The draw has been made for the 2009 Bob Kerr Irish Senior Cup, and has thrown up some mouth watering clashes.

Defending champions North County have been drawn away to NCU side Bangor, while beaten finalists Donemana are also on their travels, facing a difficult encounter at Malahide.

Both Instonians and North Down face tricky challenges at The Hills and Rush respectively, while Glendermott won’t be relishing a trip to a very strong Railway Union.

Newly promoted Coleraine and Ballymena are also on the road, with Coleraine away at Lisburn, while Ballymena face a Dublin date with last year’s beaten semi finalists Merrion.

A total of 35 teams will take part in the 2009 competition, with 6 teams in action in the first round, which gets under way on April 25.

Munster have two representatives in the revamped format, namely Cork County who have home advantage over YMCA, and Cork Harlequins, who will travel to the winners of the tie between Killymallaght and Pembroke.

Mrs Hope Kerr said of the draw, "As Bob Kerr’s wife, I am very pleased to sponsor this competition for the third successive year. Bob worked tirelessly to promote the all-Ireland dimension of cricket and saw this competition as important in the continuation of good relationships between clubs north and south.”

“I welcome the opportunity to help to continue that spirit in Irish cricket and I welcome in particular the fact that this year, for the first time for several years, two teams from Munster are being entered. I wish all the teams well."

The draw in full is as follows:

BOB KERR IRISH SENIOR CUP 2009 DRAW

Round 1 (To be played 25 April; Reserve Date 1 May)

  • Old Belvedere v Woodvale
  • Cork County v YMCA
  • Killymallaght v Pembroke

Round 2 (To be played 9 May; Reserve Date 5 June)

  • The Hills v Instonians
  • Rush v North Down
  • Malahide v Donemana
  • Railway Union v Glendermott
  • Merrion v Ballymena
  • Carrickfergus v Clontarf
  • Bangor v North County
  • CSNI v Phoenix
  • CIYMS v Eglinton
  • Lisburn v Coleraine
  • Bready v Waringstown
  • Brigade v Old Belvedere or Woodvale
  • Fox Lodge v Leinster
  • Strabane v Cork County or YMCA
  • Limavady v CYM
  • Killymallaght or Pembroke v Cork Harlequins

Other dates: Round 3 – 13 June (Reserve 26 June); Round 4 – 4 July (Reserve 24 July); Semi-final – 8 August (Reserve 21 August); Final – 4/5 September.

Venue for 2009 Final – NCU region, unless there are no NCU teams in the Final, in which case it will be played in LCU region. If two North West teams reach the Final, it will be played in the North West.