AIB ALL IRELAND CLUB HURLING JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI FINAL
Castleblayney HC v Carrick-on-Shannon: Cusack Park; Mullingar: Sunday January 20th @ 2.00pm
It's not new territory for Castleblayney hurling club to play in an All Ireland club game, but the semi final is a bridge they have yet to cross, and Sunday's encounter with the newly crowned Connaught champions affords them the ideal opportunity to achieve that goal. Standing in their way though is a Carrick on Shannon team that this year has made its own little bit of history, their victory being a first ever provincial title at any grade in any code for a Leitrim team so it was pretty historic. That certainly prompted a great round of celebrations but the club has since turned their attentions to making further progress in the competition despite being the new kids on the block. The Monaghan champions last reached this stage of the competition when Inniskeen were the champions but they went under to John Locke's of Kilkenny, while Castleblayney's last foray into the All Ireland stages, saw them overcome by Fullen Gaels of Manchester. This year though, it's a whole new scene, and Castleblayney can approach this game with confidence, given their progress so far and having taken out highly rated teams like Burt, Donegal, Clonduff of Down and Antrim side Cushendun as well as then travelling over to Birmingham and defeating John Mitchells of Warwickshire in their own back yard. Carrick on Shannon though, for their part built up a head of steam as they progressed through Connacht and showed great character and resilience in coming from behind twice to defeat Galway champions Ballygar.
ANNUAL AWARDS NIGHT
It is the biggest social occasion in the Monaghan GAA calendar when those who excelled both on and off the field last year are acknowledged for their efforts at a special presentation night which takes place tomorrow night, Friday, January 18th in the Four Seasons Hotel, commencing at 7:30 PM. The occasion will see the player of the year awards presented, special merit awards in football and hurling and three former greats inducted into the Monaghan GAA Hall of Fame. The occasion also sees the presentation of special mementos to the referees who handled the various finals last year and all in all, should make for a very enjoyable occasion.
CARRCIKMACROSS CONCEDED IN U21 TOURNAMENT
Monaghan under 21 champions, Carrickmacross were due to play the Down U21 champions Carryduff in the quarter-final of the Kickams Creggan Ulster under twenty-one champions tournament last Saturday as part of a double bill at Pairc Chiceam, Belfast. On the day though, Carrickmacross were forced to concede as a threadbare squad and a bout of sickness in the camp put an end to their campaign before it even started. A phone call to the organisers of the tournament at Park Chiceam gave Carryduff a bye into the semi final for the second year in succession , where they face neighbours St Brigids of Antrim, who defeated Crosserlough of Cavan on Saturday last by 3-10 to 3-7.
MC KENNA CUP FINAL
The final of the Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup will take place in the Athletic Grounds, Armagh, on this Saturday evening, commencing at 7:30 PM with extra time and finish on the day regulations applying, if necessary. Armagh will enjoy home advantage following the agreement between themselves and Tyrone to toss for either the Athletic Grounds or Healy Park in Omagh. That coin toss took place on Monday morning last after Armagh had edged out Donegal by the minimum margin in a game where one of the main talking points was the absence of three key players for Donegal, Mark McHugh, Stephen McBrearty and Darach O'Connor. Meanwhile in the other semi-final the introduction of Peter Harte and Darragh Canavan as second-half substitutes turned the tide in favour of Tyrone who defeated Derry by 0-14 to 1-8, while Armagh edged the Donegal challenge by the minimum margin, 0-14 to 1-10. Cavan's Joe McQuillan will referee the final which is preceded by the Danske Bank McCormick Cup final between St. Patrick's College, Armagh and Omagh CBS, with that one getting under way at 5.30pm and finish on the day regulations also applying.
MAJOR COACHING CONFERENCE
Our Lady's Secondary School, Castleblayney have been working for some time now to organise a coaching conference and that work is coming to fruition with a very exciting programme in association with Loughman Sports and M15 Sports, organised for Saturday week next, January 26th at the school. The keynote speaker is the legendary Mickey Whelan of Dublin, regarded by many as the architect of Dublin's success, while Conor Laverty of Kilcoon and Down along with Colm Nally of Louth will conduct workshops, all of which should lead to a most engaging experience and at an opportune time prior to the start of the club season.