REMARKABLE ROSSAS RULE
Rising star Eabha O’Donovan kicks 2-5 to fire Skibb sensations to All-Ireland football glory
ALL-IRELAND JUNIOR CLUB FINAL
O’DONOVAN ROSSA 2-7
CLAREMORRIS 0-11
By Daire Walsh
O’DONOVAN Rossa manager James O’Donovan believes his side’s indomitable spirit shone through in their magnificent victory over Claremorris in a tense All-Ireland Junior Ladies Club Football Championship decider at Parnell Park on Sunday.
Despite being in a commanding position during the early stages of the contest, the Skibbereen outfit fell behind for the first time on 53 minutes and were being placed under enormous pressure by their Mayo counterparts. Yet O’Donovan Rossa have built up considerable resilience throughout 2023 and a second goal from James’ daughter Éabha got them back in the ascendancy with the final whistle fast approaching.
O’Donovan was the go-to forward within the West Cork team’s ranks and she finished the game with an impressive haul of 2-5. However, her father acknowledged that Éabha’s efficiency in front of the posts was just one element of a wider team effort on the day.
“It’s lovely to see her playing well and getting a few scores at the end. I know it’s probably cliched, but it is a team. I’m only with them since the start of the year, but I’ve such a connection with them. They’re such a wonderful bunch of girls. I couldn’t put one of them above the other. She’s my daughter, but equally all the rest of them are fantastic,” an ecstatic O’Donovan remarked after the game.
“They [Claremorris] hunted in numbers. I’m talking about Claremorris more than ourselves, but I thought they were exceptionally good on the day and they put us under so much pressure. To be fair to our girls as well, they kept at it and they kept it, and they kept trying.
“They fought their way and they found a way to win. It has been our theme all year. Just finding a way to win when their backs are to the wall and the chips are down. They seem to be able to come out and come through. They did that today, so brilliant.”
Coming into the contest on the back of convincing knockout wins at the expense of Glasgow Gaels and Wexford’s Gusserane, O’Donovan Rossa were feeling very confident of leaving a lasting impression at the north Dublin venue. Even though they were facing into a stiff breeze for the opening 30 minutes, Éabha O’Donovan and Triona Murphy – who linked to good effect with Cork footballer Laura O’Mahony at midfield – helped their side to lay down a marker with early points.
Bree Hession and Laura Kelly may have matched their efforts at the opposite end, but a sustained scoring blitz subsequently put O’Donovan Rossa into a strong position. Kate O’Connell and Éabha O’Donovan found the range with fine points, in advance of the latter unleashing an unstoppable 11th minute shot to the roof of the net.
This moved O’Donovan Rossa into a five-point advantage, but with the elements beginning to work in their favour, Claremorris came roaring back into contention. In the space of just seven minutes, Ashleagh Salmon, Hession, Rebecca Kean and Kelly all split the posts to suddenly leave the bare minimum between the teams.
Claremorris were also pressing up on Christine Fitzgerald’s restarts to make it more difficult for O’Donovan Rossa to break into the opposition half. However, thanks to a calmly-converted Éabha O’Donovan free, the West Cork side ultimately brought a 1-5 to 0-6 cushion into the break.
There was now a sense that every score might prove to be pivotal in this game and with that in mind, it is perhaps unsurprising that it took almost ten minutes for the maiden score of the second period to arrive. A successful Éabha O’Donovan free followed a lengthy spell where neither team were willing to cough up easy opportunities, but Claremorris once again showed their mettle either side of the third-quarter mark.
Even though they wasted a couple of frees within shooting range, the Connacht representatives were back on level terms as a result of three points on the bounce from Kean (free), Nina Wallace and Kelly. They appeared to hold the psychological edge when centre half-back Siomha McNulty broke forward for a fine point from play, but O’Donovan Rossa – who lost goalkeeper Fitzgerald to injury on 49 minutes – had other ideas.
After being slipped through by inside partner Kate O’Donovan, the ever-reliable Éabha O’Donovan ruthlessly dispatched a left-footed strike to the Claremorris net in the 54th-minute. With Salmon and Éabha O’Donovan going on to trade late points, this moment effectively determined the final outcome of the game.
Given the O’Donovan Rossa men’s side celebrated the 30th anniversary of their own All-Ireland senior club championship success in recent months, it was quite fitting that their female compatriots managed to get over the line in this fixture. From James O’Donovan’s perspective, the way that group got behind his squad reflects what had been happening throughout the entire community of Skibbereen on their march to county, provincial and national glory.
“It’s huge for the whole community in Skibbereen. It has been well documented and spoken about, but the community that has been behind this team, it has been amazing down there. It’s incredible. Football is a huge game down in West Cork, it’s our game. They love their footballers and they love this team,” O’Donovan added.
“It’s so timely that it’s 30 years on and they had their celebration night there a couple of months ago. All the faces from 30 years ago were all out, encouraging us to go on and do it on the anniversary.”
Scorers
O’Donovan Rossa: Éabha O’Donovan 2-5 (0-5f), Triona Murphy, Kate O’Connell 0-1 each. Claremorris: Laura Kelly 0-3, Rebecca Kean 0-2 (2f), Bree Hession, Ashleagh Salmon 0-2 each, Siomha McNulty, Nina Wallace 0-1 each.
O’Donovan Rossa: Christine Fitzgerald; Michelle Donelan, Emer McCarthy, Allie Tobin; Fiona Leonard, Sarah Hurley, Lisa Harte; Laura O’Mahony, Triona Murphy; Jessica Beechinor, Emma Hurley, Kate O’Connell; Éabha O’Donovan, Kate O’Donovan, Fionnuala O’Driscoll.
Subs: Aoife Whooley for Donelan, Aoife O’Driscoll for O’Connell (both h-t), Tara O’Regan for Fitzgerald, O’Connell for Beechinor (both 49).
Claremorris: Claire Keane; Isobel Phillips, Ellie Maguire, Ashling Cummins; Amy Cummins, Siomha McNulty, Sile Hughes; Alana Fitzpatrick, Joanne Regan; Marina Cawley, Rebecca Kean, Bree Hession; Ashleagh Salmon, Nina Wallace, Laura Kelly. Subs: Deirbhile Horkan for Regan (h-t), Kayleigh O’Brien for Wallace (57), Sienna Kelly for L Kelly (60).
Referee: Ray McBride (Dublin).