Bumper summer teed up as Championship draws conducted

THE draws for the various 2021 Donegal club championships were conducted with appetites whetted for a bumper summer of action.

The first two rounds of games for the senior championship were drawn.

It was the first time the senior football championship draw was conducted without knowing who’ll be defending the Dr Maguire Cup when the first ball is thrown in.

The 2020 Donegal SFC final between Naomh Conaill and Kilcar has yet to be played, with the fixture expected to take place just prior to the start of the 2021 competition.

Dates for the commencement of the Championship depends on Donegal’s progression in the inter-county championship.

Naomh Conaill will open their 2021 Championship against Glenfin before traveling to face Aodh Ruadh, the 2020 Intermediate champions. Kilcar start with a huge away tie at St Eunan’s before welcoming Four Masters to Towney on week two.

The 16 teams in the Senior Football Championship were drawn into two Groups. The first eight clubs drawn

were in Group A and the second eight drawn wiere in Group B. Each club in Group A will play at

home against a Group B Club, randomly drawn, in Round 1.

Rounds 3 and Round 4 draws will take place in August/September, after Round 2 and Round 3 fixtures, respectively. This year the four quarter-finals will be drawn randomly, an exception being that two clubs which have met previously cannot meet again in the quarterfinals.

SFC GROUP A – Four Masters, Gaoth Dobhair, Killybegs, St Eunan’s, Sean MacCumhaills, Naomh Conaill, St Naul’s, Ardara

SFC GROUP B –  Bundoran, Milford, St Michael’s, Kilcar, Aodh Ruadh, Glenswlly, Glenfin, Termon

2021 DONEGAL SFC – ROUND 1 Gaoth Dobhair v Milford, Sean MacCumhaills v St Michael’s, Naomh Conaill v Glenfin, Killybegs v Glenswilly, Ardara v Bundoran, St Naul’s v Termon, Four Masters v Aodh Ruadh, St Eunan’s v Kilcar

2021 DONEGAL SFC – ROUND 2 – St Michael’s v Gaoth Dobhair, Glenswilly v Sean MacCumhaills,  Termon v St Eunan’s, Glenfin v St Naul’s, Kilcar v Four Masters, Milford v Ardara, Bundoran v Killybegs, Aodh Ruadh v Naomh Conaill.

Naomh Conaill, the 2019 champions, were to meet at Sean Mac Cumhaill Park at the end of September, but a positive Covid-19 infection in the Kilcar squad saw the game postponed.

Then moved to a Wednesday evening in October, the fixture was subsequently switched to a weekend date only for a blanket cancellation of club action, owing to the rising number of Covid-19 cases, saw the game shelved.

An Easter date that was mooted at the end of 2020 seemed distant, but with club fixtures only resuming this weekend, the game remained on the long finger.

The Intermediate Championship relegation play-off between Naomh Colmcille and Naomh Ultan remains outstanding and the Junior B Championship draw has been held back until that fixture has been played,
The 2021 Intermediate and Junior A Football Championship draws include Naomh Colmcille/Naomh Ultan, pending the outcome of that fixture.

Downings, the beaten finalists in the 2020 Junior A Football Championship, are in a six-team group in the 2021 championship.

The Senior Hurling Championship comprises six teams – Burt, Buncrana, Carndonagh, St Eunans, Sean Mac Cumhaills and Setanta – with the competition to be run on a league basis with five rounds where each team plays each other once.

The schedule of fixtures will be confirmed by the end of the week. The top four teams progress to the semi-finals, where there will be an open draw.

Seven teams will take part in the Junior Hurling Championship – Aodh Ruadh, Dungloe, Letterkenny Gaels, St Eunan’s, Four Masters, Sean Mac Cumhaills, Setanta.

This competition will tae place on a league basis with six rounds where each team plays each other once.

The schedule of fixtures will be confirmed by the end of the week. The top four teams progress to the semi-finals, where there will be an open draw.

The draw was also conducted for the C Football Championship, which has 11 participating clubs.