ULSTER'S long-serving football manager, Brian McEniff, is coming to terms with the break-up of his phenomenally successful Railway Cup team. Last year saw the province halted in pursuit of what would have been a seventh successive title.
This week, as he prepares for Sunday's tilt with reigning champions Leinster in Navan, only one - Martin McQuillan of Armagh - of the side that won the 1989 competition is named in the panel.
McEniff has had to cope with a variety of problems, from suspension, which deprives him of Tyrone's Finbarr McConnell and Seamus McCallan along with the Donegal players disciplined for playing in New York without authorisation, to retirement, which sees the passing of such stalwarts as Greg Blaney and DJ Kane of Down and Brian McGilligan of Derry.
The good news is that Down pair Mickey Linden and Ross Carr have survived the knocks picked up in a challenge against Dublin last Saturday.
"A certain quality of players got older and need to be replaced, but you don't find replacements of that standard growing on trees," says McEniff. "I think it was good for the competition that someone else won it last year. We hate to lose, but can appreciate that a new winner was for the overall good.
"Anthony Tohill is the captain this year, and after the Cavan match (a challenge played by Ulster), he made the point that success in the Railway Cup was a springboard for the success of Ulster teams. It made us realise that we could compete with the others."
All the Railway Cup semi-finalists teams are being named today.
Leinster will have a meeting in Kildangan, and manager Mattie Kerrigan again has to cope with the absence of the provincial champions on All-Ireland celebration holidays. Just as Dublin were abroad for last year's semi-final, so their successors Meath will be unavailable, as they only arrive back from Lanzarote on Saturday night.
Meath captain Tommy Dowd is, however, available, as he didn't travel. Martin O'Connell, who took a shorter break than the rest of the party, is injured. Other injury problems include Dublin's Paul Bealin and Louth's Gareth O'Neill.
Munster name their team, to play Connacht in Ennis, tonight after a training session in the University of Limerick. Apart from the unavailable Maurice Fitzgerald, the province faces injury worries concerning Cork's Damien O'Neill and Ciarln O'Sullivan, a member of the side which defeated Ulster in last year's semi-final replay.
Other absentees include the Kerry pair Dara O Se and Dara O Cinneide, who kicked the winning point in that victory last year. Both are under suspension for playing in New York without clearance.
According to the chairman of the Munster Council and longtime Railway Cup enthusiast Noel Walsh, schoolchildren and juvenile players will be admitted to Cusack Park for free.
Finally, Connacht manager Martin Carney and his selectors sat down last night to establish the availability of players and will name their side tonight. Connacht secretary John Prenty says that there are no major injury concerns arising out of last weekend's series of Connacht League matches.
Tyrone manager Danny Ball will have to wait a little longer to see what problems lie in store for his team plans as a result of possible suspensions arising from last month's abandoned Division One League final. Monday night's meeting of the county's games administration committee, which called 15 players for questioning, failed to reach any conclusions on suspensions. Decisions have been postponed until next Monday. Four of the county panel are involved, including captain Peter Canavan.
Dublin's hurling manager Michael O'Grady and his selectors have named a panel of 30 for the upcoming Walsh Cup and league campaign which starts next March. "We started with a panel of 40 plus and intended cutting it before Christmas, said O'Grady, "but decided to leave it until January and allow everyone train a little longer. It made the final decision very difficult, because they all trained very hard and those who lost out were disappointed."
