by Kevin Egan
The pre-match script for both of Saturday’s Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Premier Junior Championship semi-finals at Kingspan Breffni was similar.
Armagh and Laois took on sides they had beaten already this year, and they each delivered impressive performances that saw them show marked improvements from those earlier meetings.
Armagh travelled to Roscommon in the group stages and came away 11 points the better team, but given the age profile of the Connacht County, the Orchard women were on guard and ready to take on a Rossie team on a sharp learning curve.
Ciara Hill picked up Player of the Match honours in their 2-17 to 1-8 win, and she said that their gruelling Spring league campaign proved to be the ideal preparation for the championship.
“At the start of the year, we knew that Division 2 was going to be hard. But it stood to us because we were ready for today. All those tough defeats in the league really helped us,” said the team captain.
“When we played Roscommon the last time, the weather conditions were bad — gale force winds and very heavy rain. This was going to be a completely different match, but we knew what we had to do — get the ball in quickly and play to our strengths.
“We played Laois in our last round robin match, they’re a very impressive side. We’ll just knuckle down over the next few weeks, focus on our own game and look forward to getting to Croke Park”.
Armagh’s Tierna Maxwell McKeever with a young Armagh supporter (Photos: INPHO/Bryan Keane)
On all known form, Roscommon were always going to be up against it, but manager Mary Grehan can look back with satisfaction on her first year at the helm of the county that she played for herself, both in camogie and ladies football.
“The fact that we had to bring back a sweeper (Oonagh Kelly) put us under a lot of pressure, but we had to do that. We knew that their inside forward line were lethal.
“This is our first year. We will learn so much from this. They say that you win or you learn. Well we are very young, two of our players are 27, and the rest are under 23 and these days will stand to them. The intensity and the level we have to play at, we’ll just have to work on that over the winter.
“We started late, in January. Other counties were ahead of us. Armagh are banging on the door, they want this All-Ireland title. Laois are in the same boat.
“The task is still the same — the heart and wanting to play for your county. But the commitment is much harder. There are a lot of pressures on younger people nowadays that we didn’t have. They have part-time jobs, they’re trying to come from colleges all around the country for training midweek. It’s hard for them to keep all sides going. The dream remains — to win an All-Ireland with these girls. That’s not going anywhere. It’s only our first year, so there’s still time to realise that goal”.
Like Armagh, Laois came agonisingly close to reaching that goal in 2024, losing out to Tipperary by 0-12 to 1-8 at the end of a heart-stopping final. This year there were no second teams from senior counties in the race, and Laois look like they’re in a great position going into the August 10 final, after putting Wicklow to the sword by 4-15 to 0-.
“We played Wicklow in the Leinster championship two months ago, and I think we won by six or seven points. Obviously the scoreboard is far more impressive from my perspective today,” said manager Pat Collier (below).
“We’re still not there yet. We have a lot of things to work on. But our goal at the start of the year was to get to an All-Ireland final. We’ve done that and I’m very happy.
“We missed three or four goals but to limit the opposition to just three points is very pleasing. We needed to work on that, so we’re thrilled. It’s the first day we’ve worked as hard as that. I felt that Armagh were a better team than us the last day. We had 15 players, they had 14, and they outscored us by 0-14 to 2-4, so we have it all to do.
“It’s huge for Laois camogie. We had a terrible three years but these girls have really put their shoulder to the wheel for the 17 months that I’ve been here. To reach two All-Ireland finals in 12 months is fantastic.”
Laois’ Aimee Collier scores a penalty
Like Roscommon, Wicklow are just at a different stage in their development, but manager Rob O’Neill feels that a notable upward move is on the horizon.
“The average age of the Wicklow team is around 19 or 20. Our half-back line, who were outstanding, were made up of 17-year-olds. The quantity and quality of players that are coming through the ranks from underage in Wicklow is phenomenal. It won’t be too long before Wicklow are challenging for national titles.
“Take nothing away from Laois who are a serious outfit and are probably expecting nothing less than an All-Ireland title, but my focus is on Wicklow. We’re in a rebuilding cycle. We talk about individuals winning games and teams winning championships. That’s what we’re looking at — we’re looking to put together a championship-winning team.”
