They say a good start if half the battle and so it proved for Ahoghill Camogs at Cloney yesterday as the got past the challenge of Kilrea in the Ulster Junior A Club Championship
The home side may not have been at their very best but they were more efficient than their Derry opponents, who squandered a succession of chances in the first half , both from frees and from open play, while the home side, with county goalkeeper Catriona Grahan leading the line, kept the scoreboard ticking over.
Kilrea were in for a goal when Kimberey Burke broke through for the Derry girls, but a great ‘hook’ by defender Fiona Blaney saved the day for the Cloney girls and when player of the match Catriona Graham goaled from a penalty her team were in the driving seat, going in at the break with a 1-06 to 0-06 lead at the break.
Karen Kielt, who was Kilrea’s star performer, hit her fifth point to narrow the gap early in the second half before, but though both team’s showed great endeavour the scores proved hard to come by during the third quarter. Catriona Graham was to prove the difference as she sent over two more points while the visitors were wasteful, despite creating plenty of chances. The home side began to pick off the scores as the second half advanced and two from Aisling O’Donnell and one each rom Noreen Graham and Katie McCloskey saw them home with six to spare.
The win sees them through to Sunday’s final against holders Granemore, the Armagh champions sealing their place with a win over Down champions Bredagh.
Ahoghill: Á Graham, M McCloskey, B Graffin, F Blaney, O Neeson, É McGarry, C Scullion, N Neeson, E Neeson, K McCloskey (0-1), A O’Donnell (0-2), M Horan, N Graham (0-3), C Graham (1-6, 1-0 pen, 0-5 frees), M Downey
Subs: A-M O’Neill for M Horan (51), C McLaughlin for B Graffin (51), G O’Donnell for N Graham (59).
Kilrea: C Kielt, N Henry, C McNicholl, M Maguire, B McNicholl, S Donaghy, E McGilligan, A McGilligan, J Hickson, E Maguire, K Kielt (0-5, 3fs), A Gorman (0-1), K Burke (0-3), B McLaughlin, D Thompson.
Subs: A O’Boyle for M Maguire (17), K McGilligan for E Maguire (ht), D McKenna for D Thompson (31).
Michael Corcoran talks to Loughgiel’s camogie manager, Conor Higgins, ahead of Sunday’s Ulster Camogie semi-final against Clonduff.
Sunday 3rd of November will witness a mass exodus of Shamrock supporters, players and management heading into the heart of Down camogie on the edge of the Mourne mountains for their Ulster camogie semi-final clash against 2022 All Ireland Intermediate winners, Clonduff.
Ballyholland, Mayobridge, Fontenoys and Kilcoo would factor as neighbouring clubs, nipping at the heels of Clonduff on an annual basis, which helps to keep Clonduff focused. But will that focus blur just enough to offer Loughgiel another Ulster camogie final? Let’s see if Loughgiel’s camogie manager, Conor Higgins, can help us to figure that out, as the Saffron Gael caught up with him for a chat.
Conor’s involvement with camogie in Loughgiel goes back some years. A one-time native of Glenravel, Loughgiel drew him in initially as a spectator of his now-wife’s camogie games, then moved into underage management of both hurling and camogie. The step up to seniors came when Benny Dillon took up tenureship as the camogie manager and Conor joined him in management, both seeing the camogie squad having a run and a narrow miss in the All Ireland final of ‘22, coincidentally appearing as the second game in a double header, where Clonduff played their Intermediate final, beating James Stephens from Kilkenny.
The recent Antrim Camogie win sits well in his locker along with the wealth of experience gained over the years. These days, as camogie moves the bar of performance continuously up, it will take most of that experience to keep his squad moving in an upward direction, but he tells us that the squad is amazingly well motivated and competitive. Losing isn’t in their nature.
When asked to sum up this year’s results and in particular how does he feel about relinquishing the league and Feis cups, Conor candidly replied “Put it this way, we are where we wanted to be. The league was used to blood some of our younger players as we were aware of having lost somewhere in the region of sixteen players over the last few years. On top of that, we had something like nine players on the county panel so that hurt us when the Feis came around this year. But overall, we had a good season taking those things into consideration.”
Despite a reduction in silverware this year, the squad have an amazing county record of eleven consecutive wins. We were curious to know how Conor and the backroom team managed to keep the squad hungry for success given that ‘Eleven in a row’ could generate some complacency? “Well, as I said previously, the girls are self-motivated to an amazing level. Generally, when the county finishes, that’s when we come alive. The desire to do well, win, that starts to build and you can feel it.”
Sunday’s game takes the Loughgiel squad deep into Down but the panel are no strangers to the journey. Conor reminds us that “Clonduff and Liatroim have taken turns to enagage in challenge games and friendly games in the past. Don’t forget, we played a Down team, Liatroim, in last year’s final. And of course, Loughgiel met Clonduff this year in the seven aside Mary Coulter tournament in Ballyholland, which incidentally Loughgiel won.”
We asked Conor could the team have harvested anything from that encounter, given that it was also well represented by Down clubs, “That was a great day out. To be honest, we saw it as a non-county team building day out. We let some of our younger girls take a role with no pressure and at the end of the day, the feedback was good and we’d entertain a return if invited next year.”
This year, Clonduff is among the newer names coming through on their hopeful journeys to Ulster success this year, the other being Swatragh, who managed to beat Slaughtneil in what many held as an upset in the Derry final. We were curious to know if Conor had been ruminating over these results. “To be honest, we aren’t looking beyond Sunday’s game and that’s, I guess, how it should be. I will say though, that it comes as no surprise that Clonduff are through to an Ulster game, as they were ready from as far back as their intermediate win but they were hampered by events closer to home. Yeah, Clonduff were ready for the step up.”
Over the years, we’ve witnessed the personal commitment from players in terms of training, match and strength & conditioning attendance being admirable if not a display of exceptional dedication, especially in the face of personal commitments, so we were interested to know from Conor, is there anything the wider community of followers and interested parties can do to compliment that effort? “I hold the view that this group and camogie in general doesn’t receive the attention it deserves. More promotion of the games is a good starting point and having a joined-up approach to big events gives the occasion the sense of prestige it deserves. Last year we had a double header at the Athletic grounds. We played Liatroim in our Ulster final followed by the men’s hurling Ulster final. That arrangement worked for everyone and was very well received by all accounts.”
If Loughgiel are successful on Sunday, that sets up a final with Swatragh, who as we have already said, caused an upset by beating Slaughneil. Would Conor be drawn on that to comment? “Well, you probably won’t be surprised but it is the truth when I say we aren’t looking that far ahead.” Conor wastes no time in adding, “ Ask me that question on Sunday if the game goes our way.”
Sunday’s game proves to be a special encounter and if the weather forecast doesn’t change, the day should prove ideal for a game of camogie and the challenge will be to remain focussed on the field and not to be distracted by the wonderful countryside.
Plan your journey in advance and if you want to avoid car sickness, take the slightly longer way round via Newry, Mayobridge and Hilltown. But if you are up for it, the scenic route might just tempt you to stop for a panoramic photo with the Mournes as the backdrop. Whatever you do, please travel safely.
Exactly half of the 24 players selected on the 2024-25 EOS IT Solutions All-star camogie team play for Antrim clubs!
The team was announced at the University of Ulster Jordanstown campus yesterday (WEDNESDAY) afternoon and top billing goes to Cross & Passion Ballycastle with six players getting the nod.
They include Erin O’Hara who is one of just three from last year’s team to make it through the preliminary trials last week and a final trial on Tuesday, all trials facilitated by the University of Ulster in Jordanstown.
Goalkeeper O’Hara is joined in the team by Cara Delaney and Shanna Deery along with three girls who are younger sisters of previous All-star recipients. Mary McArthur is following in the footsteps of Cassie (2022) and Ceala Dobbin bridges a ten year gap back to Caitrín while Marie Laverty has equalled the achievements of two older siblings Ciara (2020) and Orlagh (2022).
Erin O’Hara CPCCara Delaney CPCCeala Dobbin CPC
Another north Antrim school, St Killian’s Garron Tower, pick up four awards, all of them members of the Ruairí Óg Cushendall club that has been so successful at under-age level in recent years. Eva McNeill’s older sister Abi was selected two years ago while the other awards go to Laura Black, Kady McNeill and Amy McAlister.
Ahoghill’s Katie McCloskey scored two goals and a point in Saturday’s win over Loughgiel in the Antrim Intermediate final. She is one of three St Patrick’s Maghera students in the mix.
Bringing the total up to a dozen is Aimee Ferris. The Sarsfield’s forward has been a regular on Saffron under-age teams through the grades. She is the first player representing St Genevieve’s to make the cut since Caoimhe McNiece eight years ago.
The other players joining Erin O’Hara for a second All-star are Leah Cassidy from Bellaghy and St Patrick’s Maghera and Fiadhna Loughran, a student in St Patrick’s Keady who helped Granemore win the All-Ireland junior club title last year.
Congratulating the players, Ulster schools’ chair Chloe McShane, complimented the standard of the trials:
“Year after year, we have watched as the standards have risen at the trials. We had almost 120 girls attending trials on the opening two days last week and it was a huge task for our selectors to narrow it down to the 45 who were invited back to the final trial, never mind pick 24 who will hopefully represent us in the inter-provincial competition.
“I would especially like to congratulate Erin O’Hara, Leah Cassidy and Fiadhna Loughran who have all been selected for the second year running. What an achievement!
“I would also like to thank all the schools across Ulster who have nurtured the talent coming through from the clubs. We have our senior competitions beginning next week and I look forward to seeing the players we have seen over the last couple of weeks shine for their schools as the competitions progress.
Amy McAlister – St Killian’sEva McNeill – St Killian’s Kady McNeill – St Killian’s
“Finally our thanks to Paul Rouse at UU at Jordanstown for providing the facilities for the trials as well as a beautiful set of jerseys for all those who attended the final trial.
Once again it is hoped that the inter-provincial tournament can be resurrected this year. The inter-pros have not taken place since November 2018 when Ulster won their third title.
The 24 players named will receive their awards at a gala dinner in the Elk restaurant in Toomebridge early in 2025.
Laura Black – St Killian’sKatie McCloskey – St Pat’s MagheraAimee Ferris – St Genevieve’s
EOS IT Solutions Ulster Colleges’ Camogie All-stars 2024-2025:
Erin O’Hara, Cara Delaney, Shanna Deery, Mary McArthur, Ceala Dobbin, Marie Laverty (Cross and Passion, Ballycastle)
Laura Black, Eva McNeill, Kady McNeill, Amy McAlister (St Killian’s, Garron Tower)
A new film about west Belfast GAA club Gort na Móna is to be screened at their clubhouse on Friday (18th October).
The documentary was made as part of the club’s 50th anniversary celebration, which has seen various events organised throughout the year.
The event will take place as part of this year’s Féile na Carraige programme, run by Upper Springfield Irish language organisation Glór na Móna.
Clubman Niall Enright said, “The film celebrates the role that Gort na Móna has played in the Upper Springfield community since its formation in 1974.
“We’re pleased to be launching it as part of Féile na Carraige. Glór na Móna is celebrating its own 20th birthday and Gort na Móna GAC has had a close relationship with the group since its earliest days.”
Niall continued, “We were also happy to partner with local community media group Northern Visions on the film to help bring the idea to fruition.
Desy McClean, Niall Enright and Terry Reilly who all feature in the documentary
“We’ve had a busy year with the 50th anniversary – organising blitzes and mountain walks, doing history projects and looking to the future with a new strategic plan.
“We’re happy to use every medium to show the benefits that Gort na Móna – and the GAA generally – brings to children and adults, to our families and our communities.”
The film event takes place at Gort na Móna GAC on Friday 18th October from 7.30pm followed by live music and refreshments. Anyone interested in attending is asked to RSVP to niall@usdt.co.uk
Lámh Dhearg Senior Cámogs won the Development Cup on Sunday 13th October in a keenly contested match against a very strong Loch Mór Dál gCais.
A magnificent achievement considering this was only the second year of the Club fielding a Senior team after a 30+ year hiatus.
There was little between the two teams at half time with Lámh Dhearg going into the break ahead by 3 after an evenly balanced half. After a few positional changes the Lámhs began to assert their authority in the second half and kept the score board ticking over. Yet the final score didn’t reflect the intensity and competitiveness of the game and it took some resolute defending by the Lámhs and the goalposts twice to deny Loch Mór adding further scores.
Loch Mór never gave up & competed to the final whistle and will take heart from their gallant performance and will no doubt do well in Junior next season.
The Lámhs win was 12 years in the making.
The decision to reform a Lámh Dhearg Senior team last year was due to having a large number of minors coming through with the risk of having few matches for them in the Minor league so they put a call out for players to come join their young minors and the pieces of their Senior Team started to come together.
The Lámhs have an eclectic mix of players, their multigenerational team contains minors, G4MO, ladies footballers who had never held a hurley in their hand before, a retired ex-County player and our Captain Aedin O’Neill, an All-Ireland medal winner, retired 7 years previous who came out of retirement to join our team.
The GAA is a big family and following through on that the Hannahstown side also have two mothers playing alongside their daughters and two different sets of sisters on the team.
Last year the Lámhs were beaten in the Development Shield Final and and although it was an achievement to have reached the Final they were devastated at the time but there was a determination amongst the players that they could possibly go further the next year & WIN.
The ladies worked hard in pre-season putting in the gym sessions and the pitch sessions.
They entered Division 3 this season where they experienced playing well-seasoned stronger teams throughout the league.
Towards the end of the League they started to enjoy a bit a success with a few wins peppered amongst their losses and their defeats were less severe and confidence and momentum began to build.
The Championship was ahead and the ladies were ready to hopefully overcome the loss from the previous year!
The Lámhs began to filter their skilled and experienced U16 players into the Senior squad and the injection of Youth alongside the steadfast Minors and Senior ladies added a new dimension to the team.
The 2024 Semi-final was a stiff test against a strong talented and physical Larne team. The win was a hard earned victory with very little difference between the two teams at the final whistle, but they had come out victors and the final was ahead of them
The Lámhs had played Loch Mór the previous year on several occasions and they were very close games. The Lámhs knew they had a tough task in the final as Loch Mór also had the luxury of skilled U16 players available to their panel.
On Sunday the nervous tension in changing room was palpable but once the ladies got out on the pitch, game mode kicked in
After 60mins of game time the Lámhs emerged victors & the demons of the previous years were banished…
They had won the Division 3 Development Cup and created history at Lámh Dhearg. The future for camogie in Hannahstown is extremely bright considering their 16’s won the double at all county B and the club now field teams from under 6 to Senior.
Thanks to Gort Na Mona for hosting the final so well.
