FIVE Things You Need To Know About The AIB Camogie All-Ireland Club Finals!

By Sunday evening, the season’s last sliotar will have been chased into a corner of Croke Park. 

Here is what to keep in mind as the AIB Camogie All-Ireland Club Championship reaches its thrilling conclusion.

Athenry’s return and the Barrs’ rise set up a heavyweight senior final

On one side stand Athenry, back on the biggest camogie stage for the first time since 2009 and hunting a first All-Ireland since 1977. Their route here tore up the script: a 2-8 to 1-8 win over reigning champions Sarsfields in Galway, the sort of result that makes everyone sit a little straighter in the stand. That was followed by a semi-final where they kept Kilkenny’s Dicksboro at arm’s length, 1-9 to 0-10, built on the unflustered dead-ball work of Sabina Rabbitte and the cutting edge of Jessica Gill.

Facing them are St Finbarr’s of Cork, a club that spent eighteen years trying to reclaim its own county before bursting through the door and refusing to leave. Three Cork senior titles, back-to-back, now sit beside a first Munster crown. Their semi-final against Loughgiel Shamrocks will still be spoken years to come: double extra-time, six goals shared, decided at 3-15 to 3-14 by a Ciara Golden point in the ninety-fourth minute.

The Barrs’ panel is stacked with inter-county talent. Orlaith and Méabh Cahalane, Sorcha McCartan, Kate Wall and others have carried the intensity of All-Ireland summer into winter. Behind them are the engine-room players like midfielder Aisling Shannon, the  figure every dressing room quietly knows it cannot do without.

Athenry broke a dynasty to reach this stage. The Barrs survived chaos. 

Croke Park at 4.15pm on Sunday is where those paths collide.

Ballincollig and Camross bring fresh colours to an intermediate first

Before the senior showpiece, the intermediate final sends two clubs into completely new territory. Ballincollig are playing at Croke Park for the first time in their history and that alone will change the rhythm of a parish weekend. Their semi-final win over Eglish, 1-12 to 1-6, showed a team with balance all over the pitch. Ailish Scanlon clipped over four points, Leah Hannigan hit 1-0, and their attack carried a calm, patient look that rarely appears by accident.

Opposite them are Camross of Laois, also tasting an All-Ireland final for the first time. Their 2-11 to 0-12 victory over Killimor ended a Galway challenge and announced Camross as something more than a plucky newcomer. Gráinne Delaney’s five points from play, plus goals from Erin Walsh and Leah Daly, told of a side happy to commit bodies forward when the moment arrives.

This year, we will see a first-time winner which will give the intermediate final an edge that fits the day: two teams without old battle scars from this stage, both trying to sketch their name into the roll of honour for the first time.

Junior A brings Brídíní Óga and St Dominic’s to the brink

St Dominic’s arrived here after dismantling St Peter’s Dunboyne by 2-15 to 1-3, a semi-final where the second half turned into a statement. Áine O’Meara finished with 2-4, the highest single-game tally in the Junior series so far. Her movement and finishing have given Dominic’s a focal point that demands attention from the first throw-in.

Brídíní Óga of Antrim reached the same stage by cutting through Munster champions Patrickswell, 3-9 to 2-3. Any team that can put three goals on a side with that pedigree carries danger in every line. Their journey is another marker of how strong Antrim camogie has become, from senior level all the way down.

Junior A finals often swing on one burst, one purple patch where a back line tightens up or a forward catches fire. With scores like these in the recent past, nobody will feel safe with a lead.

St Kevin’s and Éire Óg chase a Junior B crown built on long roads and late nights

The Junior B championship has taken St Kevin’s of Philipstown and Éire Óg of Carrickmore on a long loop through counties, byways and WhatsApp groups filled with travel plans.

St Kevin’s arrive with county and Leinster medals already in their pockets and the chance of an All-Ireland treble in front of them. The red and black bunting around the village, the talk of supporter buses, the sense that Christmas has gained a new date, all feed into a team that sees its community as a sixteenth player. Captains Róisín Maguire and Gemma Murray talk about “unfinished business” from last year and about a panel where every player from one to thirty-one feels vital. Their Leinster campaign included a pivotal win over Glenealy, a game that nearly slipped away before sheer stubbornness dragged it back. A 2-17 to 0-9 provincial final against Setanta showed what happens when that stubbornness is paired with freedom and accuracy.

Waiting on the other side are Éire Óg, Carrickmore. They booked their place with a 0-10 to 0-3 semi-final win over Fr Murphys, a scoreline that underlines a defence which rarely gives anything away. Tyrone teams carry a particular brand of resilience into national competitions, and this Éire Óg group fits that template: hard-working, compact, and ruthless on the turnover.

AIB’s continued commitment to club camogie and Gaelic Games

AIB, now in its 13th year sponsoring the AIB Camogie Club Championships and its second year supporting the AIB All-Ireland Ladies Club Football Championships, proudly continues its pioneering support for Gaelic Games. This commitment sees the four codes – Gaelic Football, Hurling, Camogie and Ladies Football – united under one sponsorship banner, amplifying the dedication and skill of these athletes. This season also marks AIB’s 35th year supporting the AIB GAA All-Ireland Club Championships.

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