Athenry (Galway) 1-12 St Finbarr’s (Cork) 0-15
Go and make sense of that then. When Eimear Hurley, who is back on home turf after playing in goals for Dublin this summer, came off the bench and pointed a beauty in the 55th minute, St Finbarr’s were six points clear, 0-15 to 0-9, and on their way to a maiden AIB All-Ireland senior camogie title. A six-point lead in the context of the scoring flow of this game seemed definitive, particularly given the difficulties caused by the swirling wind. But that was to reckon without the type of gumption Athenry have shown all year. They did dethrone the defending champions, Sarsfields, remember, in their county final.
Of course, the Barrs have shown it too, in snatching the Munster title from De La Salle’s grasp and then qualifying for the decider with a point in the dying embers of a second period of extra time against Loughgiel Shamrocks. Which just adds value to what Athenry did. To rule them out of the equation was to reckon, most of all, without the ridiculous Therese Donohue, known to all and sundry as Maher. The mum-of-three is 44 now, a dozen years removed from her inter-county retirement finally as a belated All-Ireland winner.
There are a few generations of camogie followers now that only know of her brilliance from stories. They will be aware, maybe, that she is the aunt of this year’s All-Ireland-winning captain Carrie Dolan. But if you want a little hint as to why Dolan has always been such a leader for Galway from a very young age – she pointed from a late free to deny Cork in this year’s All-Ireland remember – the evidence was writ all over Croke Park again at the end of 2025.
Into the fourth minute of injury time, Donohue – 44 I repeat - soloed clear of three Barrs’ defenders into the heart of enemy territory, Athenry needing a point to rescue what had seemed an impossible situation. It looked like she might have been fouled, but Ray Kelly waved play on. The Barrs got it away, but Athenry recovered it. A couple of more passes and with the clock gone into the fifth minute of injury time, the sliotar was in Kayla Madden’s hands about 35m out. The half-forward struck unerringly, for her second score of the game, but she will hardly hit a more important one. Donohue finished with three points, having signalled her intent with the opening score in the second minute.
Perhaps most tellingly, she also had the shot that struck the Barrs' crossbar, a minute after Hurley’s point, from which Anna Jordan pounced on the rebound to goal and changed the direction of this game completely and utterly.
Athenry had had a lot of the play in the second half, but now, the Blues were completely on the back foot. Sabina Rabbitte lofted over from a 55m free on the Hogan Stand side and after Ciara Hurley saved from Jessica Gill, converted the resultant 45. Then came the stunning denouement, a last puckout and the final whistle. Much of the attention at the start was on the match-ups, and the battle between Athenry skipper and senior camogie’s player of the year nominee Dervla Higgins, with Barrs playmaker, the Cork star Orlaith Cahalane, was worth the admission fee alone. There was the sight too of Olwen Rabbitte lining out in midfield for Athenry, despite having a cruciate ligament operation due, luckily after the scheduled replay date of January 3 or 4. She lasted the entire game, holding the fort with some astute positioning and deliveries.
But for the most part, it just looked like the Barrs’ greater economy would seal the deal. They led by 0-8 to 0-6 at the break, and the TV stats told us that they had a greater efficiency from their 11 chances, with Athenry creating 13. What’s more, the Galwegians had four wides in that period, compared to their opponents’ one. Nicole Olden benefited from much of Athenry’s attention being elsewhere, providing three points from play in that first half. Keeva McCarthy, Ciara Golden and Cahalane were also on the mark from play. Donohue and Kerri O’Driscoll had a brace each, while Madden had also slotted her first and in truth at that stage, it was hard to call.
The second half began with five points in as many minutes, the Togher crew coming out on top by three-to two to stretch their advantage marginally. Athenry were playing well and but after Donohue slotted her third to maintain the three-point gap, they shot two wides and dropped another short. The Barrs made their move then with three consecutive scores, Munster final hero Kate Wall grabbing her first, Sorcha McCartan utilising the wind to land a mammoth effort from a free just outside her own 65, and Eimear Hurley slotting what felt like the decider. So much for that. In the end, no one lost and no one won. More of the same please.
SCORERS FOR ATHENRY: S Rabbitte 0-4(2fs, 1 45), A Jordan 1-0, T Donohue 0-3, K O’Driscoll, K Madden 0-2 each, E McGlynn 0-1
SCORERS FOR ST FINBARR’S: S McCartan 0-6(5fs, 1 45); N Olden 0-3; O Cahalane 0-2; C Golden, K McCarthy, K Wall, E Hurley 0-1 each
ATHENRY: L Freeney, T Kilkenny, K Screene, N Feeney, L Casserly, D Higgins, S Feeney, K Madden, O Rabbitte, E Keane, T Donohue, K O’Driscoll, J Gill, C Burke, S Rabbitte. Subs: E McGlynn for N Feeney (ht), A Jordan for Burke (44), M Noone for Keane (52)
ST FINBARR’S: C Hurley; S Punch, A Egan, G Cahalane; A O’Neill, M Cahalane, S Daly; C Golden, A Shannon; N Olden, K Wall, K McCarthy; H O’Leary, O Cahalane, S McCartan. Subs: L O’Donovan for Daly (38 mins); E Hurley for O’Leary (45); E Wiggington Barrett for Olden (60).
REFEREE: Ray Kelly (Kildare)
Report by Daragh Ó Conchúir at Croke Park
