St Catherine's out to dethrone back-to-back hopefuls St Finbarr's in camogie decider

The city outfit are aiming to retain their crown on Leeside.

Sat, 11 Oct, 2025 - 07:36

Therese O’Callaghan

The biggest prize in the Cork camogie club calendar is on offer tomorrow (Sunday) when St Catherine’s will be hoping to upset the odds at MTU (2pm) when they take on St Finbarr’s, who are seeking back-to-back senior titles.

Last year, the Togher club bridged an 18-year gap to their last championship win, when they defeated Sarsfields.

This year, St Catherine’s will look to end a 16-year wait, having lost the 2012 and 2015 deciders since the 2009 triumph.

It’s a unique final insofar the two teams have emerged from the same group, with the Barrs claiming top spot. They also had Blackrock and Inniscarra for company in this group.

The Barrs match was the only fixture St Catherine’s lost in the championship, and the five-point defeat they suffered is an accurate reflection of how competitive a contest it was.

The club from Ballynoe and Conna has returned to the final in impressive fashion. Probably their finest hour came in the quarter-final when they knocked out 2024 beaten finalists Sarsfields, emerging with two points to spare.

That set them up for a semi-final meeting with an up-and-coming Éire Óg. A goal from Aoife Hurley at the start of the second half ignited the challenge and they were able to pull away thereafter to record a seven-point victory.

Laura Hayes remains crucial to their chances. And if she ends up policing Barrs danger-lady Sorcha McCartan, it could have a big part to play in the outcome.

St Catherine’s have quality in a lot of other positions as well, including Ally Mulkerrins and Finola Neville.

Orla Cotten is their free-taker, but the former Cork star offers a lot more than that. And Máire Murphy, at 43, is searching for a first senior medal with the club.

So, without a doubt, there will be an insatiable appetite to succeed.

St Finbarr’s are favourites though. You can be sure that they will pay no heed to any outside noise.

They were ruthless in overcoming Killeagh in the quarter-final and took care of Blackrock in the semi-final. Both days they got better as the hour progressed.

The eye-catching displays of McCartan is one of the reasons they have got over the line with a bit to spare.

They have multiple other scoring options, with all six forwards capable of picking up scores - Órlaith Cahalane is one of these, and she will also take marking.

It’s unfortunate that Órlaith and her sisters Méabh and Kate will have to line out in county finals on consecutive days, with the Cork ladies football senior A final replay taking place on Saturday at noon.

Elsewhere in the Cork Premier intermediate camogie championship final, Ballincollig take on Ballygarvan today (Saturday) in Castle Road at 3.30pm.