Ulster hold strong hand in title quest

Railway Cup football news: After dominating the intercounty football scene for much of the season Ulster hope to end it on a high by collecting the Railway Cup interprovincial title in Enniskillen this weekend.

Manager Brian McEniff has named a strong team despite some high-profile absentees and has made no secret of his desire to win back the title from Leinster, their semi-final opponents on Saturday.

Not surprisingly All-Ireland champions Tyrone feature prominently, with five players set to start, and another two on the bench. Several Tyrone players such as Peter Canavan and Kevin Hughes weren't available, but with others like Owen Mulligan and Brian Dooher in the attack the team still has a familiar appearance.

"Despite the absentees I have a very strong panel to chose from," said McEniff. "I'm expecting a really big show from them, especially since we are playing on home territory, and we're determined to regain this title from Leinster."

McEniff's own county, Donegal, along with Armagh and Down contribute three players each, with Derry's Enda Muldoon completing the line-up. Neither Armagh's Kieran McGeeney nor Oisín McConville was available, although Steven McDonnell is part of a highly capable attack.

Leinster are seeking a third title in succession under former Westmeath manager Luke Dempsey. He is expected to use several members of the Laois team, with Dublin's Ciarán Whelan and Paddy Christie also available for selection. Among the list of players not available are Meath's Trevor Giles and Dublin's Alan Brogan.

Connacht will play Munster in the other semi-final at the same venue earlier on Saturday, with the final also set for Enniskillen on Sunday (2.30).

Galway's John O'Mahony, in charge of the Connacht side, has named a panel rather than a starting line-up. The team will be captained by Kevin Walsh, with fellow Galway players Joe Bergin, Matthew Clancy, Seán De Paor, Gary Fahey, Kieran Fitzgerald, Padhraic Joyce and Derek Savage also listed.

The Meehan brothers, Declan and Micheál, were not available because of their involvement with their club Caltra in the Connacht championship. Munster are due to announce their line-up later today.

Former Kerry manager Páidí Ó Sé has announced his first Westmeath football team since taking charge last month. On Sunday his side will play a challenge against Dublin at the St Jude's club in Templeogue, a game that has attracted considerable hype.

For now, however, his selection has come almost entirely from players who had served under Dempsey in recent years, with the exception of Eamonn Fleming, James Galvin and John Keane. Ó Sé has yet to decide on his panel which will shortly begin training for the new season.

ULSTER (Railway Cup SF v Leinster): M McVeigh (Down); E McNulty (Armagh), C McAnallen (Tyrone), N McCready (Donegal); C Gormley (Tyrone), B Monaghan (Donegal), K Cassidy (Donegal); G McCartan (Down), P McGrane (Armagh); B Dooher (Tyrone), S Cavanagh (Tyrone), B Coulter (Down); S McDonnell (Armagh), E Muldoon (Derry), O Mulligan (Tyrone). Subs: P Hearty (Armagh), R Sweeney (Donegal), M Lilly (Fermanagh), R McMenamin (Tyrone), A Forde (Cavan), T McEntee (Armagh), L Doyle (Down), P Loughran (Armagh), C Toye (Donegal), S O'Neill (Tyrone), T Brewster (Fermanagh), K Brady (Antrim), T Freeman (Monaghan), A Sweeney (Donegal).

CONNACHT PANEL (Railway Cup SF v Munster): K Walsh (capt, Galway); J Bergin (Galway), M Clancy (Galway), S Curran (Roscommon), G Cox (Roscommon), D Casey (Roscommon), F Dolan (Roscommon), S De Paor (Galway), P Doohan (Sligo), G Fahey (Galway), K Fitzgerald (Galway), P Gallagher (Sligo), J Gill (Mayo), F Grehan (Roscommon), P Joyce (Galway), K Mannion (Roscommon), T Mortimer (Mayo), C Mortimer (Mayo), G Mullins (Mayo), J McKeon (Leitrim), M McGuinness (Leitrim), G McGowan (Sligo), J Nallen (Mayo), S O'Neill (Roscommon), G Phelan (Leitrim) D Savage (Galway).

WESTMEATH (SF v Dublin): A Lennon; K Larkin, D Mitchell, F Murray; D Healy, D O'Donoghue, D Heavin; R O'Connell, D O'Shaughnessy; F Wilson, P Conway, M Ennis; E Fleming, J Conroy (captain), D Dolan. Subs: G Connaughton, J Fallon, S Mitchell, JP Casey, D Kilmartin, G Dolan, K Henson, PJ Ward, P Leavy, S Colleary, A Mangan, D Gavin, J McAteer, J Galvin, J Keane.