THE 2024 AIB All-Ireland Ladies Club Football champions will be confirmed over the coming weekend, barring replays.
The scene is set for three AIB All-Ireland club finals – two at Croke Park on Saturday and one at Parnell Park on Sunday.
On Saturday, the Intermediate decider between Annaghdown (Galway) and Bennekerry/Tinryland (Carlow) gets the action underway at 3pm, and will be followed by the Senior decider between holders Kilkerrin-Clonberne (Galway) and first-time finalists Kilmacud Crokes (Dublin) at 5pm.
On Sunday, attention switches to the Junior decider at Parnell Park (2pm), as Limerick outfit Mungret St Pauls lock horns with Donegal opponents Na Dúnaibh.
Should any of the games finish in a draw, replays are fixed for Saturday January 11, 2025.
2024 AIB All-Ireland Club Championship FINALS
Saturday December 14:
ANNAGHDOWN and Bennekerry/Tinryland will get proceedings underway at Croke Park on Saturday afternoon.
There’s history in the making for Carlow’s Bennekerry/Tinryland, as they become the very first club from the county to appear in an All-Ireland Ladies Club Football Championship Final.
Annaghdown have been here before, back in 2016 when a team containing current selector for former Galway star, Niamh Duggan, claimed the All-Ireland Intermediate club title with victory over Armagh opponents Shane O’Neills.
Duggan was captain on that occasion and she’ll be hoping to help mastermind another landmark national success eight years later.
It could be an historic day for Galway clubs as Annaghdown aim for Intermediate silverware, ahead of Kilkerrin-Clonberne’s quest for a fourth successive Senior title.
Annaghdown are the last Galway club to claim the Intermediate crown, while Claregalway (2013), St Brendans (2001) and Kilkerrin-Clonberne (1999) have also won this competition.
Victory won’t come easy, however, as Bennekerry/Tinryland, like Annaghdown themselves, are an extremely well-drilled and confident team.
An intriguing fixture lies in store between two clubs who had to battle hard in their respective semi-finals.
Bennekerry/Tinryland, fresh from winning a first Leinster title, scored crucial goals in a 4-6 to 1-12 victory against Cavan opponents Mullahoran, as 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, as Bronagh Quinn’s second half goal proved decisive for Annaghdown on home soil.
Previous to that, Annaghdown landed the Connacht title by seeing off Sligo’s Drumcliffe-Rosses Point in Swinford before they successfully navigated a trip to Edinburgh for an All-Ireland quarter-final, where they got the better of Dunedin Connollys.
O’Donovan Rossa represented another significant hurdle for Annaghdown but they successfully vaulted it and now find themselves just an hour away from a second All-Ireland Intermediate club title win.
Along their path to Saturday’s Final, Bennekerry/Tinryland got the better of Meath’s Dee Rangers in the Leinster Final, before they were handed a tough assignment against Mullahoran.
Three goals in the first 18 minutes handed Bennekerry/Tinryland a real platform and Ware struck in the second half at an opportune time.
Bennekerry/Tinryland held out to reach Croke Park and victory over Annaghdown would cap what’s been a remarkable season for the Carlow club.
Annaghdown, for their part, will be in no mood to facilitate a fairytale story and any Bennekerry/Tinryland victory will be earned very much on merit.
Two excellent sides will pit their wits against each other and we’re anticipating a free-flowing and fast-paced encounter.
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.
While big names are sure to feature, the overall team ethic and spirit in both camps have been key factors in their routes to the Final – and they’re bound to come to the fore once again on the biggest day of all.
Annaghdown: E Lynch; R Fahy, I Claffey, M Canavan; Chelsie Crowe, Chloe Crowe, B Quinn; S O’Grady, R Naughton; R Quinn (capt.), C Hegarty, J Burke; E Keane, C McCarthy, B Naughton.
Bennekerry/Tinryland: S Cotter (capt.); C Mahon, L Corcoran, L Mullins; R Bermingham, N Mohan, M Cranny; E Lowry, E Ware; A Webb, C Ní Shé, L Dwyer; O Woods, S Nolan, S Hayden.
FOUR-in-a-row chasers meet first time Finalists at Croke Park.
The scene is set for what promises to be a gripping AIB All-Ireland Senior Club Championship Final.
Kilkerrin-Clonberne, the holders from Galway, take on Dublin opponents Kilmacud Crokes in what is a repeat of the 2023 semi-final between the clubs.
On that occasion, the sides were inseparable after 60 minutes before Kilkerrin-Clonberne found a kick in extra-time to get over the line.
It was a pulsating game at Parnell Park and Croke Park is the ideal setting for this eagerly-anticipated renewal.
This is familiar territory for Kilkerrin-Clonberne, as they prepare for a fifth successive All-Ireland Final.
Having suffered pre-Covid heartbreak against Mourneabbey in 2018 and 2019, Kilkerrin-Clonberne got the better of their Cork rivals in the 2021 Final, before following up with big day wins against Monaghan’s Donaghmoyne (2022) and Ballymacarbry (2023) to annex three successive titles.
Four-in-a-row is the goal for Kilkerrin-Clonberne, who claimed a seventh successive Connacht title this year, but they face formidable opposition in Kilmacud Crokes, who won Leinster for the third year in a row.
In their Connacht Final, Westport gave Kilkerrin-Clonberne plenty to think about but the holders had enough nous and know-how to get through.
That set up a trip to Lurgan and a clash with Armagh and Ulster champions Clann Éireann but Kilkerrin-Clonberne made the trip a winning one.
Goals from Aisling Madden and Ailish Morrissey paved the way for a 2-11 to 1-9 win and the club could begin planning a third successive trip to Croke Park for All-Ireland Final day.
A day previously, Kilmacud Crokes had booked their place in the Final, scoring a comfortable 5-11 to 1-5 victory over Kerry and Munster champions Castleisland Desmonds.
This was a real statement of intent from Crokes, who had been equally impressive in their AIB Leinster Final victory over Kildare outfit, Eadestown.
Cork native Niamh Cotter led the way for Crokes against Desmonds, collecting 2-4, with Amy Conroy, Michelle Davoren and Mia Jennings also raising green flags on home soil.
Both finalists can boast pace, power and class all over the pitch and the respective starting line-ups read like a ‘who’s who’ of inter-county stars.
Crokes can call upon Galway pair Dearbhla Gower, an All-Star nominated goalkeeper, and Galway captain Ailbhe Davoren, who claimed a maiden TG4 All-Star award recently.
Cotter and Donegal’s Niamh Carr are others who have worn their respective county shirts while the Crokes team is also littered with past and present Dublin stars, including the likes of 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 TG4 All-Star – continue to exert a huge influence, as do the Noone sisters, Hannah, Lynsey and Eva.
There are potential match-winners on both sides and this Final could be one of the games of the year. It could even turn out to be the very best.
Kilkerrin-Clonberne: L Murphy; C Costello, S Gormally, N Divilly; K Mee, N Ward, H Noone; S Divilly, A Madden; O Divilly, L Ward (capt.), L Noone; E Noone, A Morrissey, C Miskell.
Kilmacud Crokes: D Gower; N Carr, E Sweeney (capt.), P Greene; A Kane, M Lamb, K Murray; G Kós, L Magee; N Cotter, A Davoren, M Jennings; A Conroy, M Davoren, É Rutledge.
Sunday December 15:
CLUBS from Munster and Ulster will battle it out at Parnell Park in Sunday’s AIB All-Ireland Junior Club Championship Final.
Flying the flag for Limerick and Munster are Mungret St Pauls, who will take on Donegal and Ulster representatives, Na Dúnaibh.
Mungret St Pauls are just the third Limerick team to reach an All-Ireland Club Final, and they’re following in the footsteps of Murroe-Boher (2014) and Gerald Griffins (2000), who were both successful on Junior Final day.
Na Dúnaibh, meanwhile, will become the very first Donegal club to line out in an All-Ireland Junior club Final when they grace the Donnycarney venue.
Termon (winners in 2014) and St Eunan’s (runners-up in 1996) have contested Senior deciders and Na Dúnaibh will now become the third club from the county to appear in an All-Ireland Final.
This has already been a superb year for Mungret St Pauls, who won the Limerick Intermediate title with victory over Knockainey, before going on to lift the Munster Junior silverware following a gripping victory over Cork opponents Midleton.
After lifting the Donegal Junior crown, Na Dúnaibh, from the coastal village of Downings, went on to defeat Down opponents Warrenpoint in the Ulster Final.
In their respective All-Ireland semi-finals, both of Sunday’s finalists secured gritty victories.
On their travels, with the semi-final held in Tubbercurry against Sligo’s Coolera/Strandhill, Mungret St Pauls claimed a dramatic shoot-out victory on free kicks, after the sides couldn’t be separated after extra-time.
Meanwhile, Na Dúnaibh made home advantage count against Kildare opponents Kilcock, with captain Sinéad McBride’s goal proving pivotal in a three-point win.
Sunday’s opponents are well used to digging deep to grind out results and this Final could be no different.
From goalkeeper Charlie Shevlin, right through to corner forward Lauren McBride, who scored four points in the semi-final, Na Dúnaibh are a team with genuine class.
The same applies to Mungret St Pauls, who have Monaghan native Grainne McKenna in the mood to punish any defensive indiscretions with her prowess from placed balls, as evidence by a six-point semi-final haul.
All-Ireland Final day is one where wonderful individual displays feed into the overall team dynamic.
Take, for instance, the performance of Éabha O’Donovan here at Parnell Park in last year’s Junior Final, when the O’Donovan Rossa star collected 2-5 in a Player of the Match performance, to help steer her team to glory.
So, who will emerge as the matchwinners? All will be revealed over the course of 60 minutes and you couldn’t rule out a replay either.
If there’s a winner, and it’s Mungret St Pauls, an All-Ireland club title will be heading to Limerick for the first time in a decade.
Should Na Dúnaibh prevail, it’s a similar story, and they’ll become the first club from Donegal to savour an All-Ireland club title since Termon’s famous Senior win ten years ago.
The scene is set for what promises to be a rip-roaring encounter and when you consider that last year’s Junior winners, the aforementioned O’Donovan Rossa, contested an Intermediate semi-final recently, this might be just the start of a wonderful journey for the 2024 AIB All-Ireland Junior club finalists.
Mungret St Pauls: C Bateman; C O’Neill, L Dunne, C Moloney; J Buckley, S Burke, M Clancy; Á Ryan (capt.), C O’Meara; E O’Rourke, F Morrissey, A Morrissey; J Casey, G McKenna, N Crowley.
Na Dúnaibh: C Shevlin; J Roberts, C Hay, M Doherty; N Gallagher, E Trearty, M Wilkin; J Trearty, C McLaughlin; A
McLaughlin, M.T. Boyce, S McBride (capt.); D Doherty, S McGroddy, L McBride.
