned.

They shipped two heavy beatings by Armagh – a particularly disappointing day out in Crossmaglen in the Ulster Championship, and another heavy defeat in the group stages of the All-Ireland Championship – and they could only muster four points against Mayo in their final game of the year. It’s one of those seasons they’ll want to forget about in a hurry, and their manager Gerry Moane decided to bow out at the end.

Team News

THE Tyrone ladies were dealt a major disappointment heading into the new season when their new team manager Kevin McCrystal confirmed that two of their leading lights – Neamh Woods (pictured) and Slaine McCarroll – will likely miss the entirety of the league.

That said, McCrystal, from Carrickmore, started his tenure with more than 100 players at his disposal.

He whittled that down to around 70 players last month, and he said that the attitude of his players has been commendable (for the record, he oversaw 253 girls when he managed Tyrone’s u-14 team to All-Ireland Gold glory in 2019).

Prediction

IT’S always hard to assess how a team will perform in the first year under a new manager, but they’ll be hoping to fare better than last season. Those chastening defeats to Armagh will have played on their minds over the last five months, with that in mind they should be hell-bent on doing themselves justice in the National League – and as fate would have it, they play the Orchard county in the first round.

That game could set the tone for the rest of their season.

DOWN

Review of last year

THE Mourne girls fared rather well in Division Three last year, and they were on course for a place in the league final before the pandemic took hold. However, it was always going to be tough to do well in the Intermediate Championship as it’s a competition littered with Division Two teams. With that in mind, they can be happy with how they performed. They lost to eventual champions Meath by only two points in their first game, with Jessica Foy leading the way up front, and they claimed a win over Leitrim in their final game of the year.

Team news

Ciara Fitzpatrick has opted not to return to Women’s AFL and will be available, while Cara Cunningham is also back from Australia. Talented youngsters Orna Kelly (Bredagh) and Niamh Scullion (Rostrevor) are also worth keeping an eye on. The most significant loss is Lauren Cunningham as she’s teaching in Doha. On the sidelines, Caoibhe Sloan and Peter Lynch (pictured) are back for another year, and training is understood to be going well.

Predictions

If Down play to their potential, there’s no reason why they can’t achieve promotion from Division Three. They also showed they have what it takes to compete at Intermediate level.

DONEGAL

Review of last year

IT was a funny sort of season for the Donegal ladies, who remained under the tutelage of Maxi Curran (pictured). Before the games were suspended, they were mid-table and just needed a win or draw in their final game to ensure their top league tier status for next year.

The other side of the lockdown, they decided not to field in the Ulster Championship, but they gave a great account of themselves in their do-or-die clash against Dublin in the All-Ireland Championship. Only for the concession of a freak goal, who knows how that one could’ve panned out.

Team news

DONEGAL will be without two of their key players this year. Yvonne Bonner, who has been playing Down Under in the AWFL, is back home but she’s unavailable at the moment, while Ciara Hegarty has moved to Kerry.

Generally though, things are stable enough, and Nicole McLaughlin recently told Gaelic Life that the team was feeling confident after the way they put it up to the eventual champions Dublin in last year’s All-Ireland clash.

Prediction

THE girls from Donegal will be hoping to make a point this season. Armagh annexed their Ulster title, and that would’ve hurt even though they didn’t field in the competition. Their initial priority will be staying up in Division One, and they start with back-to-back home ties against Westmeath and Mayo before an away trip to Galway. They’ll be confident of getting a win against Westmeath but the other two clashes will be tough. If they stay up they’ll be hopeful of making their mark further down the line this season.

MONAGHAN

Review of last year

THE Farney girls were relegated from the top flight in 2019, so they couldn’t afford to slip any further. By the time lockdown came around they were doing well in Division Two, winning three games and losing two. They brought in a couple of new girls in ahead of the championship, including Emmet Og duo Anita Newell and Marion McCarville, and they claimed an absolutely fantastic victory over Tipperary, a game that was broadcast live on TG4. They lost their group two decider against Galway by a point, so they were unfortunate not to make the All-Ireland semi-final. Their season ended up on a disappointing note as they lost a hastily arranged Ulster Championship final against a rampant Armagh team.

Team news

CIARAN Murphy is back in charge for a second season, which is presumably a popular decision as he helped to steady the ship last year after a worrying 2019. He’s brought plenty of talented young girls into the field, while they have some of the best ladies players in the province, like Ellen McCarron, Ciara McAnespie and Cora Courtney. Donaghmoyne stalwart Amanda Casey is back this year, while Therese McNally has decided to retire. On the whole though, there’s a freshness about the panel, plenty of competition for places and a healthy blend of youth and experience.

Prediction

MONAGHAN’S competitive season starts on May 23 with a home National League derby match against Cavan, and they’ll be confident of getting their campaign off to the best possible start.

That’s followed by tough-looking, and hard to predict, games against Armagh and Tyrone. The Farney county have fallen down the pecking order a bit in recent years, but they’re improving.

DERRY

Review of last year

IT was a fairly disappointing season for the Oak Leafers, all being told.

They didn’t win a single game in the league (though it was halted prematurely after five rounds and they were due to meet fellow strugglers Antrim in the final game).

Then, after the action recommenced later in the season, they’d a poor Junior Championship, exemplified by their defeat to the Saffrons.

Team news

ALL the early signs suggest that this is something of a fresh start for the Oak Leafers. New manager Odhran McNeilly seems to be determined to put his stamp on the team, and he’s brought with him an impressive backroom team.

Benny Marron is his right-hand man, while the girls are currently working through a 12-week conditioning programme drawn up by Claudy player Conor Johnston. Moneymore’s Grace Conway remains as captain, while Ballymaguigan’s Erin Doherty and Steelstown’s Orla McGeough are joint vice-captains.

It’s understood that there’s a great mood in the camp ahead of the new season.

Predictions

DERRY have been pitted in a regionalised Division Four group with Louth, Leitrim and Antrim. They take on the Saffrons on their first day out, which is an eminently winnable tie as there’s been some upheaval in Antrim with their recent change in management. They’ll also be hoping to fare much better in the Junior Championship. They’ve underperformed in the last few years but this looks like a big opportunity for them as they’re putting in such a big effort, and really have the talent across the county to be doing at least a little bit better than they have been doing. Time will obviously tell.

ARMAGH

Review of last year

WHAT an incredible season 2020 was for Armagh. They reached the All-Ireland semi-final against Dublin, and they certainly made the game’s standard-bearers work for it as they played their part in a rip-roaring contest which ended up 3-7 to 2-7 in the Dub’s favour.

They subsequently won their first Ulster Championship since 2014 with a straightforward victory over Monaghan.

Aimee Mackin (pictured), who made a full recovery from an ACL injury, was in phenomenal form and won the Player of the Year award, while her sister Blaithin and impressive full-back Clodagh McCambridge won All-Stars.

Team news

TYRONE native Ronan Murphy is back in charge of the Orchard county for a second year, and will continue what has been a positive period Armagh. Competition for places should be ramped up as well as the panel looks even stronger than in 2020. Mairead Tennyson, Aoibhinn Henderson and Fionnuala McKenna have returned to the panel, while Lauren McConville, the daughter of Armagh great Jim McConville, is also back on board after a couple of years in Australia.

There’s also some new faces worthy of mention, including Leah McGoldrick, Maeve Watters and Anna McStay.

We should also note that the Carrickdale Hotel are back on board as sponsors for the 17th year, which is some commitment.

Predictions

THERE’S no logical reason why Armagh can’t have another great season. Promotion from Division Two will be the big target early on, and they’ve been pitted in their regional group against Tyrone, Cavan and Monaghan.

They’ll be quietly confident of winning all three games. Later on in the year, they’ll be hopeful of retaining their Ulster Championship, though Donegal could have something to say about that (Maxi Curran’s team didn’t field in Ulster last year).

ANTRIM

Review of last year

UNFORTUNATELY, there’s not much positive that can be said here. The Saffrons were joint-bottom with Derry in Division Four having played and lost five games when the lockdown kicked in, so that wasn’t anything to write home about. Experienced players Saoirse Tennyson, Ciara Brown, Meabh McCurdy as well as Cathy Carey returned in time for the championship, and they did show some signs of improvement, claiming a victory over Derry which set up an All-Ireland Junior final clash against Limerick, which they subsequently lost.

Team news

THE big news from an Antrim perspective is that Dee McConville decided at the 11th hour that he wasn’t going to return as manager. Last week they appointed a new boss, namely Emma Kelly (pictured, front centre). She’s a native of Derry but played for Antrim at intercounty level for a number of years, and will be supported by head coach Kyla Trainor.

Prediction

THE Saffrons new manager Emma Kelly won’t have a pile of time to get to know her players as she’s only been in charge for literally a week, but she captained the county as recently as 2018 so it won’t be an entirely new environment for her. They’ve been placed in a condensed group against Louth, Leitrim and Derry, and if they get their act together they can do reasonably well.

CAVAN

Review of last year

IT all started off so promising for the Breffni ladies. They were in joint-third position in Division Two before the games were brought to a halt, but things didn’t go so well later on in the year. Their Ulster Championship semi-final against Monaghan was postponed following a Covid-19 out-break in the camp, and that understandably had a disruptive effect on their All-Ireland Championship efforts as well. They lost their group stage clashes to Kerry and Cork, and James Daly (pictured with his team, right) decided to step down in the aftermath of those matches.

Team news

THE major change in the Cavan camp is in a managerial sense. Gerry Moane, who brought Tyrone to the All-Ireland Intermediate title in 2018, has stepped into the breach vacated by James Daly. He has a strong backroom team, including Barry Grimes, who was his right-hand man in Tyrone. Breffni teams have done really well at underage level in the last few years so expect young players to feature heavily during his tenure.

Predictions

NEW manager Gerry Moane has stated that he’d love to win an Ulster Senior Championship with Cavan, Perhaps more pressing, however, is getting out of Division Two. They’ve come very close in recent years, and they may have to wait another while as they face tough clashes against Armagh and Tyrone.

FERMANAGH

Review of last year

IT was a fairytale season for Fermanagh as they avenged their All-Ireland Junior Championship final defeat in 2019 by defeating Wicklow in the decider in the first week of December. They started their year in fine fashion in Division Three, as they were all but assured of their survival before the games were cancelled. In the championship, Fermanagh showed valour to claim a must-win victory over Carlow, and they followed that up with a brilliant win against Wicklow, many people’s favourites for the competition, in the final.

Team News

FINTONA man Jonny Garrity is back in charge for a third year, as expected, though there have been a number of changes to the panel. New players brought in include sisters Nuala and Dee Curran, Dearbhla Duffy, Cliodhna Martin and Megan Maguire. Exiting the panel are Cadhla Bogue, Ursula Fee, Orlagh Leonard and their veteran goalkeeper Roisin Gleeson.