Details and dates for the return of county camogie action were released this week. The Littlewoods National Leagues have been trimmed down to fit into a six week window from Saturday 15th May through to 20th/21st June with replays of the finals the following week. Otherwise knock-out games will finish on the day.
To achieve this the counties have been drawn together in groups of three or four neighbouring teams. Seconds teams have also been brought back into the lower divisions after being excluded from the championship last autumn on the grounds that they did not meet the criteria for “elite” status.
Although Down will play in the senior championship, they will contest Division Two of the league and are drawn along with Antrim and Derry in Group One. Group Three also has only three teams (Wexford, Kilkenny and Laois) while the other two groups have four teams in each.
And in a tough opener on Saturday 15th May, the Saffrons will be at home to Down the team that beat them in the All-Ireland Intermediate final a few weeks before Christmas.
Down will have a home game against Derry the following week and Antrim will travel to Derry on Saturday 29th May.
The top two teams in each of the four group will contest the quarter-finals while the bottom four teams across the groups will face relegation play-offs with the losers from the two games featuring in a relegation play-off at the end of June.
Antrim have entered a second team in the National League this season with a view to widening their player panel and also provide a stepping stone between minor and senior camogie. That team has been placed in Division Four.
There are two groups of four counties in Division Four and the winners and runners up in each group progress to the semi-finals.
Antrim are grouped in Section One with Wicklow and All-Ireland Junior B finalists from 2020 Tyrone and Cavan while Louth, Kildare, Roscommon and Mayo will be in Section Two.
Antrim will have two away games, to Tyrone on the opening weekend and to Wicklow on the last weekend of May. In between they will entertain Cavan.
Littlewoods Div 2 League 2021
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4
Antrim Cork Wexford Westmeath
Down Tipperary Kilkenny Dublin
Derry Kerry Laois Meath
Galway Kildare
Round 1 : Saturday 15th May 2021
G1: Antrim v Down
G2: Tipperary v Cork, Kerry v Galway
G3: Wexford v Kilkenny
G4: Dublin v Westmeath, Meath v Kildare
Round 2 : Sat 22nd May 2021
G1: Down v Derry
G2: Galway v Tipperary, Cork v Kerry
G3: Kilkenny v Laois
G4: Kildare v Dublin, Westmeath v Meath
Round 3: Sat 29th May 2021
G1: Derry v Antrim
G2: Galway v Cork, Tipperary v Kerry
G3: Laois v Wexford
G4: Kildare v Westmeath, Dublin v Meath
Sat/Sun 5th/6th June 2021 Qtr-finals
Sat 12th June 2021 Semi-Finals
Sat 19th June 2021 Final
Sat/Sun 26th/27th June 2021 Final Replay
Littlewoods Div 4 League 2021
Group 1 Group 2
Antrim Louth
Tyrone Kildare
Cavan Roscommon
Wicklow Mayo
Round 1 : Saturday 15th May 2021
G1: Tyrone v Antrim, Cavan v Wicklow
G2: Kildare v Louth, Roscommon v Mayo
Round 2 : Sat 22nd May 2021
G1: Wicklow v Tyrone, Antrim v Cavan
G2: Mayo v Kildare, Louth v Roscommon
Round 3: Sat 29th May 2021
G1: Wicklow v Antrim, Tyrone v Cavan
G2: Mayo v Louth, Kildare v Roscommon
Sat 5th June 2021 Back Matches/playoffs
Sat 12th June 2021 Semi-Finals
Sat 19th June 2021 Final
Sat/Sun 26th/27th June 2021 Final Replay