Dromore crossing
'Bridge
Article taken from Belfast
Telegraph
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
By John Campbell
Ryan McMenamin is
no stranger to celebrations.
A fixture in the
Tyrone defence for several years now,
he shared in the Red Hand county's
All Ireland triumphs in 2003 and 2005.
When Dromore beat
Coalisland to clinch their first Tyrone
championship title earlier this month,
the success had special significance
for McMenamin.
"We had been
trying as a club for 74 years to win
a Tyrone title and now we've made
the breakthrough at last," said
the Belfast-based civil servant.
"We hope that
this will be just the beginning of
a more profitable era for our club."
Dromore's domestic
coup has now thrust them into the
AIB Ulster Club Championship spotlight
for the first time - and they could
hardly have asked for a more demanding
baptism in this arena.
Mayobridge, who have
landed a clutch of Down senior championship
titles since the turn of the century,
will invade Healy Park, Omagh on Sunday
to launch what they hope will prove
a lucrative provincial campaign.
Frustration has been
Mayobridge's lot in recent years -
they reign supreme in Down, but have
faltered in terms of delivering the
Ulster club trophy.
And given Dromore's
heightened expectations, Sunday's
match has assumed even more importance
than many inter-county fixtures that
were played this year.
Dromore manager Noel
Maginn, himself a former county player,
knows the importance of Sunday's contest.
"We have proved
ourselves in Tyrone, now we must show
that we can match the best in Ulster,"
declared schoolteacher Maginn.
He will come up against
a fellow county man on the touch line
on Sunday as Michael Donnelly, brother
of the Ulster Council's operations
manager Stephen Donnelly, is in his
first year in charge of Mayobridge.
The delivery of a
Down title is hardly likely to satiate
the appetite of a club which has endured
heartbreak on the provincial stage
of late.
Mayobridge will be
bolstered by Benny Coulter, Michael
Walsh and Brendan Grant - all seasoned
County stars - while the fiery McMenamin
will be in the vanguard of Dromore's
challenge.
And it's not just
in defence that they pack a punch.
Up front, former
Irish League player Colm McCullagh
has proved a lethal marksman so far
this year with both club and county.
Should he find himself
plied with a liberal supply of possession
come Sunday, then Dromore's aspirations
of making 2007 even more memorable
will be considerably enhanced.
Both manager McGinn
and old war horse McMenamin are preaching
caution as the club prepares for the
biggest match in its history.
"People are
suggesting that there might be upwards
on 7000 in Omagh on Sunday for this
match and I'm not going to argue with
that," said McGinn.
"There is tremendous
interest and obviously the fact that
Mayobridge have accrued so much experience
in the Ulster championship will make
them hugely formidable opponents."
