Bumper weekend of championship action

Excitement is building in four football-mad parishes of Castlerahan, Kingscourt, Mullahoran and Killygarry as they prepare for the semi finals of the Hotel Kilmore SFC this weekend, WRITES PAUL FITZPATRICK. The bookmakers have installed the Stars as favourites to regain the Oliver Plunkett Cup for the first time since 2010 but they will face stern opposition from the young Ballyjamesduff men, who reached the championship final for the first time in 41 years last season and have impressed again this year. They throw in on Saturday evening at 8pm in Kingspan Breffni Park, with Killygarry and Mullahoran meeting the following afternoon at the same venue (throw-in, 4pm). Killygarry, conquerors of Cavan Gaels last time out, are slight underdogs but have already beaten Mullahoran once this year in the league. The Dreadnoughts, whose captain Dermot Sheridan stated this week that he is expecting "a very, very tough battle against a team coming off the back of an excellent win", overcame a six-point deficit to beat Killygarry by one in the group stage of this championship. "We're looking forward to what should be an excellent weekend of action," stated county board PRO Declan Woods. "There are double-headers on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon and we would encourage all supporters to attend. In line with the current pricing policy and in an effort to make our games attractive from a cost point of view, we have refrained from increasing prices at the semi-final stage and we're still offering fixtures, doubler-header or otherwise, for €10." In other championship action, neighbours Lacken and Crosserlough meet in what should be a pulsating IFC semi-final, while Laragh - in their first year in the grade - face a young Templeport side in the JFC semi. Both games take place at Breffni Park. Meanwhile, a decision has been made to defer the county SFC and JFC finals to October 7 in order not to clash with the All Ireland SHC final replay.