Clare Credit Unions Senior Championship - McMahon Cup and Glenomra Shield Finals - Match Reports

Photo Credit: Aidan Ryan Photography

Match Report Credit: Eoin Brennan - The Clare Champion

Late twist completes historic Truagh breakthrough

Senior Camogie Championship Final

Truagh-Clonlara 2-11 Scariff-Ogonnelloe 1-13

“Oh-to, Oh-to-be, Oh-to-be-from-Clonlara’ rang out in Cusack Park on Saturday, arguably the most apt summation of an unprecedented week for the South East Clare village that now is in the possession of both senior hurling and camogie championship honours following a truly remarkable six day period.

It had to take a last gasp Aine O’Loughlin goaled 20 metre free to finally usurp Scariff-Ogonnelloe’s throne but while the late manner of victory was certainly dramatic, the merits of Truagh-Clonlara’s maiden senior triumph definitely couldn’t be questioned.

After all, having not only paid their dues in what was their third successive final, they were arguably the better team for the majority of the hour on Saturday.

Full of determination, insatiable hunger and a never-say-die attitude, Truagh superbly rolled with the punches and would be rewarded for their perseverance with an emphatic finish.

All this without key players Eimear Kelly, Michelle Powell, Becky Foley and Liza Moloney which perhaps inadvertently permitted Truagh-Clonlara to operate largely under the radar and even ambush the back-to-back champions on the final day itself.

The key to Truagh’s triumph stemmed from the attacking triumvirate of Laura Foley, Roisin Begley and two goal hero Aine O’Loughlin, with joint-captain Foley pulling the strings from midfield, Begley revelling in the extended space to torment Scariff-Ogonnelloe’s last line while O’Loughlin floated elusively predominantly around the half-forward line to provide the bulk of the supplyline to Begley.

It was a gameplan that completely stumped the holders who were slow to provide cover for the isolated Susan Daly while the champions also took time to find the right marker for the towering O’Loughlin.

Scariff-Ogonnelloe were therefore fortunate that Truagh-Clonlara weren’t a little more ruthless in front of the posts early on as if they had, it could have been a complete reversal of fortunes as last year’s decider between the pair was effectively over by half-time.

Mairead Scanlan and Laura Foley both raided for four first quarter points but Begley was unlucky twice in the first five minutes not to grab a goal, as first she was held back en route while her second effort just cleared the crossbar as the sides were level on four occasions.

A three point burst from Truagh through Foley, Niamh Ryan and O’Loughlin should have been bolstered by a goal in the 14th minute when the latter expertly caught a Laura Foley free. However, but the county senior’s one-handed shot was too tame to trouble goalkeeper Rachael Daly at 0-7 to 0-4.

That miss initially appeared costly when only seven minutes later, Aoife Power kickstarted a prevuosily subdued Scariff-Ogonnelloe’s challenge with a similar opportunist strike. Mairead Scanlan had been smothered by a miserly Truagh defence prior to that major when bearing down on goal but in the 21st minute Jennifer Daly cut in from the right, only to see her shot canon off the crossbar for the waiting Power to finish with aplomb at 1-5 to 0-7.

Having played the majority of the hurling, amazingly Truagh-Clonlara found themselves trailing nearing the break as Labhaoise O’Donnell and Mairead Scanlan extended the gap to three by the 26th minute.

However, in a portent of what was to come, the defiant O’Loughlin redressed the balance down the other end four minutes into additional time when fielding a Foley pass to swivel and cooly finish to the far left corner of the net to level matters for the fifth time at 1-7 apiece.

With time to regroup, a previously out-of-sorts Scariff-Ogonnelloe were less like a tribute act of their invariably devastating selves on the restart as Scanlan (2) and Lynda Daly restored a three point cushion by the 37th minute.

Niamh Ryan was unlucky not to grab a goal for the challengers but they did keep on the champions’ coat-tails with points from Aine O’Loughlin and Hannah Horgan at 1-10 to 1-9 by the turn of the final quarter.

There would be goalmouth action at both ends as first Lynda Daly intercepted and struck at goal, only for teenage goalkeeper Sophie Cullen to repel her effort while only minutes later the electric Roisin Begley skimmed the crossbar with her shot that helped Truagh regain full parity once more thanks to Laura Foley at 1-11 to 1-11 in the 49th minute.

The holders demonstrated their experience as best player Aoife Power and top-scorer Mairead Scanlan both grabbed points to nudge Scariff-Ogonnelloe two in front by the 55th minute. However, as they honed in on a historic three-in-a-row, Scariff-Ogonnelloe never fully closed the door of opportunity which left themselves open to a late twist that could only have come from the mercurial O’Loughlin.

With only a minute of injury-time remaining, Begley was brought down for a 20 metre free that the majority of team-mates and mentors expected O’Loughlin to point and hope to win the puck-out for an equaliser.

However, perhaps imbued by her older brother Micheál’s similar goalscoring heroics six days earlier in the hurling version, O’Loughlin unleashed a bullet past Scariff-Ogonnelloe’s crowded line to snatch the lead and the McMahon Cup at the perfect time.

While there was still one more passage of play, Truagh-Clonlara defiantly held out to win a first ever Clare Senior Camogie crown and ensure that the McMahon and Canon Hamilton trophies are sitting pretty in the same parish for the first time in 34 years.

Truagh-Clonlara: Sophie Cullen; Roisin Powell, Sinead Ryan, Sinead Hogg; Louise Egan, Michelle Caulfield (Joint-Captain), Ellen Horgan; Laura Foley (Joint-Captain), Niamh Powell; Hannah Horgan, Joanne Egan, Eimear Begley; Niamh Ryan, Roisin Begley, Aine O’Loughlin

Subs: Aoibhin Marren for H. Horgan (46), Leah Hawes for N. Ryan (57), Aoife Dillon for S. Ryan (59, inj)

Scorers: Aine O’Loughlin (2-2, 1-1f); Laura Foley (0-5, 2f); Roisin Begley (0-2); Niamh Ryan, Hannah Horgan (0-1 each)

Scariff-Ogonnelloe: Rachael Daly; Bonnie Wiley Murphy, Susan Daly, Robyn McKenna; Rachel Minogue, Susan Vaughan, Amy Barrett; Ciara Doyle (Captain), Abby Walsh; Jennifer Daly, Lynda Daly, Dannielle Beston; Mairead Scanlan, Labhaoise O’Donnell, Aoife Power

Subs: Alva Rodgers for Boston (40), Lorraine Grady for Wiley Murphy (54)

Scorers: Mairead Scanlan (0-8, 4f, 1’45); Aoife Power (1-3); Labhaoise O’Donnell, Lynda Daly (0-1 each)

Referee: Fergal O’Brien (Broadford)

Player of the Game: Laura Foley (Truagh-Clonlara)

Had they ultimately won or lost in those frantic final minutes, there was still no doubt about the best player on the field as while Roisin Begley proved a persistent thorn in the champions’ side, Aoife Power raided for 1-3 while Aine O’Loughlin was the goalscoring heroine in both halves, it was midfielder Foley who dominated possession and the scoreboard with a brilliant composure throughout. Her vision was best epitomised by the fact that she directly set up four glorious goal chances over the hour.

GLENOMRA SHIELD SENIOR B CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

Match Report Credit: Derek Dormer - The Clare Champion

O'DONOGHUE MASTERCLASS DELIVERS SENIOR B TITLE 


CLARECASTLE BALLYEA 1-13

KILMALEY 1-12



Desire is a vital component of any Championship winning team and one could visibly see how much this victory meant to Jason McCarthy's charges at the full time whistle. Exhibiting a ravenous hunger to succeed throughout and with a sublime player of the match performance from Emma O'Donoghue Clarecastle Ballyea deservingly claimed the Glenomra shield. Despite being the better side for the majority of the contest there was late drama and Clarecastle Ballyea had to survive a scare with Kilmaley throwing the veritable kitchen sink at their opponents. Trailing by two points deep into additional time, substitute Eilís Cahill who had a huge impact upon her introduction, unleashed a bullet from twenty five yards out that grazed the crossbar and just went over. There is always fine margins between victory and defeat and had this been just one inch lower it would have been Kieran Murphy's girls who were celebrating at the final whistle. As it is though Clarecastle Ballyea will be delighted with this title in their first year back at Senior level following last year's Intermediate title.
There were some outstanding performances on the day from players on both sides but Clarecastle Ballyea's wing forward Emma O'Donoghue stood tallest. Scorer of four points, all from play, she also won a penalty and provided the assist for the all important goal when overturning a short puck out and teeing up full forward Doireann Murphy who duly made no mistake from close range.
Last year's Intermediate Champions started like an express train raiding for three points in as many minutes with a Doireann Murphy free either side of a Hannah Mai Neylon opener and an O'Donoghue beauty. Kilmaley responded with a couple of Claire McMahon points which included a monster free from the halfway line. By the end of the opening quarter the teams were deadlocked at four points apiece. The pattern continued as they continually traded blows, score for score for the remainder of the half. Clarecastle Ballyea did have the best goal chance though when O'Donoghue blazed a trail past several defenders before being bundled to the floor with referee Eoghan O'Leary having no choice but to point to the spot. Up stepped Clare Senior keeper and the 2022 Munster player of the year Doireann Murphy but her effort went high and over the bar. At the interval the teams headed to the dressing rooms level for the fourth time at seven points apiece. 
Similarly to the start of the opening half the Jason McCarthy coached outfit hit the ground running when play resumed and outscored their opponents 1-4 to 0-2 in the third quarter with young player Evie Scanlon now very prominent. Kilmaley who it has to be said were without the services of Niamh O'Dea needed inspiration from somewhere and it duly arrived in the form of substitute Eilis Cahill. The Munster rugby player reduced the arrears to just two points when cleverly flicking the sliotar to the net not long after her introduction. In a grandstand finish that had all supporters on edge Evie Scanlon coolly slotted over a free for the eventual winners before an absolute monster Claire McMahon point from play and a Caoimhe Carmody beauty had the lead down to one with only ninety seconds to play. A draw was now a distinct possibility but Scanlon again showed tremendous composure to fire over a crucial 59th minute free before we had the late late drama of Cahill's rocket that could have claimed the title. 
Best for the winners were Emma O'Donoghue, Evie Scanlon, Doireann Murphy and Emma O'Connell while Sinead O'keeffe, Caoimhe Carmody and Claire McMahon tried valiantly for Kilmaley.


Clarecastle Ballyea: Suzy O'Shea, Lily McMahon, Emma O'Connell, Zoe Ellingstad, Chloe Devitt, Carol Browne, Fiona Breen, Aoife Murphy, Louise Griffin, Emma O'Donoghue, Evie Scanlon, Lauren Tuohy, Emma O'Loughlin, Doireann Murphy, Hannah Mai Neylon 

Subs: Róisín Halpin for L Tuohy (46)



Scorers: Doireann Murphy 1-4 (1pen, 2f), Emma O'Donoghue 0-4, Evie Scanlon 0-4 (3f), Hannah Mai Neylon 0-1


Kilmaley: Alannagh Meaney, Aida Griffey, Sarah Reidy, Leona Grace, Emily Cahill, Sinead O'Keeffe, Sarah Ní Ceallaigh, Caoimhe Carmody, Jodie Cahill, Shonagh Enright, Claire McMahon, Grace Carmody, Chloe Neylon, Caoimhe Cahill, Nora O'Rourke
Subs: Eilis Cahill for N O'Rourke (37), Megan White for J Cahill (47), Martina Keane for S Enright (47), Emma Pyne for A Griffey (53)



Scorers: Eilis Cahill 1-1, Chloe Neylon 0-3 (3f), Claire McMahon 0-3 (1f), Caoimhe Carmody 0-3, Caoimhe Cahill, Jodie Cahill 0-1each 


Referee: Eoghan O'Leary (Whitegate)

Clarecastle Ballyea joint captains - Doireann Murphy and Carol Browne with Joe O'Donnell

Action shot Truagh-Clonlara v Scariff-Ogonnelloe Photo credit: Aidan Ryan