Hurling & Camogie

Schools' camogie: St Pat's Maghera book All-Ireland senior final spot while St Louis Ballymena also advance on national stage

Orlaith Hull of St Patrick's College Maghera with Emma Joyce of Presentation College Athenry during the All Ireland Senior A semi-final match played at Swatragh on Saturday Picture: Margaret McLaughlin.
Orlaith Hull of St Patrick's College Maghera with Emma Joyce of Presentation College Athenry during the All Ireland Senior A semi-final match played at Swatragh on Saturday Picture: Margaret McLaughlin. Orlaith Hull of St Patrick's College Maghera with Emma Joyce of Presentation College Athenry during the All Ireland Senior A semi-final match played at Swatragh on Saturday Picture: Margaret McLaughlin.

Corn Sceilge All-Ireland Senior A semi-final: Loreto Kilkenny 3-13 Ursuline’s Thurles 3-12; St Patrick’s Maghera 2-7 Presentation Athenry 1-7

GOALS in the third quarter from Maghera full-forwards Caoimhe Kearney and Caoimhe Chambers sent the holders Presentation Athenry crashing out of Corn Sceilge in a windy and eventually very wet Swatragh on Saturday.

It was a performance that will go down in Maghera camogie folklore.

Over the first 10 minutes playing against the breeze they went three points down to the reigning All-Ireland champions who had 11 of last year’s team on duty for them. Yet by half-time it was 0-4 each and the visitors had not taken advantage of the elements.

Niamh Duffy scored two of the early Athenry points from frees, but Carla Collins hit back with three scores for Maghera while Caoimhe Kearney’s point could well have been a goal.

Kearney was one of Maghera’s stars, a scoring threat that really became apparent five minutes into the second half when she found the net minutes after half-time sub Marie-Therese McCullagh had announced her arrival with a point.

Caoimhe Chambers was also threatening at full-forward and her goal in the 39th minute was followed by a point from Collins and the Ulster champions had suddenly opened up a 2-6 to 0-4 lead.

It was around this point that the rain began making life difficult for both teams, but particularly for Athenry who had a gap to close. A goal from Vivienne Blaine gave Athenry hope, but Kearney hit back with a point and the Maghera defence closed ranks with Eavanne Martin dropping back from midfield to plug the holes.

Points from Olwyn Rabitte followed, but it was the second minute of injury time before she closed it down to 2-7 to 1-7. The referee allowed a further three minutes of play and there was one golden chance of an equaliser, but Maghera got their numbers back and snuffed out the danger.

St Patrick’s will now face seven times champions Loreto Kilkenny in the final on Saturday week after the Leinster champions edged out Ursuline’s Thurles 3-13 to 3-12 with an injury time point from Julie Lennon.

Lennon had opened the scoring with a goal and Loreto raced into a 1-4 to 0-1 lead. The Tipperary side pulled it back to 1-7 to 0-7 at the break and went into a 2-10 to 1-10 lead by the 43rd minute with goals from Lucy Purcell and Alisha Kearney.

Loreto looked in bother, but moved Amy Clifford to full-forward for the last quarter and she scored 2-2 to bring her side back into the game. Kilkenny still needed that injury time point to complete the comeback.

St Patrick’s scorers: C Chambers (1-1), C Kearney (1-2), C Collins (0-3, 2 frees), MT McCullagh (0-1)

Presentation scorers: V Blaine (1-0), O Rabitte (0-4, 2 frees), N Duffy (0-2 frees), S Carr (0-1)

Loreto scorers: A Clifford (2-2, 0-2 frees), J Lennon (1-3), C Keher-Murtagh (0-3), R Dowling (0-2), A Browne (0-2), E Mulhall (0-1).

Ursulines scorers: L Purcell (2-2), A Kearney (1-0), S Corcoran (0-4, 2 frees), C Stakelum (0-3, 2 frees), K Francome (0-2), R Fitzgerald (0-1)

All-Ireland Senior B Camogie semi-finals: St Louis Ballymena 1-19 St Joseph’s Lucan 0-4; Gorey C S 2-13 St Mary’s Nenagh 1-2

ST LOUIS Ballymena followed up their comprehensive quarter-final victory midweek with another comfortable semi-final win in Ahoghill over Dublin champions St Joseph’s Lucan.

Although Lucan won the toss, they elected to play into the strong breeze and were in trouble as early as the fifth minute when Sarah Fyfe’s strong run placed Ciara O’Boyle for a goal. St Louis were 1-2 up and in control of the tie, going on to lead by 1-12 to 0-1 at the break.

If there was room for criticism, the mid-Antrim school were not clinical enough in going for goals when they got openings, happy enough to tap over points and keep the score-board moving.

Katie Molloy and Anna McKillop each scored three points from play during the first half with O’Boyle adding two points to her goal. Sophie McIntyre scored Lucan’s only point in the 11th minute, probably the best score of the half.

Even though Lucan scored two of the first three points of the second half, there was never a threat to Ballymena’s dominance with Sarah Fyfe and Anna McKillop (two each) and Casey Crawford hitting five points during the last quarter before Aoibhinn Scott brought the scoring to a close with an injury time free for Lucan.

In the other semi-final in Gorey, the local Community school eased past Munster champions St Mary’s Nenagh on a 2-13 to 1-2 score-line after holding their visitors scoreless in the first half and running up 1-8 at half-time.

St Louis scorers: C O’Boyle (1-3), A McKillop (0-6, 3 frees), K Molloy (0-3), S Fyfe capt (0-3), E Johnstone (0-2), C Crawford (0-1), E Coulter (0-1).

St Joseph’s scorers: A Scott (0-2 frees), H Gibbs (0-1), S McIntyre (0-1).

All-Ireland Senior C Camogie semi-finals: Coláiste Abhann Rí Callan 2-8 Coláiste Laurel Hill 1-11; St Patrick’s Academy Dungannon 3-4 Gort C S 2-10

ST PATRICK’S Academy and Gort Community School turned around at half time on level terms, 2-4 each, and the indications were that the Tyrone side had a mountain to climb to keep alive their hopes of repeating their 2020 success in this competition.

A second half goal from Catherine Moohan though tied the scores and the teams were still tied at 3-4 to 2-7 going into the allotted five minutes of injury time. However Gort found three late scores through Helena Tarpey, Abbey Massey and free-taker Aisling Dolphin to seal victory.

The teams really couldn’t be separated throughout and they were on 0-3 each at the end of the first quarter with two from Lára Devlin and two in reply from Massey.

In the 18th minute Olibhia Farley and Orla Cullen combined for Eva Cullen to hit the net, but almost immediately Helena Tarpey cancelled it at the other end. Tarpey was then taken down for a penalty but Caoimhe Nelis saved well and Devlin pointed for the Academy.

Three minutes from the break there was a scramble in the Academy goal area and Clodagh Moloney got a slight touch to force the sliotar over the line. However there was still time for Devlin to fire home a goal and level the game.

During the middle of the second half Massey (two) and sub Leah Linnanne opened a three point lead for the visitors. Moohan’s goal levelled. But Gort still looked the more likely winners, although they did leave it very late to seal the deal.

Gort however won’t know their final opponents for a while as the other semi-final in Callan finished level.

Gort CS scorers: H Tarpey (1-1), C Moloney (1-0), A Massey (0-5, 1 free), A Dolphin (0-2 frees), L Linanne (0-1).

St Patrick’s scorers: L Devlin (1-3, 0-1 free), C Moohan (1-1), E Cullen (1-0).

All-Ireland Schools’ Senior D semi-finals: Our Lady’s Newry (Down) 0-3 Ardscoil Mhuire Ballinasloe (Galway) 3-10; Heywood CS (Laois) 1-6 St Declan’s Kilmacthomas (Waterford) 4-11

MISSING two key players from the team that won the Senior Medallion Shield with victory over Loreto Cavan a fortnight ago, Our Lady’s Newry crashed out of the All-Ireland series to a strong Ardscoil Mhuire Ballinasloe team in Kilcoo on Saturday.

Team captain Katie Morgan injured her knee on a school ski trip last week, while another Clonduff All-Ireland winner Niamh McConville was on a family holiday this weekend. Both were sorely missed as Our Lady’s worked hard, but ultimately had no finishing power against the Connacht champions.

Ballinasloe took advantage and built up a lead of 0-8 to 0-1 by the interval, Eva Cassidy Newry’s only scorer while Leah Campbell hit four for the Ardscoil. There had been a goal chance for the home side early in the game, but Michelle Gately saved well.

Another Gately, Máiréad, came off the bench to score her side’s third goal. Earlier strikes from Shauna Mitchel and a brilliant solo goal from Galway minor Sophie Flynn had already put paid to Newry’s chance of a comeback.

Ballinasloe will play St Declan’s Kilmacthomas in the final after the Waterford side convincingly beat Heywood from Laois by 4-11 to 1-6

Ardscoil Mhuire: S Mitchell (1-1), S Flynn (1-1), M Gately (1-0), L Campbell (0-7), C Power (0-1)

Our Lady’s: E Shields (0-1), E Cassidy (0-1), C Agnew (0-1)

All-Ireland Junior camogie quarter-final: St Killian’s Garron Tower 3-12 Coláiste Mhuire Ennis 6-9

THREE goals from Coláiste Mhuire Ennis in the seven minutes before half-time made the difference as St Killian’s Garron Tower came up just short in their All-Ireland quarter-final in Clontarf on Friday

The north Antrim girls, who had not played a competitive game since October, kept pace for the opening 23 minutes, but those goals from Kate Jones, Aimee Colleran and Lauren Cusack gave Ennis a lead of 4-6 to 1-6 at the break and eventually proved the difference in a very competitive championship tie.

Niamh McNeill opened the scoring with a goal for St Killian’s after two minutes and Amy McAlister added a point. However by the time they scored again through player of the match Eva McNeill, Ennis were three points up.

Three points in a row from McNeill levelled the game and they were still tied at 1-5 each before Ennis scored those three goals.

St Killian’s worked hard to close that gap in the third quarter and hit 1-4 without reply to bring it down to a two points’ game at 2-10 to 4-6. Eva McNeill scored the goal while Kady McNeill hit two of the points to bring her total to four.

Ennis hit back however with a second goal from Colleran. Amy McAlister’s goal though made it 3-10 to 5-7 as the game went into the final ten minutes.

A sixth Ennis goal scored by Lauren Cusack seven minutes from time killed off the Ulster side’s challenge, despite excellent performances from the three McNeills, Laura Black and Naoise McDonnell.

St Killian’s: E McNeill (1-5, 0-3 frees), N McNeill (1-2), A McAlister (1-1), K McNeill (0-4)

Coláiste Mhuire: K Hayes (1-7), L Cusack (2-2), A Colleran (2-0), K Jones (1-0)