Doonan aims to depart on high note

JOANNE Doonan is certain to experience mixed emotions when she leads Fermanagh champions Kinawley against Antrim representatives St Paul’s in today’s Ulster Ladies’ Intermediate Football Championship final at Emyvale (2pm).

This will be Doonan’s last match for her team before she leaves next week to embark on a new career in Australian ladies’ football with the Carlton club.

Doonan, who has represented Fermanagh with distinction in the recent past, believes that Kinawley’s close, tense games against Killeeshil and O’Neill Shamrocks in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively of the Ulster Championship will stand her side in good stead this afternoon.

“Those were two very hard games but we hope they will have sharpened our appetite even more for success in this final,” said Doonan.

St Paul’s won their eighth Antrim title at the expense of St Gall’s but skipper Aine Tubridy is convinced they will face a much more difficult mission against Kinawley.

“We know that Kinawley have a lot of experience and have won some difficult games but from our own viewpoint we see this final as another stepping stone for us,” said Tubridy.

In the provincial senior Championship final, old rivals Donaghmoyne (Monaghan) and Termon (Donegal) will lock horns again at Killyclogher tomorrow (3pm).

Termon sharpshooter Geraldine McLaughlin has been in superb form lately and having scored 1-8 in the team’s Ulster

semi-final win over Tyrone champions St Macartan’s, she looks set to continue in this vein tomorrow.

But in Cathriona McConnell, Eimear Traynor and Cora Courtney, Donaghmoyne have their own battery of shooting stars who have helped to keep the side in the spotlight for a number of years now.

In tomorrow’s Ulster Club junior ladies’ football final, Tyrone champions Edendork will face Donegal outfit Naomh Muire at Killyclogher (1pm).

Naomh Muire skipper Erika Hannon, who was injured in her team’s county final win over Naomh Columba, is optimistic that she can now lead her side to glory.

“We know we have talent within our team because we have been building for a few years. Our hope is that we can come good,” said Hannon.