By Kevin Egan
A new name has been written onto the All-Ireland U-16 A Camogie roll of honour for the first time since Wexford’s win in 1995, after Limerick edged out Galway in a tense and titanic battle at Nowlan Park today, with Rachel O’Grady firing over the winning point in the second minute of stoppage time.
Elsewhere around the country, Derry were crowned U-16 A Shield champions and the B finals line-up was also confirmed. Carlow will take on Down in the Cup and Meath and Westmeath will contest the Shield decider after the four counties came through semi-final contests in Abbotstown and Rathdowney.
There was no doubting the big game of the day however, and it was 15-time champions Galway who started strongly with Nina McKeown and Katelyn Walsh raising two white flags in the first four minutes. However, Walsh’s free was their last score for 23 minutes as Limerick took control of the game with strong performers in all sectors of the field that helped them dominate possession and territory.
Caitlin Ryan slotted a free after seven minutes, followed by two points from Mia Smith and another free from Ryan. Katelyn Walsh broke Galway’s drought, but Limerick ended the half with points from Smith and Ryan to give them a deserved 0-6 to 0-3 lead at the break.
The second period began with a point from Galway’s Sinead Feeney, but Mia Smith replied to maintain Limerick’s three-point cushion. Seven minutes later, Galway’s Feeney pointed twice, and Walsh added her third score to level the sides and indicate that the Tribeswomen might be well set to push on in the closing stages. Smith and Walsh traded frees, Walsh gave Galway their first lead since the start of the game with four minutes remaining, but Limerick were undaunted, equalising through Caitlin Ryan before O’Grady’s dramatic winner.
Despite being reduced to 14 players in the first half, Derry took home the U-16 A Shield, building on the U-16 B championship from 2023 and they were full value for their 0-17 to 2-6 win.
Derry captain Ellie McCartney leads the celebrations after the All-Ireland U16 A Shield final (INPHO/Tom Maher)
Emma Quinn (Derry) and Wexford’s Emma McCann top scored with five points each from frees while Quinn added one from play. The Wexford goals came from Ciara Whelan and Kaelan Doyle, but goals were not enough on the day as Derry racked up an impressive 17 points with a very balanced attacking display. Derry were dominant for the whole contest, leading by 0-10 to 1-2 at the break. Derry put the game to bed in the third quarter outscoring Wexford by six points to two, Wexford finished strong with 1-2, but were unable to get the third goal they needed to really exert pressure on the Oak Leaf county.
Carlow will feel particularly confident going into the All-Ireland B championship final after they comprehensive outplayed Kildare, eventually prevailing by 2-11 to 0-5 at the NGDC in Abbotstown. The Carlow side raced into an 0-4 to 0-0 lead and then replied to Kildare’s first point of the game with a run of 2-3 unanswered, ensuring they held a double figure lead at half-time.
After the teams traded scores in the opening minutes, Carlow added another two scores to the board and the game was settled by the time Kildare completed their scoring in the 48th minute.
Laois were fancied to come through the other semi-final after racking up big wins in the group stages, but Down set the tempo from the get-go, putting 3-5 past the usually resilient Laois defence in the first half. Laois pointed 1-3 by the break meaning they had an eight-point deficit to make up.
A goal and point early in the second half halved the gap, but Down were much stronger in the closing stages and powered on to win by 4-10 to 3-6.
In the B Shield semi-finals, Westmeath were utterly dominant in their semi-final against Kerry, winning by 5-14 to 1-7, while the second semi-final between Meath and Roscommon took time to get going, with Meath taking a narrow 0-4 to 0-3 lead into half-time. A Roscommon goal levelled the game by the midway point of the second half but Meath dominated the final quarter to win by 1-12 to 1-4.
