Late heartbreak for St Mary’s in Munster final

CAMOGIE: Munster Post Primary Schools Senior ‘B’ Championship Final

Coláiste Mhuire, Ennis 1-8

St Mary’s SS Nenagh 1-6

Report: Eoin Brennan at Caherlohan

MATCH DIGEST

Player of the Match: Mary Hanrahan (Coláiste Mhuire Ennis)

SCORERS - Coláiste Mhuire Ennis: Mary Hanrahan 1-3; Emma Quinn, Emily Costelloe, Muireann Daffy, Ellen Casey, Emma Considine (free) 0-1 each.

St Mary’s SS Nenagh: Emma Gavin 1-0; Kate Ryan, Niamh Cunneen (1 free, 1’45), Ellen Cunneen (2 frees) 0-2 each.

St Mary’s Secondary School Nenagh’s brave bid for back-to-back Munster Senior ‘B’ Camogie titles fell agonisingly short on Thursday when pipped at the post by Coláiste Mhuire of Ennis in the Clare GAA Centre of Excellence in Caherlohan.

In an utterly compelling see-saw battle for supremacy that saw the lead change hands on six occasions and never more than a puck of the ball between the sides at any stage, St Mary’s appeared to be on track to retain their provincial crown when a brace of Ellen Cunneen frees edged her side 1-6 to 1-5 in front by the turn of the final quarter.

They failed to maintain that impetus on the resumption though and in truth, appeared a little war-weary coming down the final straight as instead an incrementally dominant home side fired three unanswered points to finally cement the honours.

A late injury to impressive defensive anchor Áine Tuohy certainly hampered Nenagh’s comeback hopes which were inevitably led by the Cunneen twins, Niamh and Ellen, who were seemingly everywhere in a tireless collective midfield display.

However, Coláiste Mhuire just had the edge on balance, particularly up front as five different scorers from play totalled 1-7 in contrast to 1-2 for Emma Gavin (1-0) and Kate Ryan (0-2). Ennis full-forward Mary Hanrahan proved a constant thorn in St Mary’s side as she not only grabbed the goal that catapulted Coláiste Mhuire into the lead for the very first time just after the first water break but also added three second half points including the final two clinching scores that just nudged her side over the line.

It was all so different early on when Nenagh used all their experience to set the pace over a patently nervy home side. A brace of Kate Ryan points almost sandwiched a goal for Aisling Kennedy, only for Coláiste Mhuire goalkeeper Grace McMahon to repel the effort.

Even when the Ennis school finally opened their account in the tenth minute through Emma Quinn, Niamh Cunneen quickly wiped it out by means of a ’45 to cement a 0-3 to 0-1 first quarter cushion.

The first twist to the narrative arrived immediately on the restart when Hanrahan expertly collected an Ellen Casey delivery to bear down on goal before unleashing a rocket to the bottom right corner of the net.

Buoyed by that strike, Coláiste Mhuire swiftly moved through the gears but were met by a firm resistance from a miserly Nenagh rear-guard that only conceded a subsequent Emily Costelloe point by half-time that was matched by a Niamh Cunneen free at 1-2 to 0-4.

With time to regroup, the roles were reversed for the new half as St Mary’s re-emerged with renewed determination and duly snatched back the whip hand by the 34th minute with a much-needed goal. It stemmed from goalmouth scramble that broke perfectly for Emma Gavin to squeeze a powerful shot to the net from the left edge of the square at 1-4 to 1-3.

With the intensity maximised, the large support that encircled the field were treated to a brilliant end-to-end battle over the next ten minutes as first the home side regained the ascendency thanks to points from Ellen Casey and Mary Hanrahan, only for Ellen Cunneen to coolly convert two placed balls in the space of a minute to give St Mary’s a minimum lead by the final water break.

Unfortunately, that was as good as it got for the holders who never replicated those heights again as Coláiste Mhuire gathered momentum at the perfect time to garner first ever Munster Senior ‘B’ title.

TEAMS - Coláiste Mhuire Ennis: Grace McMahon; Sinead Hastings, Hannah Doyle, Lauren Cahill; Cliodhna Queally, Tierna Hegarty (Capt), Karlene McGerr; Ellen Casey, Aisling Moloney; Emma Considine, Emily Costelloe, Muireann Daffy; Emma Quinn, Mary Hanrahan, Emma O’Loughlin.

Subs: Orna Moynihan for McGerr (41 inj), Kate Forde for O’Loughlin (43 inj)

St Mary’s Secondary School, Nenagh: Áine Spain (Kilruane MacDonaghs); Iris Grace (Burgess-Duharra), Aoibheann Slattery (Silvermines), Anna Mulcahy (Kilruane MacDonaghs); Laura Kennedy (Burgess-Duharra), Áine Tuohy (Silvermines), Bronagh Kenneally (Moneygall); Ellen Cunneen (Silvermines, J-Capt), Niamh Cunneen (Silvermines, J-Capt); Ciara Kenneally (Toomevara), Caitriona Finn (Portroe), Emma Gavin (Kiladangan); Michelle Barry (Nenagh Éire Óg), Kate Ryan (Kilruane MacDonaghs), Aisling Kennedy (Burgess-Duharra).

Subs: Lucy Hogan (Portroe) for Barry (43), Cailín Creamer (Portroe) for Tuohy (55 inj)

Referee: Joe Mulcahy (Limerick).