Liatroim Fontenoys Cup final:

St Mary’s Magherafelt 5-17 Our Lady & St Patrick’s Knock 1-3

ST Mary’s Magherafelt emphatically won this Liatroim Fontenoys Cup final at the Dub Arena over-powering Our Lady & St Patrick’s Knock even though Knock’s captain Katie Quinn opened the scoring after eight minutes with a fine goal, creeping in behind the defence and reading the bounce of the sliotar.

However it soon became apparent that St Mary’s held too much pace in the forward line with a solid defence built around Laura Scullion, Faye McGuckin and Aoibh Shivers.

Caoimhe McErlain got them off the mark with a free in the 13^th minute and the corner-forward went on to accumulate 1-8 and collect the Player of the Match award. 

Caoimhe helped Cargin win the under 16B championship in Antrim last month and two more members of that Cargin team, Laura Scullion and Grace O’Boyle, played a significant role in their schools’ return to the top level of schools’ camogie.

Completing the Antrim involvement was Monyglass half-forward Leah Scullion who scored a point in each half.

Scores from McErlain (two), Eimear Chivers (two) and Aoife Rocks had Magherafelt three ahead before Quinn fired over Knock’s second score, from a free in the 20^th minute. Chivers replied immediately and Magherafelt finished the half in style with two goals from Chivers inside 60 seconds.

They turned around with a lead of 2-9 to 1-3 and points from McErlain (three), Leah Stewart, Eva Forbes and Sarah Gribbin put the game well beyond Knock by the 40^th minute.

The Knock full-back line and goalie Lily Collins kept the goal-line intact until the last ten minutes when Sarah Gribben, Grace O’Boyle and Caoimhe McErlain all found the net.

St Mary’s: Gráinne Oliver, Gráinne Devlin, Faye McGuckin, Melissa Morgan, Aoibh Shivers, Laura Scullion, Grace O’Boyle 0-1, Aoife Rocks 0-2, Orlaith Devlin, Sinéad Scullion 0-1, Eva Forbes 0-1, Leah Stewart 0-2, Caoimhe McErlain 1-8, 0-3 frees, Sarah Gribbin 1-1, Eimear Chivers 2-2.

Subs: Emily McGuckin for L Stewart, Maeve O’Kane for S Scullion, Darcie Murphy for S Gribbin, Cara Donnelly for G O’Boyle

Knock scorers: K Quinn 1-3, 0-1 free, C Dorrian 0-1. 

Corn Eimhear Camogie final: 

St Patrick’s Maghera 2-15 St Killian’s Garron Tower 2-6

St Pat’s Maghera’s dominance of Ulster Schools Camogie continued at the Dub Arena on Tuesday evening when they saw off the dogged challenge of St Killian’s College Garron Tower in the final of the Corn Eimear. The Maghera College won every one of the competitions they competed in in Ulster last season and they carried it on tonight as they collected the Corn Eimhear for the third year in a row.

To their credit Garron Tower gave a good account of themselves and were still in contention until midway through the second half when the class of the Maghera girls really told.

St Killian’s midfielder Eva McNeill got the first score of the game from a free and when a second free went all the way to the Maghera net in the fifth minute you began to wonder if a major shock was maybe on the cards.

The Tower’s early hopes were dented when Cargin’s Orlaith Johnston grabbed a goal at the other end, firing home from close range, but McNeill kept the Towers’ noses in front with two more points, but the St Pat’s forwards were beginning to gain the upper hand and when a long delivery from Branagh Brolly’s found Róisín McAtamney in on her own, she made not mistake as she fired home a goal to put St Pat’s  ahead for the first time at the end of the opening quarter.

Mary Therese McCullagh and Emma Quinn added points to stretch the Maghera lead but Tamara Black pulled one back for the north Antrim girls. The Tower got back on terms when a long delivery by Eva McNeill broke around the Maghera goals and Meadhbh Graham brought her team level on 2-4 apiece as she kicked the ball over the line. Those scores really lifted the St Killians girls, but Maghera wrestled back the initiative and three unanswered points gave them a cushion at the break. The final quarter saw the Derry girls really take control of the game and they pressed home their advantage to seal the victory, but St Killian’s will take great heart from their performance against such a great team.

Magera’s win sees them advance to play the champions of Leinster early in the New Year.     

St Patrick’s: R McAtamney 1-4, O Johnston 1-0, E Quinn 0-10, 9 frees, MT McCullough 0-1.

St Killian’s: E McNeill 1-4, 1-3 frees, M Graham 1-0, T Black 0-1, A McAlister 0-1.

St Patrick’s: K Birt, L McKaigue, E Conway, C McMullan, B Brolly, E Griffin capt., O McCartney, E Quinn, A McWilliams, A McFaul, MT McCullagh, R McAtamney, C McKenna, O Johnston, A Mulholland.

Subs: G McCartney for C McKenna (24), GM Bradley for A McFaul (37), I Martin for C McMullan (52), R McNally for O Johnston (56).

St Killian’s: L McNaughton, L McCollum, E McCann, A Campbell, K McLaughlin, M McAlister, L Gillan, E McNeill, E McNaughton, T Black, E Ward, A McAlister (capt.), S Carey, M Graham, A O’Kane.

Subs: M McKeegan for A O’Kane (HT), N McCollum for A Campbell (52), B Taggart for S Carey (55), A McAuley for E McNaughton (59).

Referee: M O’Neill

AIB Ulster Senior club semi-final

Loughgiel (Antrim) 0-9 Slaughtneil (Derry) 0-5

THIS first ever meeting of Loughgiel and Slaughtneil at the semi-final stage of the AIB Ulster senior club championship was far from a classic, despite taking place in near perfect weather and pitch conditions.

There have been low-scoring games between the pair in the past, but this one was the product of a plethora of unforced errors; with ten minutes to go each team had run up ten wides and there had been just ten scores (0-6 to 0-4 in favour of the winners).

Indeed the winners scored just once in the first half and their opponents just once during the second; it wasn’t for the want of opportunities although both teams had stars in defence with veterans Charlene Campbell and Emma McFadden matched by Céat McEldowney and Clíodhna Ní Mhianáin.

Slaughtneil were the more accurate team before the break and deserved to lead by 0-4 to 0-1 with Olivia Rafferty hitting the target three times, twice from frees. Loughgiel’s only score came from a 45 from Caitrín Dobbin who had won the Ulster senior dancing championship less than 24 hours earlier.

She danced her way through for the opening score of the second half, but the wides count mounted at both ends before Róisín McCormick pointed four frees between the 40^th and 49^th minutes.

Those scores put Loughgiel in command and Dobbin quickly added two from play to take them into the safety zone at 0-8 to 0-4. Sub Therese Mellon hit Slaughtneil’s only score of the half in added time.

Loughgiel, who have been in action five weekends in a row, will now welcome the break ahead of the final against Liatroim Fontenoys on November 18^th.

Loughgiel: R McCormick 0-5 frees, C Dobbin 0-4, 1 free.

Slaughtneil: O Rafferty 0-3, 2 frees, S Mellon 0-1, T Mellon 0-1

Loughgiel: E Boyle, C Campbell, K Lynn, M Lynn, E McFadden, C Boyle, C McKillop, A Boyle, L McNaughton, Christine Laverty, A Connolly, R McCormick, C Dobbin, O Laverty, A Lynn

Subs: Ciara Laverty for K Lynn (33), K McKillop for A Lynn (54).

Slaughtneil: J McMullan, C Glass, Céat McEldowney, C Ní Mhianáin, L Dougan, A Ní Chaiside, C McGrath, B McAllister, C Mulholland, S Bradley, O Rafferty, B McGourty, E McGuigan, S Mellon, C Kearney

Subs: T Mellon for C Kearney (41), Carla McEldowney for E McGuigan (47)

Referee: P McDonnell (Cavan)