Roscommon ladies in elite company
Aimee O'Connor, Niamh Fleming, Lauren Shanagher and the Roscommon intermediate ladies' football team will face tough opposition in Division 2 next year. Picture: Gerard O'Loughlin
When the Roscommon intermediate ladies footballers begin their Division Two League campaign next season, they will do so with a guest list shining as brightly as the Christmas lights on Grafton Street.
The elite company they will dine with include last year’s beaten All-Ireland senior finalists, Galway; beaten senior semi-finalists Cork; Donegal, who lost the Ulster final to Division One League champions Armagh, and Tipperary who played senior championship football in 2024.
The remaining sides include Clare, who beat Roscommon in this year’s Division Three League final, Monaghan and Westmeath who are always hard to beat thanks to the bucketloads of experience they have at this level.
With Galway and Cork being relegated from Division One, it ensures that Division Two will be as sharp as a meat cleaver in 2025.
Two years ago, Roscommon were relegated without collecting a single point, despite being competitive in all their Division Two games. But in fairness to Oliver Lennon’s side, they bounced back this year, gaining promotion to the second tier of league football.
A change in management has seen the experienced Finbar Egan take over the reins. He will face a baptism of fire with seven cracking games on the menu.
Before a ball has been kicked in anger, a timely bounce has favoured Roscommon. They will have four home games, which is a massive advantage. The opening two matches at home to Monaghan and Clare provide an opportunity to get early points on the board. In such a quality field, four points might not save a team from relegation. Consequently, a good start will be crucial to keep the wolves from the door.
Roscommon’s remaining home games will be against Donegal and Tipperary so if something can be gained from their early double on home soil, staying up might be possible rather than being classified as “mission impossible”.
Two of their three away games are against neighbours Galway and Westmeath. The Triebeswomen are first on the list. It might be better to get the Maroon and White early in the league rather than later when they will be operating at full throttle.
Cork away will be a massive challenge, so it looks like Roscommon’s best chance of avoiding the drop will be trying to secure enough points from their four home games.
Those seven Division Two games will have Roscommon well prepared for the All-Ireland intermediate football championship. With Leitrim winning this year’s All-Ireland championship, there will be no Connacht intermediate final in 2025 as Sligo operate in the junior championship.
With Leitrim joining Galway and Mayo in the Connacht senior championship, Roscommon should explore the possibility of being allowed to play in the provincial senior championship, which would give the Primrose and Blue ladies three competitive games against quality opposition.
After a competitive club championship at all grades, Finbar Egan will now run the rule over lots of players to see have they got what it takes to play intercounty football.
He’ll need plenty of strength-in-depth with the crackers coming down the line after Christmas.
Arva GAA Club in Cavan is top of the leaderboard for the club championships’ story of the year — it is on the longest unbeaten run of any club side in the country, having gone 23 games without defeat.
This time last year they were a junior club. But, on Sunday week last, they beat Magheracloone in the Ulster Club Intermediate Football Championship semi-final.
Winning Streak has been off our television screens for years but Arva are producing their own version of the game show by scooping the jackpot 23 times on the bounce.
Their incredible journey has seen them lift the Cavan Junior Championship in 2023. They followed that up with an Ulster JFC title before putting the cherry on top of the cake by winning the All-Ireland JFC in Croke Park last January, beating a fancied Kenmare side from Kerry in the decider.
During the summer they set sail from the Cavan harbour and, low and behold, have navigated their way to more glory by clinching their first county intermediate football championship title since 2016.
Entering the choppy waters of Ulster club football, their voyage has seen them beat Down champions Drumgath in the quarter-final before taking the scalp of Magheracloone to reach another Ulster club final.
Against the Monaghan champions, they were seven points down, 0-11 to-0-4, with as many minutes left. However, sensationally, they scored 2-3, which included an injury-time winning goal, to set up a showdown against Ballinderry from Derry in the provincial final on Saturday.
If they win that game, they get my vote as Club Team of the Year.
What a wonderful day for St. Dominic’s GAA Club and Roscommon GAA with the unveiling of the Jimmy Murray statue in Knockcroghery last Sunday.
The fabulous sculpture by Mark Feeley was unveiled by GAA President Jarlath Burns as one of Roscommon’s most iconic GAA figures was honoured in his home village.
No doubt, the sculpture will bring lots of visitors to the area over the coming months.
