LAST December Fionnuala Carr lifted the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship trophy after Down had smashed Antrim resistance in Breffni Park Cavan.
Fionnuala retired after that victory, but it must have felt like deja-vu for Antrim as they watched her younger sister Sara Louise Graffin collect the Division Two League cup on Down’s behalf after a pulsating final in Owenbeg on Saturday.
Sara-Louise, married to former Antrim defender Arron Graffin, was in reflective mood after a tough game.
“The league was never completed last year. So it is good to add this Cup to the Intermediate championship from last December," she said.
“Some people said the championship last year was devalued because county reserve teams were not participating. They were pointing to the fact that two Ulster teams had reached the final last December and that rarely happens.
“Well they can’t say that about the league title because every county that wanted to be in it was in there – including teams dropping down from Division One to see if they could get a boost ahead of the senior championship.
“And we got the same final pairing. I think we and Antrim have proved that we are the best two teams at this level. The pair of us got to both finals on merit and the two finals have shown that camogie in Ulster is on a high at the moment.”
Turning to the game itself, Graffin never felt that it was going to be easy, especially after losing to the Saffrons in their opening Division Two match.
“Didn’t they beat us in Portglenone at the start of the league? Antrim are a very good team and improving all the time," she said.
“They are a bit like what we were a couple of years ago. We were beaten in the 2018 All-Ireland final and we came back strong the next year but were very unlucky to lose to Westmeath who went on to win the All-Ireland.
“We knew back then that we had to work harder and we did. Antrim will be disappointed in losing today, but they will come back stronger and I believe they will go on now and win the intermediate championship.”
Looking back over the league programme that was condensed into five games, Graffin believes it has been great preparation ahead of Down’s entry into the senior championship after an absence of more than two decades.
“The last three games were excellent preparation, particularly the semi-final against Wexford. We needed a big performance last week to beat Wexford who will also be in the senior championship.
“That game was a taste of what the senior championship would be like and we will have to play to that level again in the group games against Dublin, Waterford and Cork.
Ulster championships 2021
THE fixtures for the Ulster inter-county championships have been ratified this week. They come hot on the heels of the draws for the All-Ireland championships which were made last week and some of the counties are in action this Saturday.
There will be two quarter-final games in the Ulster intermediate championship this Saturday.
Newly-crowned Division Four l champions Cavan will face Tyrone, while Armagh, who narrowly lost the Division Three final are away to Down’s reserve team.
The winners of these ties will meet in the semi-final setting up the possibility of a repeat of last December’s All-Ireland Premier Junior final.
The second semi-final on July 4 sees the reserve teams of Antrim and Derry in action against each other with the final pencilled in for July 10.
July 10 is also the date for the Ulster senior final. Holders Down are already in the final while Antrim will have a home venue against Derry in a semi-final on Saturday, July 3.
