Men's Hockey/All-Ireland Club Championship: Cork and environs promise to be bursting with springtime activities and delights this weekend, ranging from the international choral festival to the Kinsale (rugby) sevens and, not least, the climax of the hockey season on the fresh €1 million surface at Garryduff, where Cork C of I host the final stages of the All-Ireland Club Championship, sponsored by Howard Holdings.
While there will be much joviality and temptations in a carnival atmosphere enlivened by a cosmopolitan veterans tournament, the teams in the championship are bound to be totally focused on the quest for honours and a place in Europe.
Lisnagarvey, the Irish Senior Cup winners, can be rated as favourites as they aim to complete the double for the fifth time, yet Annadale finally deserve to gain some reward at this level while Harlequins will be robustly determined to prevail on Munster soil and Aer Lingus have broken through to demand respect.
Obviously, much will be gleaned from the opening matches tomorrow when Annadale take on Aer Lingus and Harlequins tackle Lisnagarvey, with the bounce of the ball on the new pitch requiring some concentration.
Annadale won only by 1-0 in a home cup tie against Aer Lingus, who have since gathered extra belief in themselves through the elimination of Banbridge in the championship quarter-finals.
Annadale's high-powered dismissal of C of I, though, suggests that Chris Jackson and his cohorts (of whom Andrew McBride flies in from duty with Scotland in Canada) are finely tuned and need have no fear of penalty-shoot-outs.
Lucky Lisnagarvey, fresh from their 5-5 draw with Pembroke Wanderers, are playing an admirable open brand of hockey that can make this tournament especially attractive. Harlequins, however, won't have much time for frills and will attack directly in search of drag flicks, knowing, too, Wesley Bateman can deal effectively with Lisnagarvey's short corners at the other end.
In this sector for the home team, Philip Chambers has returned to the fray as a most able deputy for the injured Sean Nicholson.
While the club championship goes ahead outside of Dublin for the first time, work is under way on relaying the international pitch at Belfield where clinics for young players (aged 10-16) are due to take place in June in addition to summer camps at Three Rock Rovers in August.
The coaching staff will include top Irish and European internationals as well as Bram Lomans, double Olympic gold-medallist in Atlanta and Sydney. The co-ordinator is Andrew Kenny (087 8207538).
Olympic Games and World Cup umpire Ray O'Connor and fellow Dubliner Tom Goode (recently awarded an FIH indoor badge) have been invited to officiate in a Pan-American tournament in Los Angeles next month.
ALL-IRELAND CHAMPIONSHIP - Tomorrow: Annadale v Aer Lingus, 10.0; Cork Harlequins v Lisnagarvey, 4.0; Sunday: Annadale v Lisnagarvey, 12.0; Harlequins v Aer Lingus, 2.0; Monday: Aer Lingus v Lisnagarvey, 9.0; Harlequins v Annadale, 1.0. Tournament director: C Tipping; technical officer: N McCullough; umpires: G Quail, C Porter, K McGinley, N Mackay, W McCully, C Hutchinson.
