HARTE STOPPER

Old rival Mickey in opposition for Mcguinness when he returns to the Championship

MICKEY HARTE and Jim Mcguinness will renew their rivalry as they face off in the quarter-finals of the 2024 Ulster Championship.

The meeting of north west foes Derry and Donegal looks the standout fixture of the early stages of the Championship following yesterday’s draw.

Harte and Mcguinness have only taken the reins in recent weeks but clashed many times over the last decade or more as Mcguinness set about knocking Harte’s Tyrone off the top in Ulster when he first took Donegal back in 2011.

In his book, former Donegal player Rory Kavanagh (inset, with Mcguinness) wrote how Jim Mcguinness never stopped talking about Harte’s Tyrone during his first season in charge.

“At times it seemed as if they were the only team he was interested in talking about,” wrote Kavanagh. “’Beating Tyrone will define us,’ he told us.”

Between March 2011 and May 2015, his Donegal team beat Harte’s in every League and Championship meeting they contested. Before 2012, Harte had never lost to the same team twice in the Championship.

Mcguiness won the Anglo Celt Cup three times during his first tenure in Donegal but that is only half the tally Harte managed in Tyrone.

He inherits a Derry team who are backto-back provincial champions but they will be in the tougher half of the draw and will also have to get past his native Tyrone, Monaghan or Cavan if they are to even get to an Ulster final.

All-ireland champions Dublin (inset), seeking a 14th consecuover tive Leinster title, will face either Longford or Meath in the quarter-final. The latter are guaranteed a place in the Sam Maguire after winning this year’s Tailteann Cup.

In Connacht, two of the quarter-finals are determined on a rota, and in 2024 Mayo will travel to New York and defending champions Galway are off to Ruislip to take on London. In Munster, holders Kerry will face either Limerick or Cork in the semis. Last year’s beaten finalists Clare will take on Tipperary or Waterford in the remaining last-four tie.