Kilkerrin-Clonberne seal back-to-back All-Ireland titles on historic day at Croke Park

The Galway heavyweights saw off Donaghmoyne to reign supreme once more.

Kilkerrin-Clonberne (Galway) 0-13

Donaghmoyne (Monaghan) 0-7

KILKERRIN-CLONBERNE MADE IT back-to-back All-Ireland senior club titles on an historic day in Croke Park.

The Galway heavyweights, who lifted their first national crown in January, produced an emphatic performance against Donaghmoyne to reign supreme once more; no doubting their dominance from start to finish on the first occasion the ladies football club finals were played at HQ.

The electric Olivia Divilly turned in another Player of the Match showing, finishing up with 0-5, while Chloe Miskell (0-4) and captain Louise Ward (0-2) also excelled for the 10 in-a-row county and five in-a-row Connacht champions.

In bitterly cold conditions, Willie Ward’s side controlled proceedings throughout, even expertly overcoming a second-half sin-bin to come out on top in a rematch of the 2021 All-Ireland semi-final.

It was a disappointing day for Donaghmoyne, the wait for a sixth All-Ireland title — and first since 2016 — ongoing for the 20-in-a-row Monaghan champions. To their credit, Francie Coleman’s battled-hardened group bowed out with their boots on.

Both teams, with no shortage of All-Ireland final experience and inter-county talent to their disposal, were unchanged from their respective semi-final victories.

Kilkerrin-Clonberne enjoyed the dream start, 0-4 to 0-0 ahead before the clock hit five minutes.

Frees from Eva Noone and Olivia Divilly, and efforts from play courtesy of Chloe Miskell and Louise Ward, had them firmly in the driving seat. The last of the sequence, from Ward, came after a trademark strong run through the middle which she blazed just over.

The reigning champions looked right at home on the big stage, playing the ball around any which way, while Donaghmoyne really struggled from their own kick-out.

Amy Garland finally got them up and running in the 11th minute. Scrambles near the goalmouth followed at both ends, but to no avail, before Ward struck her second of the game to capitalise on Kilkerrin’s dominance.

Cora Courtney was a real bright spark for Donaghmoyne, the industrious midfielder winning several interceptions and kicking two crucial quick-fire points to keep the Monaghan crew in touch.

But Kilkerrin weathered the storm and put four uncharacteristic first-half wides behind them to finish strong with three on the bounce before the break. Lynsey Noone, who recovered from an earlier injury scare, popped one over, before Divilly well and truly found her groove with two excellent efforts to make it 0-8 to 0-3 at the interval.

Kilkerrin picked up where they left off on the restart, Donaghmoyne struggling to live with their strong running game. Divilly nailed a straightforward free, Sarah Gormally continued to marshal the defence and Miskell added another into Hill 16 to put seven points between the sides.

cora-courtney-and-nicola-ward Nicola Ward of Kilkerrin-Cloberne facing Donaghmoyne’s Cora Courtney. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

On the 40-minute mark, Donaghmoyne were handed a lifeline when Hannah Noone saw yellow for a crunching challenge on Rosemary Courtney. They immediately made their numerical advantage count, with sharpshooter Cathriona McConnell grabbing her first of the day.

But again, Kilkerrin weathered a storm — Garland hit the crossbar in one of several missed opportunities — professional in possession, for the most part, with Miskell adding a brace of points during the 10-minute sin-bin period.

Both sides introduced fresh legs down the home straight of a hard-hitting second half, with Divilly (free) and Rosemary Courtney exchanging scores to make it 0-13 to 0-5 with five minutes to go.

Cora and Rosemary Courtney clipped late points, but they would be little but consolation scores. Kilkerrin saw it out, running down the clock, with Ward climbing the steps of the Hogan Stand to lift the Dolores Tyrrell Memorial Cup once more.

Scorers for Donaghmoyne: Cora Courtney 0-3, Rosemary Courtney 0-2, Cathriona McConnell 0-1 and Amy Garland 0-1 each.

Scorers for Kilkerrin-Clonberne: Olivia Divilly 0-5 (3f), Chloe Miskell 0-4, Louise Ward 0-2, Eva Noone (1f) and Lynsey Noone 0-1 each.

Donaghmoyne

1. Linda Martin

2. Joanne Geoghegan, 3. Niamh Callan (captain), Amy Callan

5. Fiona Courtney, 6. Sharon Courtney, 7. Eimear Traynor

8. Cora Courtney, 9. Eileen McElroy

10. Amy Garland, 11. Rosemary Courtney, 12. Sandra McConnell

13. Cathriona McConnell, 14. Lauren Garland, 15. Aoife Burns.

Subs

17. Gina Comiskey for Aoife Burns (53)

23. Áine McElroy for Sandra McConnell (53)

26. Joanne Courtney for Joanne Geoghan (59)

19. Sarah Burns for Amy Garland (59)

18. Danielle Collier for Amy Callan (59)