Duhallow lay groundwork for delayed championship start

DUHALLOW pitches are reopened for training and challenge games (from Monday next) after the GAA revised their return to play schedule. However, club dressing rooms will remain closed until July 20 as existing control measures for players and mentors including the completion of a health questionnaire remain in place.

With club fixtures set to resume from Friday, July 17, the CCC to the Duhallow Junior Board have outlined a preliminary plan for its programme of games to resume with a strong focus on championships.

Both Junior A Football and Junior A Hurling Championships will run on the round robin basis drawn earlier in the year. And in order to meet the deadlines for the County Championships, only the top team from each group will qualify for a divisional final.

It is proposed that the first game in each championship will take place one/two weeks after the opening round to the County Senior/Premier Intermediate and Intermediate championships. This is to facilitate the regrading of the players for clubs with second teams and subject to confirmation the likely start date for the County championships is Friday, July 17.

In order to facilitate the completion of divisional championships, clubs with second teams will be expected to play on the same weekend as their first team. Once the County Board have issued their fixtures, the Duhallow CCC will plan the divisional fixtures accordingly.

A ring of expectation holds out for the Castlecor Potatoes JAFC as speculation on the likely outright winners once the championship is underway. As it stands, there are two groupings with Boherbue pitted against Kiskeam, Kanturk and Lyre in Group 1 while Knocknagree, Castlemagner and Cullen operate in Group 2.

From a seven team involvement in this season’s championship, there are three second teams operating, in normal circumstances, first string outfits should prevail, four in a row seeking Boherbue inter the fray as fancies to retain their domestic title but its fair to say from uncharted territory and lockdowns, anything is possible.

Seven teams are also entered in the E Tarrant & Sons Skoda JAHC with Banteer, Castlemagner, Kanturk and Kilbrin occupying Group 1, that leaves Dromtariffe, Millstreet and reigning champions Newmarket battling out in a competitive Group 2. Again, there will be no shortage of optimism amongst participating sides once a delayed campaign is given the green light.

It is hoped to complete the U-21 Football Championship, as it stands, Duarigle Gaels and Sliabh Luachra Gaels have reached one semi final while St. Peters or Robert Emmets will advance to a second semi final against Boherbue.

The u21 Hurling Competitions will be run alongside the JAHC with Junior B & C Championships planned to commence shortly after the A championships are up and running. As the championships progress, the Duhallow CCC will look at the secondary and league competitions with a view to giving players as many games as possible.

Given the fall out of the lockdown, the Duhallow Junior Board understands that the circumstances of some clubs may have changed in terms of playing numbers due to the current situation with Covid 19 and they request all clubs to confirm their participation in each competition they entered. This is to avoid imbalances in the competitions and possible walk overs.