AIB All-Ireland Club Ladies’ SFC final
Kilkerrin-Clonberne (Galway) v Kilmacud Crokes (Dublin)
(Saturday, Croke Park, 5pm, live on TG4)
THE defending Galway, Connacht and All-Ireland champions will be favourites to get their hands on the Dolores Tyrell Cup for the fourth successive year in this one.
If they do they will become only the second club to achieve that feat, emulating Waterford’s Ballymacabry back in the early 90s.
This is a repeat of the 2023 All-Ireland semi-final, which needed extra-time to find the winner and another evenly contested battle is expected. However, as a fifth successive All-Ireland final for Kilkerrin-Clonberne, the familiarity around the occasion should be a massive advantage.
It might be a first All-Ireland final for Kilmacud but they have three Leinster titles on the trot behind them, each giving them more and more experience. Having finally overcome the semi-final challenge, they hope to make it count further.
Both sides are littered with inter-county stars and match-winners.
Crokes can call upon Galway pair Dearbhla Gower, an All-Star-nominated goalkeeper, and Galway captain Ailbhe Davoren, who claimed a first TG4 All-Star award recently.
Cork’s Nimah Cotter and Donegal’s Niamh Carr are others who have worn their respective county shirts, while the Crokes team has both past and present Dublin stars such as Aoife Kane, Molly Lamb, Grace Kós, Lauren Magee, Davoren and Éabha Rutledge.
The Kilkerrin-Clonberne line-up is well stacked, too, with captain Louise Ward, nominated for an All-Star this year, joined by twin sister Nicola, who recently picked up an All-Star and the TG4 Senior Players’ Player of the Year award.
The Divilly sisters – Niamh, Siobhan and Olivia, another recently-crowned All-Star – continue to exert a huge influence, as do the Noone sisters – Hannah, Lynsey and Eva.
AIB All-Ireland Club Ladies’ IFC final
Annaghdown (Galway) v Bennekerry/Tinryland (Carlow)
(Saturday, Croke Park, 3pm, live on TG4)
ANNAGHDOWN will hope to set the tone for Galway this afternoon with victory over Bennekerry/Tinryland in the curtain-raiser at Croke Park.
Bennekerry/Tinryland are the first club from Carlow to reach an All-Ireland Club final, but Annaghdown have been here before, in 2016, when they beat Armagh side Shane O’Neills.
Fresh from winning a first Leinster title, the Carlow side scored crucial goals in a 4-6 to 1-12 victory against Cavan opponents Mullahoran in the semi-final, while Annaghdown claimed a 1-12 to 1-9 victory over O’Donovan Rossa from Cork, the 2023 All-Ireland junior champions.
Sinéad Hayden (two), Elaine Ware and Lauren Dwyer raised the green flags for Bennekerry/Tinryland at Kingspan Breffni, while Bronagh Quinn’s second-half goal proved decisive for Annaghdown on home soil.
Both sides have players capable of hurting their opponents on the scoreboard, with Hayden, Dwyer and Clíodhna Ní Shé well capable of pulling the strings for Bennekerry/Tinryland in attack.
For Annaghdown, Bronagh Quinn is a huge attacking threat from the half-back line, while Ciara McCarthy and Ciara Hegarty, who’s adept on frees, will also take close watching by the Bennekerry/Tinryland rearguard.
AIB All-Ireland Club Ladies’ JFC final
Mungret, St Paul’s, (Limerick) v Downings (Donegal)
(Sunday, Parnell Park, 2pm, live on Sport TG4)
DOWNINGS are just an hour away from All-Ireland glory and if they can negotiate this final hurdle, the Ulster champions would become the first Donegal club to land the All-Ireland junior title.
Both teams came through tough All-Ireland semi-finals that will stand to them and give them confidence going into this game.
Mungret needed a free shoot-out to defeat Sligo side Coolera/Strandhill, made all the more impressive with a victory on their travels, while Downings made home advantage count with a three-point win over Kildare and Leinster champions Kilcock.
Getting to this final hurdle might have been the stuff of dreams at the beginning of the season, a county championship probably the realistic target, and anything beyond that a bonus, but here they both are, poised for All-Ireland glory.
It is anyone’s game for the taking, it is just about who will be able to deal with everything that the occasion throws at them the best and make the chances count.
