O’Donoghue goals key for Dominican

BY DAIRE WALSH

2014 Senior ‘B’ champions Dominican College withstood a strong second-half fightback from Dunshaughlin Community College to secure the Dublin Schools Camogie ‘A’ Shield crown on Friday last at Clanna Gael Fontenoy.

With several players having featured in last year’s second-tier triumph (when they defeated Loreto Beaufort), the Griffith Avenue outfit’s chances of success were always going to be high.

Indeed, they enjoyed a dream start to the proceedings, as Roisín O’Donoughue raised the green flag on no less than three occasions. Inter-county stars Mary Cronin and Nadine Murphy were also in top form, and thanks to the accuracy of free-taker Niamh Rock, they held a commanding 5-4 to 1-2 cushion at the midway stage.

However, Dominican were battling a stiff breeze when the actionresumed, and as a result, Dunshaughlin had a platform to force their way back into the reckoning. Their Meath counterparts added three goals to their total, but owing to some heroic defensive work from Clodagh Ellis and Hannah Brunton, Dominican College emerged victorious on a 6-6 to 4-5 winning margin.

The Shield ‘B’ showpiece proved to be another keenly-contested encounter, with little to separate either team throughout the course of the hour.

Holy Faith (Clontarf) and Holy Faith (Glasnevin) enjoyed their own periods of dominance, and ‘Tarf netminder Karen Devine had to be at her best to deny a succession of Glasnevin efforts.

The Glasnevin attack did possess a clinical edge at times, but courtesy of a 3-4 haul by the magnificent Michelle Hetherton, it was Clontarf who reigned supreme (4-5 to 3-3).

Loreto Balbriggan also had a memorable outing in Sean Moore Park, where they finished with 17 points to spare (4-9 to 1-1) over Rathcoole Community School in the Shield ‘C’ Final.