Clann na nGael and St. Brigid’s make winning starts

The 2024 finalists in the Dermot Hughes Cars Roscommon LGFA Senior Championship both got their bid to return to this year’s showpiece event off to a strong start on Sunday last.

St. Brigid’s picked up a nine-point win over St. Dominic’s while Clann na nGael scored two second-half goals to eke out a 2-12 to 3-6 win over Éire Óg.

O’Rourke Park in Castlerea was the venue for the meeting of Éire Óg and Clann na nGael, and the underdogs got out to a dream start when Rebecca Madden found the net in the third minute through a looping shot for a point from 25 metres out that dropped short and evaded Clann goalkeeper, Éadaoín Lennon.

The county champions continued to enjoy plenty of possession but their accuracy deserted them, with a wides count of 11-1 on the morning. When they did find the target, Éire Óg goalkeeper Lily Vickers was in superb form, making a string of saves in a heroic display.

The sense that an upset might be on the cards grew when Éire Óg intercepted a kickout and Rebecca Finan showed incredible vision to float a lobbed shot over the goalkeeper and into the net, making it 2-3 to 0-2.

Two Róise Lennon frees and a Hope Glynn point saw the gap reduced to four points by half time but five minutes into the second half that had doubled on the back of Alannah McGreal forcing Claire Flanagan’s long ball over the Clann goal-line alongside a Nikita Regan point.

Finan was the game’s top scorer with 1-3, all in the first half, but Íde Crehan dropping back from midfield to pick up the former intercounty attacker proved to be a crucial turning point as Éire Óg scored just a solitary point from a Flanagan free in the last 25 minutes.

Despite continuing to miss chances, Clann were on course for victory when Shauna Bannon and Ciara Quinn goaled in the space of 60 seconds midway through the second half. Some fine scores from Caoimhe Lennon, who finished with three points from play, saw the Johnstown-based club home.

St. Brigid’s didn’t leave themselves in a hole to the same degree against St. Dominic’s at Kiltoom and they looked like they might win at their ease when they responded to a couple of early points from their visitors with a dominant first-half showing, culminating in Marion Nolan’s goal to make it 1-10 to 0-5 at the interval.

Dominic’s had been reduced to 14 players due to a Michaela Lohan black card shortly before the break but once Lohan came back on the field, Michael O’Connor’s charges hit a rich vein of form. Aoife Gavin was the fulcrum of the attack, scoring 0-8 from centre-forward, while teenager Kaithlyn Egan was also a threat, scoring 1-2 as they got back to within three points.

Áine O’Brien and Sarah O’Rourke responded with goals for the home side, however, as St. Brigid’s prevailed on a 3-15 to 1-12 scoreline.

St. Ciaran’s marked their debut in the senior ladies’ football championship by snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against Boyle at Mulhern Park, Fuerty, on Sunday morning.

Boyle, who were crowned Division One League champions earlier this season, looked to be cruising to victory when they established a 2-13 to 2-6 lead with nine minutes remaining.

An effort from Sinead Glennon soon afterwards that cannoned back off the crossbar proved to be a turning point, and the home side made the most of their reprieve when Anna Murray and Hanora Brennan goaled inside a minute.

Natasha Regan managed to edge Boyle back in front but Ciaran’s continued to believe, and a point from Hollie Gavin was sandwiched between two points from Player of the Match Ciara Dowd — who contributed 1-9 to her team’s tally — to give their side a famous 4-11 to 2-15 triumph.

Aisling Feely was superb for Boyle, hitting 1-7, and was denied what could have been a winning goal at the death by a match-saving block from Rachel Fitzmaurice.

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPIONSHIP

There was no debate about what was the eye-catching game of the weekend in the Coachman’s Inn/Harry’s Restaurant Intermediate championship, with 2024 intermediate finalists and Division One League finalists St. Barry’s making the long trip south to take on newly-promoted Pádraig Pearses in Woodmount.

In what was their first game at intermediate level in a decade, Pearses took advantage of a couple of key absentees on the St. Barry’s side to record a 4-9 to 1-9 win, already putting themselves in the driving seat in their bid for knockout football.

Playing with the aid of a strong breeze in the first half, the home side took a 2-6 to 0-2 interval lead — their defensive record owing a lot to outstanding work by Ciara Lohan, Emma McGreal, Katie Malone and Gráinne Lohan.

Debutant Lara Glennon hit 1-2 in the first half with Esmae Halpin adding the second goal and a third Pearses goal after half time.

St. Barry’s rallied with five points in succession, including impressive points from Georgia Gerrity (0-4) and Edel Beirne (0-3), despite Áine Ryan working hard to win some primary possession on what were shorter kickouts into the wind. However, a fourth Pearses goal meant that a late green flag from Shannon McGuinness was too little too late.

Sarah McVeigh, Cara Cox, Holly Rogers and Millie Hagan were among a lengthy list of absentees from the St. Barry’s side, and manager Gerard Evans will hope to welcome at least some of them back for what should be a tricky trip to Ballinlough next Sunday.

Michael Glaveys will be high on confidence for that game after racking up a 6-18 to 2-7 win from their short trip across to Frenchpark. Niamh Fleming (1-5) and Sheila Brady (3-7) were unstoppable up front for Glaveys against a Western Gaels side that is still waiting on a first competitive win in 2025.

Shauna Fleming and Collette Keane were others who impressed for the winners, both featuring prominently in the middle third. For Western Gaels, sisters Eva and Liah Lavin scored 1-4 between them and Claire Sampey scored two points in a game where a minute’s silence was held in memory of her cousin Michael Creighton before the game.

The other game in the intermediate grade saw Aoife Collins come off the bench to kick the clinching score in the second minute of stoppage time at Enfield. Her goal left it 3-9 to 1-9 to St. Croan’s at the final whistle, with Kilbride also trying to arrest a long run of defeats stretching back to last season.

Aisling Hanly carried the fight to St. Croan’s with 1-8 out of Kilbride’s tally — their only other score coming from a Casey Keane free. Fifteen-year-old Sadhbh Shally was selected at midfield suggesting that Ollie Lennon has another teenage starlet to work with in the club, but even alongside Aisling Shanagher, they struggled to break even against a solid St. Croan’s pairing of Sinéad Kenny and Natasha O’Rourke.

This game took a while to catch fire and it was just 0-3 apiece with five minutes to go before half time. Leah Malone found the net shortly before the interval, however, and from the throw-in at the start of the second half, Amy Malone won the ball and played provider to Leah, who fired in her second goal.

St. Croan's moved seven clear before Aisling Hanly's goal helped reduce the gap, setting up a grandstand finish at 2-8 to 1-9. Collins’ put her hand up for a starting position next weekend with her late goal, while Ella Thompson and Anna Gooney scored 0-3 and 0-2 respectively for the winners.

JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

The Leydon Brothers JFC is invariably one of the hardest competitions to call in Roscommon but a clear front-runner for silverware has emerged in week one after Northern Harps kicked off their summer with a decisive 3-18 to 1-6 home victory over Four Roads.

The Harps set the tone early and didn’t give Four Roads the chance to get moving. Leah Casey opened the scoring with a well-taken point, which was swiftly followed by a goal from Ciara Cunningham.

Cunningham struck again, twice, to secure a hat-trick before half time and consistently accurate point-taking from both Shauna McGrath and Leah Casey further widened the gap.

Also in Group One, late points from county senior and minor players Niamh Feeney and Kate Murray clinched a 1-15 to 0-13 win for St. Mary’s against St. Faithleach’s in a tight battle.

Grace Cribbin and Fiona and Grace Jones went well as Tulsk moved seven points clear early in the second half, but Ellen Irwin (0-3) and Sarah Scally (0-7) starred for St. Faithleach’s as they cut the gap to two, only to see the Tulsk club find that little bit more in a tight finish.

It was even tighter in Kilglass where the meeting of Kilglass/Kilmore and Castlerea finished level, 2-5 apiece.

A minute’s silence was observed for the late Don Connellan prior to the game and perhaps unsurprisingly as a result, it was the home side who were charged up and ready to go, opening up with points from Natalie and Michaela McHugh.

The sides traded goals before Natalie McHugh found the net, helping to build a 2-5 to 1-2 half-time lead, but they failed to raise a flag in the second half and had to defend valiantly to hold off a wind-assisted Castlerea team that drew level by the 52nd minute.

In the Junior B and C championship, Roscommon Gaels overcame St. Ciarán’s B by 6-14 to 3-3, Shannon Gaels B edged out St. Dominic’s B by 5-9 to 4-11 in Croghan and neither Clann na nGael nor Pádraig Pearses’ second teams could field, so they conceded walkovers to Strokestown and St. Michael’s/St. Ronan’s respectively.

*Please see www.roscommonlgfa.ie/fixtures-2025 for all updated fixtures and results. Roscommon LGFA would like to thank Dermot Hughes Cars, Coachman’s Inn/Harry’s Restaurant, and Leydon Brothers for their generous sponsorship of the adult club championships in the county.