ALTHOUGH senior cup ties are scheduled in all four provinces this weekend, the match likely to draw the biggest attendance is the meeting of Carlow and Mullingar in Tullamore tomorrow in the final of the Leinster Provincial Towns Cup.
There are two Leinster Senior Cup quarter-final ties in Dublin today. At Castle Avenue north Dublin rivals Clontarf and Skerries meet in what is certain to be a tough encounter. Sydney Parade is the venue for the meeting of third division league champions Monkstown and Terenure College, who have won Promotion to the first division. Terenure also won the Leinster Senior League this season.
Monkstown, Leinster senior league semi-finalists, have also had a great season and will provide a stein examination for Terenure, who will be without centre Stephen Tynan, loose head prop Byron O'Doherty-Campbell and number eight Mark Egan. Tynan has gone to the United States and Egan to Japan and neither will be available again this season. David Lynagh is in the centre, Donal Hyland at prop and Peter O'Malley comes into a reshuffled back row in Egan's absence.
Tomorrow Old Belvedere will be very depleted when they meet Greystones at Anglesea Road in the quarter-final of the cup. Paddy Gavin, Martin Ridge, Neil Francis, Kevin Spicer and Mick Carswell are all ruled out against an unchanged Greystones side.
Shannon hope to be at full strength for their Munster Senior Cup quarter-final match against UCC today at Musgrave Park.
Tomorrow Dolphin, unable to finalise a side yesterday because of injuries, take on their co-tenants at Musgrave Park, Sunday's Well, in another quarter final tie.
Dungannon, newly promoted to the first division now have their sights set on becoming the first club this century to win the Ulster Senior Cup four times in a row. They face a tough quarter-final today when they travel to meet Ballymena at Eaton Park.
Junior club Connemara will fancy their chances of reaching the final of the Connacht Senior Cup when they have home ad vantage against Sligo in the semifinal at Clifden tomorrow. Castlebar will be in pursuit of an historic breakthrough in Connacht when they meet Monivea in the final of the Junior Cup at the Sports Ground.
Carlow, a club with a tradition stretching back well over 100 years, will be seeking to win the Provincial Towns Cup for the fourth time in five years and the 11th time in all when they meet Mullingar tomorrow,
In contrast to Carlow's record Mullingar will be hoping to achieve what would be their first win since 1956 and only the third in all in the competition.
Mullingar's last appearance in the final was against Carlow in 1993 when they lost after a replay as Carlow were en route to their three in a row 1992-94. It will not worry Mullingar that Carlow will be favourites to regain the trophy won last season by Naas.
