Sunday will be the eleventh time that Cork and Galway have clashed in the headline match of the senior camogie season. While the Leesiders hold the upperhand in terms of wins, some of Galway's most notable victories have come against the women in red.nHere are two examples — the 1996 final which was Galway's first title. And the 2021 final, the first post-lockdown final played in sunshine in Croke Park.
1996 Gilligan's goals give Galway All Ireland win
Galway 4-08
Cork 1-15
THE Galway team sang all the way to Croke Park for yesterday's All Ireland camogie final, sponsored by Bord Na Gaeilge, so, having finally lifted the ultimate prize after their long drought, it is almost impossible to imagine how they celebrated on their way home.
This was a tension filled game on a beautiful afternoon which attracted an attendance of 10,235. There was more than a fair share of skill, with two goals in as many minutes just after the break, turning the match firmly in the westerners' favour. Martina Harkin and Denise Gilligan got those vital scores.
Eighteen year old Gilligan had also beaten Cork goalkeeper Kathleen Costine just before the break to give her side the confidence to face the second half. All the strikes were worthy of the occasion.
But Cork, as ever, displayed their never say die attitude and had the opportunity to save the day. However, wides in the final 10 minutes by the normally reliable Fiona O'Driscoll and Lynn Dunlea proved costly.
Indeed Cork were left to rue the lack of the advantage rule in camogie as on several occasions frees were awarded when the Leesiders were bearing down on goal. Referee Aine Derham of Dublin had no option but to stop play. Sadly for Cork they failed to take full advantage and finally went down by two points.
But there was no denying Galway their victory. "I knew that if we were below six points behind them at the break that we would win the All Ireland," the delighted Galway captain Imelda Hobbins said from beneath a posse of autograph hunters from her home club of Mullagh. "Those goals just after the break were an almighty boost for us."
Hero of the hour, Gilligan was surprisingly low key about the whole affair but remarked: "I can't believe it. I thought the final whistle would never go. When Cork were ahead we knew we had it all to play for. But in the second half we got in front of the backs and that was the difference. We were also playing the ball in low to the forwards."
Galway started off as if they meant business, with midfielder Sharon Glynn pointing from a free within a minute. For some reason the score was not recorded, but coach Tony Ward had clarified with referee Derham that the point stood. However, the players were unaware that the score was actually closer than displayed.
Shortly after scoring, Glynn took a blow to the head which affected her for long periods, particularly in the opening half, with her accuracy deserting her. Her long pucks from midfield frequently went wide, and Galway had five wides in the opening 30 minutes.
Cork, on the other hand, were taking their frees with deadly accuracy. They edged ahead 0-5 to 0-4 by the 20th minute, with all their scores coming from frees as Dunlea and O'Driscoll displayed their accuracy. They must have thought that the game was theirs for the taking when Dunlea displayed remarkable persistence in shaking off the attentions of Olive Costello to put her side ahead 1-7 to 0-4.
Indeed it looked desperate for Galway as Cork stretched away to lead by seven points, 1-9 to 0-5, and Costine twice denied Veronica Curtin with the half time whistle beckoning. But Cork had reckoned without Gilligan.
A long ball from Glynn found Gilligan and while Costine did save the first effort, the left forward was not to be denied and Galway went in three points in arrears, 1-9 to 1-6.
An early score in the second half was vital if Galway were to become the sixth county to put their name on to the O'Duffy Cup and Gilligan again came up trumps with Glynn again the provider. Two minutes later Gilligan was also involved in the move that saw the winners edge in front when she found Harkin. Costine again saved but Harkin retained her composure to find the net. Galway now led by 3-6 to 1-9.
They set about consolidating their position, and Glynn pointed from a 30. A further goal from Dympna Maher, who was another to display remarkable coolness under pressure, made the Cork task that much more difficult, although they still had 18 minutes to retrieve their title.
O'Driscoll and Dunlea did reduce the margin to four points, 4-8 to 1-13. Glynn added the extra Galway point with 12 minutes on the clock. Cork then went in search of those vital scores and forced the necessary frees but the unerring accuracy which was a feature of their early display was sadly lacking as they amassed wides.
Dunlea did give the winners moments of anxiety right at the end when she pointed twice one from a placed ball to leave the victory margin only two points.
Afterwards Cork captain Therese O'Callaghan, who played with heavy strapping due to an Achilles tendon injury which saw her substituted after 55 minutes, said: "We did not take the breaks and they controlled the game in the second half, with those early goals after the break vital."
Cork centre back Sandie Fitzgibbon, who held the Cork defence together in the opening period was magnanimous in her praise of the victors. "Fair play to them, they took their goals well. We had opportunities and did not take them," she said.
2021 McGrath major makes it day to remember for Galway
Galway 1-15
Cork 1-12
On the day that the first Galway team to ever win the O’Duffy Cup was honoured, the Tribeswomen returned to the top of the tree for the fourth time, when just outstaying the same opposition that fell victim to the county’s trailblazers in 1996.
It was Siobhán McGrath who scored the crucial goal when Sarsfields ended Slaughtneil’s dominance as All-Ireland club champions in 2020 and the flying forward came up with the defining major once again.
It came as Galway rescued what looked a perilous situation when Katrina Mackey sent a thunderbolt to the roof of their net in the 49th minute.
That made it 1-11 to 0-11 but from that juncture forward, Galway outscored the Munster crew by 1-4 to 0-1 and when one considers that they began the game with four points inside a few minutes, it was those bursts that proved definitive.
Cathal Murray’s side had already reduced the margin to one when McGrath finished delicately beyond the advancing Amy Lee in the 56th minute, after the excellent Ailish O’Reilly had broken the line and provided the consummate pass.
Orla Cronin, who was magnificent after being cleared to play in the early hours of the morning by the DRA, made it a one-point game but as Cork poured forward, Galway forced some huge turnovers and capitalised on the space, McGrath’s sister Orlaith hitting two big points to ensure it was Galway’s day.
The availability or otherwise of Cronin dominated the build-up and the Enniskeane playmaker lined out with 26 on her back, skipper and the match winner against Kilkenny, Linda Collins making way.
For their part, Galway brought in Carrie Dolan to make her first appearance since suffering a serious knee injury in the opening round against Westmeath, with Niamh Hanniffy dropping to the bench and Aoife Donohue reprising the midfield partnership with Niamh Kilkenny that propelled Cathal Murray’s side to their previous All-Ireland in 2019.
It was a game befitting an All-Ireland final with phenomenal quality in terms of physicality, skill and stamina and while it could have gone either way with a different bounce of a ball or the difference of a blocked pass here or there, it was difficult to argue against the eventual result given how Galway had led for most of the affair.
It was a frantic start but Galway had the better of it. Dolan drove over two frees and Siobhán McGrath hit the first of her two opening-period points. O’Reilly cut in from the left to fire over from 40m soon after and it was a dream opening.
Gradually, Cork chiselled their way back into it, with great thanks to their midfield pairing of Ashling Thompson and Hannah Looney, the latter in particularly taking the battle to the opposition and close to the best player in red throughout the nigh-on 70 minutes.
Thompson ran onto a break from a Lee puckout to get the Rebels off the mark without breaking stride. McGrath replied before Sarah Healy was forced into an tremendous save from Mackey, after Cronin had drawn the cover.
Cronin hit a brilliant score soon after, the first of three consecutive points for Cork, the other two quite superb efforts from Looney.
Galway’s defenders had to make a number of interceptions with the Leesiders creating overlaps, one from Dervla Higgins – herself released to play after being sent off in error in the semi-final – from Amy O’Connor almost assuredly preventing a goal.
O’Connor was looking lively and she clipped a nice point, while Cronin was very evident in general play too, a testament to the strength of her mentality after her week.
Her shooting from placed balls was not so good though and she shot four first-half wides form frees. One was a straightforward attempt to equalise and it was punished as Kilkenny hit the target at the other end.
Scores from Cronin (free ) and Mackey, after Cronin had somehow stolen possession, brought Cork level for the first time but an inspirational score by Donohue on the run from wide on the right gave Galway the edge at the break, 0-9 to 0-8.
The third quarter was a real arm wrestle with very little scoring. It wasn’t from the lack of opportunities – there were plenty – but both sets of defences shone, Libby Coppinger and Shauna Healy just two that came up with some massive plays. And when it was necessary to take a yellow card, they did that too.
Kilkenny extended Galway’s advantage when somehow escaping a phalanx of Cork defenders but Paudie Murray’s charges remained threatening without translating half-chances to scores, most notably when O’Connor blocked Sarah Healy but shot wide from a narrow angle.
Cronin punished a foul on O’Connor and repeated that trick after Dolan had slotted from a free to leave a point between them at the water break, 0-11 to 0-10, though it had taken a miraculous block from Looney to deny Dolan a goal just before that.
Cronin arced over a beauty from the right, after excellent work by the tireless Saoirse McCarthy and the teams were level.
Collins had been introduced five minutes after the restart and was again a reliable outlet with her assured handling. The captain came up with a massive play to set up Mackey’s goal, winning a ball she had no right to, carrying and then delivering the perfectly weighted handpass.
Mackey still had a bit to do coming in from the right but the Douglas forward unleashed a howitzer that gave Sarah Healy absolutely no chance.
Croke Park shook but crucially, Galway did not. Dolan converted a free with her last act of the game before being withdrawn, having made a vital contribution after so long on the treatment table, and O’Reilly took over the placed ball duties, just finding the inside side of the post soon after.
And it was the Oranmore-Maree attacker who provided the vital assist for the match-deciding score, giving McGrath that split-second she needed to transfer sliotar to hurley to angle a shot to the net.
Cork had contributed splendidly to a wonderful occasion, and surely one of the highest-standard finals in the history of camogie.
But it was Galway who took the spoils.
