The All-Ireland ladies Junior, Intermediate and Senior champions will be crowned on Sunday with a triple header of exciting games on the agenda.
In the first game on the Croke Park triple-bill, Louth will be aiming to gain promotion back to the Intermediate ranks at the first attempt, following relegation last year.
But the Wee County won’t get anything easy from opponents Fermanagh, who were TG4 All-Ireland Junior Champions in 2020 and 2017. Louth themselves are previous champions in 2019 (when they beat Fermanagh), 2015 and 1998.
When and where is the game?
Sunday, August 4 at Croke Park, Dublin.
What time is throw-in?
The action gets underway with the Junior final at 11.45am, followed by the Intermediate final at 1.45pm before all eyes turn to the Senior final at 4.15pm.
Where can I watch the match?
All three games are live on TG4 and TG4 Player.
Are there still tickets?
Tickets for Sunday’s games are priced at €30 for adults and €15 for students, OAPs and U18s. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.
Preview
Fermanagh v Louth, TG4 All-Ireland Junior Final @11.45am
A third title for Fermanagh, or Louth’s fourth? All will be revealed at Croke Park as the counties clash in the 2024 TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship Final.
This fixture is a repeat of the 2019 decider, won by Louth at Croke Park, and the Wee County will aim to get their hands on the West County Hotel Cup for the first time since then.
Standing in their way are Fermanagh, winners in 2017 and 2020, and runners-up in 2022 and in that 2019 decider.
This will be Fermanagh’s fifth Junior Final, as Louth gear up for their seventh.
The history books show that Louth were winners first in 1998, followed by successes in 2015 and 2019.
They’ve also lost three Finals, in 2018, 2012 and 2010, and both counties on Sunday have a 50 per cent success rate in All-Ireland Junior Finals.
Louth didn’t feature in the race for promotion from Division 3 of the Lidl National League, but they did preserve third-tier status, while Fermanagh’s quest to get out of Division 4 was ended at the semi-final stage.
Since then, both teams have built up a summer head of steam and they arrive at Croke Park as champions in their respective provinces.
Fermanagh got the better of Derry to lift the Ulster title, as Louth prevailed over Carlow in the Leinster decider.
Moving on to the All-Ireland series, Fermanagh and Louth were impressive during the group stages.
Fermanagh won all four of their games to top Group A, as Louth won their three Group B fixtures to finish on top of the pile.
That set up a semi-final for Fermanagh against Limerick, with the Erne County gaining revenge against the Shannonsiders after losing at the same stage last year, as Louth met Carlow again, in a repeat of the Leinster Final, and with the same outcome.
Heading into Sunday’s game, the star turn for Fermanagh this season has been Eimear Smyth.
The Derrygonnelly Harps star, one of the very best in the business, has amassed an incredible tally of 7-39 in the All-Ireland series to date and in the race for the 2024 ZuCar Golden Boot award, the prize for the top scorer across the Senior, Intermediate and Junior grades, she’s now uncatchable.
Second on the list of top scorers in the Junior grade is another vastly-experienced forward, Louth’s Kate Flood, who captained her county to All-Ireland glory in 2019.
Flood has scored 4-13 en route to Croke Park during the All-Ireland campaign and she’s a player that Fermanagh will need to keep a close eye on.
Both sides have plenty of class elsewhere, however, with strong defensive performances also a feature to date, but scoring prowess will win the day.
In that regard, Niamh Rice (2-15) and Eimear Byrne (4-4) have been other excellent performers for Louth, while Bláithín Bogue (2-9) is another key star in Fermanagh’s ranks.
It’s all set up for a cracking opening game at Croke Park, with the action getting underway at 11.45am.
Supporters would be well advised to arrive early as this one could go right down to the wire.
Louth were relegated from the Intermediate grade last year and will be keen to bounce back at the first attempt, while Fermanagh were relegated from Junior in 2021, and have been aiming to get back to the Intermediate grade since then.
Both teams are well prepared and battle-hardened as they prepare for what lies in store on Sunday, and with proven match-winners in their ranks, and players who have already delivered on big days.
It remains to be seen now whether it’s Fermanagh’s Shannan McQuade or her Louth counterpart, Áine Breen, who will climb the steps of the Hogan Stand to lift the trophy and spark wild celebrations.
Fermanagh are unchanged from their semi-final victory over Limerick, as Louth make two changes to the side that saw off Carlow.
Holly Lambe Sally and Lucy White come into the starting line-up, with Anna Whyte and Mischa Rooney dropping to the bench.
Fermanagh: M Maguire; C Clarke, M McGloin, E Keenan; S McQuade (capt.), C Murphy, C Bogue; B Bannon, L Maguire; D Maguire, J Doonan, A McCabe; B Bogue, E Smyth, B Smyth.
Louth: R Lambe Fagan; L Byrne, E Murray, E Hand; H Lambe Sally, Á Breen (capt.), C Nolan; A Halligan, E Byrne; L White, A Russell, C McDonald; N Rice, K Flood, S Matthews.
