The

Ulster

championship used to be impossible. It took 20 years from when Derry successfully defended their provincial title until the back-to- back feat was

accomplished by Tyrone in 1996. From then on, however, the dynamics of what had been the most competitive of all the provinces changed drastically.

For 12 years between 1999 and 2010, Armagh and Tyrone split the Ulster titles between them more or less equally (seven to five). They also managed four All-Irelands between them, as the province became more and more elitist.

Donegal then arrived and their two Ulster titles were crowned by an All-Ireland. So winning the province was almost a credential in itself.

Even last year, Monaghan's first victory in 25 years was seen as partly explained by Donegal experiencing the customary difficulties of defending Sam Maguire.

Novelty champions
Sunday's Division Two final was a rerun of that Ulster decider and showed Monaghan are unlikely to settle for the status of novelty champions in the summer, as they eased past a struggling Donegal.

Down did the same thing earlier in the league, Tyrone came very close to reaching the Division One play-offs and Cavan, with a bulging file of under-21 success, topped the Division Three table. Suddenly Ulster is again looking like a free-for-all.

“Were Monaghan, Donegal, Derry, Tyrone, Down or Cavan to win the Ulster title I wouldn’t bat an eyelid,” said former Armagh captain and football analyst Jarlath Burns, who sees the field of challengers as the most in-depth the province has boasted for a long time. “That’s true to the extent that Tyrone are finding the current period of transition more complicated than they have done previously.”

Punishing strategies
He's in two minds on Donegal, who last year endured a lengthy injury list and a limited range of options, and who face Division One finalists Derry in the Ulster quarter-finals.

Burns feels manager Jim McGuinness’s punishing strategies aren’t infinitely sustainable. “Donegal have been drilled to within an inch of their lives but that can only be done so many times and I didn’t see that energy in them against Monaghan. Maybe that was the plan, though.

“They’ve been away in the Algarve training and it’s possible Jim McGuinness wants to bring down expectations and keep it low key ahead of the championship. He could be laughing up his sleeve at this.

“But I would have thought Donegal needed two things from Sunday: one, to exorcise what happened in Croke Park last August when Mayo destroyed them, and two, to teach Monaghan a lesson after last year’s Ulster final . . .

“In the short term it’s going to be very interesting to see what happens in Derry next month.”