Golden moment keeps Barrs driving on into the unknown
Ciara Golden of St Finbarr's gets her shop away despite the attemped block by Loughgiel Shamrock's MArie Laverty during their sides' 2025 All- Ireland Club Championship semi-final at Donaghmore, Ashbourne. Photograph Moya Nolan
Ciara Golden revealed the one very clear message she delivered to herself as she collected an astute delivery from the brilliant Orlaith Cahalane in the dying seconds of Saturday’s AIB All-Ireland senior club camogie final at the Donaghmore Ashbourne grounds.
“I need to score, I have to!” was how Golden recalled her thought process as she put the ball on her hurl and moved away from the tackle to give herself the room to strike from 30 metres out.
Golden did just that, hitting the match-winner for St Finbarr’s after a sensational shootout against Loughgiel Shamrocks, the Togher side prevailing by 3-15 to 3-14 at the end of 90 heart-stopping minutes at the Donaghmore Ashbourne grounds on Saturday.
“When it went over, there was no feeling like it,” she added with a beaming smile.
First-half goals from Cahalane and Sorcha McCartan, not to mention a couple of excellent saves from Ciara Hurley in the Barrs’ goal, pushed the Rebel County champions into an early lead.
However Lucia McNaughton ignited the comeback with an inspirational point before half-time, Róisín McCormick shot 1-9 in total including a vital goal, and it was the wind-assisted Antrim and Ulster representatives who were a point in front with ten minutes to play.
In a game that swung over and back, St Finbarr’s retook the lead, Amy Boyle forced extra time and after the first two periods of ten minutes each way, the sides were still deadlocked. Another five minutes in each direction was played and still the game was level, until Golden scooped up Cahalane’s delivery and seized the moment in style.
Despite their rich tradition in the men’s game, with All-Ireland titles in each code featuring prominently in the club history launched just this week to mark next year’s 150th anniversary, an All-Ireland senior camogie final is new ground for the Barrs but team captain, Stephanie Punch refuted the idea that this group is going above and beyond their potential.
“A lot of people said to us that this is bonus territory but for how hard we’ve worked and how much we’ve dug in over the past couple of weeks, it’s not bonus territory for us, this is exactly what we deserve,” declared the veteran corner-back.
“Every step that we’ve taken this year is a step into the unknown and a step that we haven’t taken before. But you know sometimes it’s better that you’re not faced with past triumphs or past failures. We’re just really looking forward to it and it’s incredible for the club. We’re celebrating 150 years next year and this is another great chapter for camogie in the Barrs and I’m just really looking forward to it,” she added.
While that match was an open scorefest, their opponents in the decider at Croke Park on December 14, Athenry showed an abundance of heart as they grafted to a 1-9 to 0-10 win over Dicksboro in Kinnegad on Saturday.
Their manager, Joe Rabbitte waxed lyrical about the reservoirs of character possessed by his players.
“It was a real dogged game, scores were hard to come by,” said Rabbitte, to Galway Bay FM afterwards.
“We were down four points at the start of the game, people were saying it didn’t look well but I knew the character of the girls. Being four points down wasn’t going to change their attitude and sure enough, they won dirty ball after dirty ball. What won it for us was that we didn’t allow them to hurl, the hooks and the blocks were crucial today.”
Jessica Gill’s opportunist goal midway through the first half undid Dicksboro’s fast start and after conceding four points in the opening six minutes, the westerners allowed their Kilkenny opponents to add a mere six for the remainder of the contest in what was a stellar defensive display.
The intermediate final will get proceedings under way at HQ on Sunday week and it will be contested by teams from Cork and Laois, after Ballincollig, with Leah Weste outstanding, proved too strong for Tyrone champions Eglish by 1-12 to 1-6, while Camross came out on top against Galway contestants Killimor by 2-11 to 0-12.
The Junior A and B finals are fixed for the day before the Croker double-header. St. Dominic’s (Roscommon) beat St Peter’s (Meath) by 2-15 to 1-3 in Banagher to secure their passage to the ‘A’ decider with Áine O’Meara scoring 2-4, and they will play Brídíní Óga in that final.
The Antrim side, who won this title in 2022, overcame Patrickswell (Limerick) by 3-9 to 2-3, Torie Edgar hitting the net twice for the victorious Glenravel club.
The Junior B final will see St Kevin’s (Louth) play Éire Óg Carrickmore (Tyrone), who each had comfortable wins.
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