Four first round matches take place this weekend as the 2022 All-Ireland Ladies 4-Wall Championship, sponsored by O'Neills, kicks off in Kingscourt HC, Cavan.
All four matches will run consecutively as part of a huge day on Sunday with eight Men's Senior matches also scheduled for Kingscourt on the same programme.
Ladies 1st Round:
Pauline Gallagher (Mayo) takes on Patricia Byrne (Wicklow) in the first match as both experienced players vie for a QF spot versus #1 seed Catriona Casey. Both players are powerful hitters that are evenly matched on paper and should make for a close match.
Sinead Meagher (Tipperary) won the 19&U World title at the 2018 World Championships in Minnesota and will now been keen to move on and make her mark on the Senior field after the Covid disruption. But she will have her hands full against a very determined Mollie Dagg (Kildare). Teenager Dagg won the 17&U Junior Nationals in 2020 and has progressed well since, recently defeating Aishling Mullin at the Nationals last month before falling to eventual finalist Megan McCann in a QF tiebreak. Meagher's experience may just give her an edge but this match is finely balanced. The winner will take on Eilise McCrory (Tyrone) next weekend.
Aishling O'Keeffe (Cork) faces Aishling Mullin (Galway), as the multiple Senior Doubles Champion bids to set up a QF against Megan McCann. O'Keeffe had a good tiebreak win over Pauline Gallagher at the Nationals, but Mullin herself also had a solid win over Aoife Holden to claim 9th place in Belfast. Mullin will be just home from the US Collegiates where she teamed up with Fiona Tully to win the Elite Ladies Doubles title so confidence will be high.
The final match up is the block buster of the day as Limerick superstar Martina McMahon takes on Galway's Ciana Ni Churraoin. Martina is making her comeback from injury, and having not had any competitive action this season, a first round against Ciana was not the ideal return scenario. Ciana herself has not played the All-Ireland Series in a few years, but has been a regular contender on the US Tour. Ni Churraoin fell in a tiebreak to Fiona Tully at the Nationals, but will be confident she has the game to reach her first final, and even go further and win her first All-Ireland crown. Martina of course has been there and done that, but given we haven't seen her play this season, it sets this tie up brilliantly for the public interest.
Sunday 6th March, Kingscourt, Court 3 starts @ 11am
- Q1: Kildare (Pauline Gallagher) v Wicklow (Patricia Byrne)
- Q2: Kildare (Mollie Dagg) v Tipperary (Sinead Meagher)
- Q3: Galway (Ashling Mullin) v Cork (Aishling O’Keeffe)
- Q4: Limerick (Martina McMahon) v Galway (Ciana Ni Churraoin)
You can follow result updates across our social media channels and website all weekend.
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By Darragh Daly, GAA Handball