Roscommon’s Ultan Harney, Jack Savage (Kerry), Stephen Cronin (Cork), Andy Foley (Dublin), Mark Sherry (Kildare) and Brian Reape (Mayo) were in Dublin today ahead of the EirGrid GAA Football U21 Leinster, Munster and Connacht finals. The Ulster Final will take place on Wednesday 6th April with the semi-finals down for decision on March 30th.
Picture credit: Stephen McCarthy / SPORTSFILE
The provincial deciders will begin on 2nd April when Dublin take on Kildare in Pairc Tailteann, Navan at 2pm. This is the sixth time that these sides have met in this competition and a repeat of last year’s EirGrid Leinster U21 Football final where Dublin emerged the winners. Both sides have had convincing victories on the way to this final which is down to be a tight affair.
On the same day (2nd April) Roscommon will meet Mayo in Dr. Hyde park at 6pm to battle it out in Connacht. Reigning champions Roscommon overcame Galway in the quarter final and then went on to see off Sligo by 13 points in the semi-final. Meanwhile, Mayo gave an impressive display, scoring four goals, to beat Leitrim by nine points in their semi-final.
Austin Stack Park, Tralee will play host to the Munster Final where Kerry face the 2015 beaten provincial finalists Cork. The Rebels had a comfortable win over Clare in the first round of the competition and then beat Waterford by a 25 point margin to secure their place in the final. Kerry had a tougher road to travel beating last year’s All Ireland finalists, Tipperary, in the first round and then securing a three point victory over Limerick in the semi-final.
Picture credit: Stephen McCarthy / SPORTSFILE
Commenting ahead of the EirGrid GAA Football U21 Provincial Finals, Rosemary Steen of EirGrid said;
“Each team has had very different paths to get to their respective finals but the relentless effort and hard work the players and their management continuously put in is very evident and I would like to take this opportunity to commend each.
At EirGrid our responsibility is to deliver a safe, secure and reliable supply of electricity to every community on the island of Ireland. We are particularly proud to partner with the GAA and the U21 Football Championship as it reflects the reach of our business and touches communities in the four corners of the country.”
Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Aogán Ó Fearghail said;
“I’d like to wish all of the competing players and their respective managers and coaches every best wish ahead of these eagerly awaited assignments.
“U21 medals at either provincial or national level are coveted and those who win them, earn them. I look forward to these upcoming games and to the remainder of the EirGrid U21 Football Championship.”