Fermanagh put their faith in Canavan to revive fortunes

THE FERMANAGH County Board last night ratified Peter Canavan as their senior football manager. Canavan emerged as the preferred choice over the weekend as the other candidates opted out, clearing the way for the two-time All-Ireland winner to be handed a three-year term.

It will be the first step into senior intercounty management for Canavan, who captained Tyrone to their first All-Ireland in 2003, although he has managed his club Errigal Ciarán for the past three years.

The 40-year-old has included former Tyrone team-mate Enda Kilpatrick in his backroom team, along with former Fermanagh player Ciarán Donnelly as trainer.

The board will be hoping Canavan will revive the county’s fortunes after John O’Neill’s difficult one-year reign, which saw many of the first-choice players make themselves unavailable – they were well beaten by Derry in the Ulster championship, before making the unceremonious exit to London in the qualifiers.

Meanwhile, the Ulster Council are the last provincial council to confirm their 2012 championship fixtures, with their football dates beginning with Cavan against Donegal at Breffni Park on May 20th. Unlike this year that won’t be a standalone fixture as the Leinster football championship gets under way that Sunday with Westmeath against Louth, plus Longford against Laois.

The winner of Cavan-Donegal will play Derry in the quarter-final, which has been fixed for Saturday, June 16th (Donegal will have home venue in Ballybofey should they progress).

The semi-finals are fixed for Sunday, June 24th and Saturday, June 30th, but there will then be a three-week break until the final, on July 22nd – which also means the beaten finalists will again face a six-day turnaround, as the fourth round qualifiers are set for Saturday, July 28th.With the Leinster football final also on July 22nd, the beaten finalists there will also face a quick turnaround.

The GAA will today release their Master Fixture list, which includes all dates for the All-Ireland series.

All the dates will be published in The Irish Timestomorrow.

2012 ULSTER SFC– Preliminary round: Cavan v Donegal, May 20th, Breffni Park. Quarter-finals: Monaghan v Antrim, May 27th, Clones; Fermanagh v Down, June 3rd, Brewster Park; Armagh v Tyrone, June 10th, Athletic Grounds; Derry v Cavan/Donegal, June 16th, venue TBA. Semi-finals: June 24th; Fermanagh/Down v Monaghan/Antrim; June 30th; Armagh/Tyrone v Derry/Cavan/ Donegal. Final: July 22nd.