January. It’s the month named after Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, endings, transitions and time, who is depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions to symbolise how he was purported to watch over both the past and future.
In the drawn AIB All-Ireland senior club final between Athenry and St Finbarr’s, it was Therese Donohue who salvaged the Galway club’s chances by leading the comeback charge, and here again, the 44-year-old mother of three was to the fore, arguably doing more than anyone else to turn the game around after the Barrs scored eight points in a row.
January is when winter meets spring however, and it was one of the blossoming young stars of this Athenry side who will go into the history books as the scorer of the crucial lead point in stoppage time.
Clodagh Burke struggled to put her best foot forward in Croke Park in December, but she picked off two fine first-half points here and with those scores under her belt, she was confident and ready when Lisa Casserly’s long delivery landed at her feet some 50 metres out from the Barrs’ goal.
“When you get the first one over the bar, you just feel confident all day. You know that you can do it, you have the ability, so you just have to be ready to take your chance when it comes,” said the AIB player of the match, who will still compete at minor level for Galway in 2026.
“I was just listening to everyone around me telling me to shoot. Then when I heard Therese shouting to take the point I knew it was the right option, so I had a go and put it over the bar. It was an incredible feeling and I still can’t believe it’s happened for us.
“You do it for what you love. To win an All-Ireland with the club, it’s the best feeling ever. You’re playing with girls that are way older than you, they were your inspiration when you were younger. It feels like a dream.”
Burke and Donohue weren’t the only teenager and veteran who starred. Sinéad Feeney will also play minor in 2026 and she had a tremendous game as part of a dominant half-back line, while Jessica Gill (36 ) shot the final point from a free out on the Árdán Ó Ríain side of the ground, some 60 metres out, her strength undimmed by an hour of relentless endeavour and graft on a day when those qualities were essential.
In between those however, there were the team leaders, at the peak of their powers. Or they would be at the peak of their powers, if they weren’t carrying serious injuries. Sabina Rabbitte played the full hour and never shirked a ball with a fractured foot, while her sister Olwen was totemic at centre back, having postponed a cruciate ligament operation.
Conflicting emotions no doubt for their father and manager Joe, albeit he was a man who in his day, hurled with the very same mindset and style, a similar force of nature on the field.
“It has been tough for us now too because we have gone through this campaign with injuries,” he said afterwards, all while being mobbed by delirious Athenry supporters that were suddenly oblivious to the biting cold.
“Eimear Keane broke her finger the last day. Our goalie, Laura Freeney, had a concussion after the draw, Sabina had a fractured foot, it’s still there. And sure Olwen, I don’t know what’s going on with Olwen! The cruciate is gone. She was supposed to have her operation in two days’ time, but we had to cancel it.
“It’s been so tough since the county final really, dealing with Olwen and knowing what she wanted. I went online and I came on a cruciate strapping up in Letterkenny. I got him to send it down and she went training after the All-Ireland semi-final and said, ‘Dad, I’m not too bad!’
“We had a game and she played well in it. We had a meeting, it was four against four for playing her. So it kind of came down to me I suppose to play her.”
Athenry may have had two points to spare on the scoreboard, but when it came to honest endeavour and commitment, St Finbarr’s matched their opponents. After falling into an early 0-7 to 0-3 hole when the Athenry defence was dominant, they took control.
Sorcha McCartan fired over frees from all angles of Tom Semple’s field, Ciara Golden shored things up in the middle while Gráinne and Méabh Cahalane began to control their fiefdom around the 45 too.
But Burke and company had other ideas as they inspired a monumental victory for the Galway club.
