Match-ups the key to determining senior ladies' football champions

On the County Roscommon club scene, regardless of the gender of those involved, there’s nothing unique about a big game between Clann na nGael and St. Brigid’s.

These two age-old rivals met last Sunday in senior men’s semi-final, they played out yet another intense battle in the U-16 boys’ decider, and now this Saturday we will see county champions Clann look to make it two county final wins in a row over their nearest and dearest when they take on St. Brigid’s in the 2025 LGFA senior final.

What is unique about this weekend’s contest in Ballyleague is that it’s hard to imagine any Brigid’s versus Clann battle where the local rivalry aspect was less relevant.

For both of these groups, the winning and losing of the game is likely to be determined by a combination of how a number of key figures at different stages of their careers perform, allied to their respective abilities to understand and manage their own unique mental roadblocks.

When it comes to personnel and the big match-ups that are likely to be particularly critical, three in particular catch the eye.

This time last year, Orla McManus produced as powerful a display as she ever has for either club or county in driving Clann to a stunning second-half comeback, but those watching on through a St. Brigid’s prism would have argued that her complete control of the centre only highlighted the glaring absence of Kate Nolan from St. Brigid’s midfield.

This year, Nolan is back and, as Boyle can attest after the semi-final, she is once again dominating the middle and bending games to her will.

McManus’ influence for Clann has been more subtle, more akin to a supervisor who steps back to allow young recruits to develop while remaining available to step in, as she has done, when needed.

It’s hard to imagine that McManus won’t have a much bigger role to play on Saturday — or to use a Ryder Cup analogy, this is a heavyweight contest akin to McIlroy taking on Scheffler or DeChambeau, but where the blue side would be by far the happier of the two if it ends up with half a point each.

Another big story this year in Kiltoom has been the continued development of Alison Nugent, who has been far more influential than any minor should be at this high level. Clearly one of the brightest teenage prospects in the county, Nugent’s vision, instinct and touch open up attacking opportunities that players ten years older couldn’t even imagine, so expect Clann to put some thought into marshalling her threat.

Ava Gavin might be a like-for-like matchup, particularly if Clann decide that Áine Connaughton’s extra few inches of height is needed in the full-back line to counteract Marian Nolan, but whether it’s Connaughton or Gavin or even a returning Ruth Finlass deployed to take on Nugent, that’s another case of Clann looking to “hammer the hammer”, with Connaughton and Gavin both in superb form right now.

At the opposite end of the pitch, the teenage duo of Hope Glynn and Róisín O’Brien stole the show in the semi-final but the heartbeat of the Clann attack is still Róise Lennon, who brings the ideal mix of skill and spike to proceedings. If things are going well, any member of the Johnstown forward division can thrive. If things are going badly, however, they’ll look to Lennon to be the beacon that leads them out of the darkness.

Here too however, St. Brigid’s have a hero of their own emerging out of injury-enforced purgatory. Ria Lennon saw her first action of the championship last time out and while the county player looked fresh and sharp on her return, she didn’t have to dominate the game as we’ve seen that she can. With that 60 minutes behind her, she’ll have a big role to play, most likely up against Clann’s key player from Garrynagowna.

Yet when we step back and take the helicopter view, this is a final that could well be decided, not by how each team counteracts the other, but how they deal with their own roadblocks.

For last year’s losing finalists, that roadblock is painfully obvious. Like the Cork hurlers, until they get their hands on the silver that counts, the shadow of their collapse in the final will loom large.

Perhaps that fateful day will lead to a level of self-doubt and that Clann will seize upon and devour, or perhaps the need for redemption will inspire this younger St. Brigid’s generation to prove that they are so much more than they showed that afternoon, when Claire Grehan and Áine O’Brien tried to keep the torch alight but so many others faded into the background.

Clann have their concerns too. It has been a long year and they’ve improved as they’ve gone alone. Yet they come into the final with very little certainty about their team selection.

Disagreements over their semi-final fixture ensured they were fired up going into that clash with St. Dominic’s, but an attacking style that is based around clever but intricate interplay is a lot more susceptible to inclement weather than St. Brigid’s approach of direct running at opposition defenders.

St. Brigid’s taking on Clann na nGael is invariably a story unto itself, but if ever there was a game where that’s not likely to define which club becomes the first to lift the new Marie McAleer (née Holland) Cup, then this looks like that game.

Verdict: Clann na nGael