By 
ULSTER LADIES CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
TYRONE Senior Ladies Champions Errigal Ciaran commence their provincial campaign against Donegal representatives Glenfin this Sunday.
Errigal Ciaran will travel west to the Tír Chonaill county to face a Glenfin side that eventually got over the line in the Donegal final sealing a convincing win over Termon 2-8 to 0-5.
Led by Yvonne Bonner, who scored two goals, they secured a first title in four years and a place back in Ulster.
Errigal landed their second senior championship title in three years with a deserved victory over Dungannon, laying the foundation in the first-half with some fine attacking football before battening down the hatches after the break.
From an Errigal point of view the likes of Aine Harte and Aine Quinn will miss out with long term injuries.
Manager Eoin Quinn feels the rest of the squad are well placed heading onto the provincial stage.
“We have been very blessed to have the quality we have in the set up, with a lot of work already done over the past few years by managers and coaches ahead of myself and Sean McKenna coming in.”
Five of the Errigal squad were part of the Tyrone All-Ireland winning squad in the summer. Among them is Meabh Corrigan who played against Termon in the Ulster Club two years back and is a key component in the Errigal set-up.
She stated: “ We would love to win Ulster. You don’t get many chances in a county like Tyrone. It’s very tough to come out of it as we found out last year. For now it’s about getting past the Donegal champions, that’s all we can do.”
Experience was an important aspect in Errigal winning the Jarlath Kerr Cup. Being able to call on the likes of Aine Harte (before her injury) and veteran Shannon Cunningham really underlined the breadth of youth and experience they have at their disposal. Corrigan admits that having players who have been there and done it is vital heading into any crunch Championship battle.
“ We have plenty of strength and experience and were able to show a lot of that against Dungannon, being able to control the contest the way we did after a good opening.
“We had a lot of tough games back to back through the Championship. We never showed any panic and with the players we had we were able to utilise the squad through the campaign.”
“I was disappointed last year when we lost in the quarter final as I felt we had a good enough side but look in the new year we had a new set up and everything clicked. I’m just delighted we won Tyrone this season and can take the next step now into Ulster.”
After the loss to Trillick last week by the senior men it’s a chance for the big Errigal support to get behind the team again. Meabh knows that will happen.
They’ll be hoping to make their mark in the provincial arena and they can draw upon the experience of playing another strong Donegal side, Termon, in the 2023 championship. Errigal Ciaran cruised to victory with Maria Canavan scoring an amazing 3-8 before they bowed out at the semi-final stage against a vastly experienced Bredagh team, who previously made it all the way to Ulster final day in 2021.
“We have had lots of support already this season, that’s the way we are at the club, we saw the success of the men last year and I know we were a bit jealous but now the girls are through to the Ulster club and I know the club will get behind us as one. ”