Courtney talks up Donegal ahead of Ladies final

Monaghan's Sharon Courtney

ULSTER finals are something which come along almost as regularly as Christmas for Sharon Courtney, with a Clones provincial outing having been all but an annual event. 

The Monaghan skipper will line out in her seventh Ulster final in eight years on Sunday afternoon, the only blemish being in 2007 when Armagh and Tyrone contested the decider. Of those seven finals played, she has finished on the winning side on six occasions, and fully intends to maintain that rich vein when her side clash with Donegal this weekend. 

The Donaghmoyne defender, who has earned many individual plaudits over the past 12 months as the Farney county’s all-conquering captain, has battled back from a recent leg injury to line out in Sunday’s Ulster final. She believes that although Donegal may not have been the opponents Monaghan were expecting, the Tir Conaill girls will be given the respect they deserve. 

“There’s always only been a couple of points in it any time we’ve played Tyrone, so I suppose it was a bit of a shock that we beat them by so much. I thought to be honest that Tyrone would have come through against Donegal, if for no other reason than that I thought they would have kicked back after that result against us. I was expecting more from Tyrone. 

“That said, we are under no illusions that Donegal are going to be very tough opponents for us. To have been able to produce the sort of a result they did against Tyrone means they deserve huge credit.”

The full story is in the current issue of Gaelic Life, published on Thursday July 12. Buy your copy now in your local newsagent, or you can purchase the online version – for only 90p – by clicking here