THERE is a possibility that all three Ulster Club hurling trophies could spend the next 12 months in Derry.
Ballinascreen have lived up to their end of the bargain at junior level, now it’s up to Swatragh and Sleacht Néill at the intermediate and senior grades respectively.
Sleacht Néill are the favourites to get the job done on Sunday against Portaferry and get their hands on the Four Seasons Cup for the first time since 2021.
Swatragh have Carey Faughs standing in their way of a first-ever Ulster title on Saturday.
Sleacht Néill have been the dominant force in the Oak Leaf county over the past number of years, and don’t look like slowing down, although the rest of the chasing pack are slowly but surely catching up.
“You’d probably say Sleacht Néill are a bit ahead of everybody else but Derry’s fairly competitive behind that,” said Swatragh boss Declan McGuckin ahead of the club’s first-ever Ulster hurling final appearance.
“If Dungiven had beaten us, they’d probably think they could go on and win Ulster. They’ve been there, they’ve been to Ulster a lot more than we have over the years so it’s all new to us but maybe that adds a wee bit of excitement too.”
The feel-good factor has surrounded the club over the last few weeks and months and McGuckin adds that the success of the senior camogie team, who also reached the Ulster decider, but lost out heavily to Loughgiel has been a huge plus.
“Just winning the semi-final was a good piece of history,” McGuckin continued.
“I think everyone’s looking forward to the final, the club’s looking forward to it. Hopefully the result goes our way and it’s a good memory to have.
“The buzz around the club this past while has been unbelievable to be fair and it was helped by our camogs, though obviously they didn’t get the result they wanted against Loughgiel.
“They’re the springboard for everything that happened with our hurling team. They won the county final the day before we played Dungiven (in the county final), and then we went on a bit of a roll and won a couple of games before the camogs played again.
“The buzz has been very good between hurling and camogie and it makes training a whole lot easier in these cold evenings, so I think everybody’s enjoying it. Our camogs started that ball rolling for that buzz and being a feel-good factor around the club.”
McGuckin’s men take on Antrim side Carey Faughs on Saturday afternoon and while the teams have clashed a couple of times in the past, mostly in challenge games, Swatragh are expecting a huge test.
Carey Faughs overcame Carrickmore after a penalty shoot-out in the opening round before seeing off Castleblayney at the semi-final stage, but off the field, they’ve “had a hard time of it” as McGuckin alludes to.
“We’ve played them a few times down through the years, friendlies and challenge matches, and they’re never easy games. Even just watching their last couple of games, they’ve shown some heart and grit and determination to get through those games.
“They played two big, physical, strong teams and come out on the right side of results.
“They’ve had a hard time of it this past few months and sport’s a great way to sometimes put a smile back on people’s faces and they’ve shown that.”