THE 2024 Paul McGirr Ulster Club Championship in association with MFC Sports gets underway this Sunday afternoon at 1p.m. in Gardrum Park Dromore as excitement builds for one of the leading underage tournaments in the GAA calendar.

In the long and decorated history of Magherafelt O’Donovan Rossa, 2024 will stand out as perhaps their most successful ever at underage level after the completion of back to back U16 and U18 county titles for the first time. Heady times for the Derry champions and they won’t rest on their laurels this Sunday when they begin their Ulster journey seeking what would be a first ever Ulster double at these levels. Standing in their way in the first quarter final of the Paul McGirr Ulster U16 Club Championship will be Monaghan champions Donaghmoyne.

The Rossa boys were hugely impressive on their way to the Derry title and their team is littered with talent from back to front. A dominating display in the Derry county final where they defeated Bannagher 7-13 to 1-06 was just one of a number of awesome displays this season and for many they go into this years tournaments as favourite’s to take home the much coveted Cuchaillan trophy, particularly as this group have won everything through the age groups including the All-Ireland Feile title last year. While captain Kian Maynes leads the team from full forward he is very much the playmaker in the team where Daultagh Donnelly, Tony O’Hagan, Emmett Spiers and Tiernan McGlone do the damage on the scoreboard.

Kevin Purvis who heads up the Magherafelt management team says his team won’t be underestimating the task ahead of them on Sunday “As a team, we are thrilled to be in Dromore representing Derry in such a prestigious tournament as the Paul McGirr. With the age group change in Derry this year, we have benefited greatly from keeping the same group together for two successive seasons and have gone onto enjoy quite a bit of success together winning back to back Derry Championships. It’s now a great chance to test ourselves against fresh challenges and the best teams in Ulster at this level. Donaghmoyne themselves have won league and championships at u14 and u16 level in Monaghan this year, so we know we are in for a real tough test on Sunday but we can’t wait to get going.”

While Monaghan teams haven’t the best record in the Paul McGirr, there is something about this Donaghmoyne team and their club that tells us that 2024 could be a different story. Having won the double at both U14 and U16 level things are certainly looking up for the South Monaghan club who for too long depended on their ladies teams to bring success. They defeated Aughnamullen 0-10 to 0-06 in a tight Monaghan final in early September and they will have taken the two month’s in between to focus on what would be an historic Ulster title for the club. Joe Callan and Robbie Duffy are two powerhouses in the half back line and their forays forward are something Magherafelt will have to watch for. Their diminutive captain Sean Meegan leads by example with a tremendous workrate around the middle third along with midfielders James Ennis and Cian Connolly, Robbie Duffy and Ross Lennon will be leading the charge up front.

Colm Flanagan, Davey Lennon and Niall Gilmartin take charge of the Monaghan champions, Flanagan was looking for to the occasion “Donaghmoyne Fontenoys look forward to representing Monaghan in the prestigious Paul McGirr Ulster U16 Club championship. We are delighted to take part in this competition, remembering Paul as a footballer and we are honoured to be part of the Spirit of Paul initiative to help further the great work being completed in Lusaka, Zambia. We won both the Division 1 League & Division 1 championship in Monaghan 2024 and this Ulster Championship is a great opportunity for our players to compete against the other top U16 teams in our province.”

Whilst Magherafelt will go in as favourites the fighting spirit that Monaghan clubs are known for will mean Donaghmoyne will not be lacking as both teams seek to be the first name in the hat for the Ulster semi-final.