VICKY CARR 

WESTMEATH

By Daire Walsh

Vicky Carr is thrilled to find herself on familiar terrain this afternoon as her Westmeath side take on Laois in a tantalising Leinster LGFA Intermediate Championship final.

As part of a double header with a provincial junior showpiece between Louth and Carlow, the Lake County will take on their O’Moore rivals at TEG Cusack Park in Mullingar today. Not only is this ground the headquarters of Westmeath GAA, it is also a stone’s throw from Carr’s home club of St Loman’s.

Because the Westmeath ladies often play their home games at alternative venues in the county, Carr is relishing the prospect of taking on Laois at Cusack Park.

“When we found out that the match was going to be on in Cusack, I think there was a great excitement and a great buzz. Even more so when we heard it was going to be a home game for us. I think it will be a great occasion and it will be a great day for Ladies Gaelic football, I think,” Carr acknowledged.

“We haven’t really played much in Cusack this year. We’ve been more out in Ballynacargy, but it’s always a great occasion when you do get to play in Cusack Park. We played our county final there last year and there has been more ladies games on there.”

Coming into their latest provincial championship campaign, Westmeath were in a confident mood as a result of retaining their status in Division Two of the Lidl National Football League. Despite picking up just one point in their opening five games, the Lake County avoided relegation courtesy of back-to-back four-point wins at the expense of Roscommon and Monaghan.

Carr was particularly influential in these games as she chipped in with a brace of points against Roscommon, before adding 0-3 in their duel with Monaghan.

When you consider four of the seven teams they faced are currently operating in the TG4 All-Ireland senior football championship, staying up in Division Two for another year is no mean feat for Frank Browne’s side. This offered them a sound footing coming into the Leinster intermediate championship – which began with a semi-final triumph over Wexford – and Carr hopes it will stand them in good stead when they embark on the All-Ireland series later this summer.

“We had a tough league campaign at the start. We were playing against some of the top teams like Galway and Cork. They were tough games, but it was good to get them. I think it prepared us well for the end of the league. We lost our first few games and we knew coming towards the end of the league that we had to win our last two games to stay up.

“I think having those hard games at the start of the league probably did benefit us in the long run. I think it’s great to have had those games and to have gotten those games under their belt now going to play the likes of Laois.”

When it comes to navigating her way through the adult grade of inter-county football, Carr has never had far to go for advice. An All Star winner in 1991, her father Tommy originally lined out in the colours of Tipperary – for whom his brother Declan was an All-Ireland winning hurling captain – before representing Dublin for the best part of a decade.

He went on to manage the Sky Blues, Roscommon and Cavan in the men’s game, but he was also amongst the backroom team when a Westmeath ladies side featuring his daughter won the TG4 All-Ireland intermediate football championship crown in 2021.

Also on that team was Carr’s first cousin Lucy McCartan, who is part of the current Westmeath set-up along with her younger sister Lara.

This only offers a small window into the Carr family tree, however, as Vicky’s mother Mary is the daughter of Galway football legend Sean Purcell. Additionally, Purcell was the first cousin of John Kilkenny – the father of Dublin football stalwart Ciaran Kilkenny.

“He [Tommy] is always there to give me a bit of advice in matches and in training. It’s brilliant to have him there. He was involved the year we won the intermediate All-Ireland against Wexford, so that was really special for us and it’s one we look back on fondly. He still comes to all of our games and is a great support for us,” Carr added.

“There is definitely a lot of football in the family and a lot of sporting genes. I get to play now at the moment with Lucy and Lara, and they’re both from the St Loman’s club as well. We’ve grown up playing together. I played with Lucy for a few years and it’s only in the past year or two that Lara has joined the senior panel.”

EIMEAR BARRY 

LAOIS

By Daire Walsh

It is seven years since the county last tasted provincial success and Eimear Barry has acknowledged that a victory in today’s Leinster LGFA Intermediate Championship final would serve as the perfect tonic for Laois.

Back on July 1, 2018, goals from Emma Lawlor and Meaghan Dunne proved crucial in earning the O’Moore outfit a 2-13 to 0-13 victory at the expense of Wicklow in a Leinster intermediate decider held at Netwatch Cullen Park in Carlow. While Fiona Kelly of Park-Ratheniska was between the sticks on that occasion, a number of Barry’s current colleagues were involved in that particular triumph.

Shanahoe netminder Barry was part of the panel – it was her debut season in the inter-county adult ranks – when Laois last claimed a Leinster LGFA Senior Championship crown back in 2011. The Midlanders ended up reaching an All-Ireland senior semi-final later on in the same year and Barry therefore recognises how much confidence a team can garner from securing a provincial title.

“It would be nice. 2018 was the last time it was won and there are probably still a few of those girls who were involved in 2018 on the panel now. Any final you get to, you want to win. Obviously it gives you good momentum going into the All-Ireland series, which is what it is all about,” Barry explained.

This year saw Laois returning to the intermediate grade after a two-season stint in the top-tier of the Leinster and All-Ireland championships. Barry and her team-mates gained promotion to senior football as a result of winning the TG4 All-Ireland intermediate championship final against Wexford in 2022 and in the same year Westmeath found themselves relegated to the second-tier of the female code.

It is the Lake County who will provide to the opposition to Laois in today’s Leinster intermediate showpiece here at TEG Cusack Park in Mullingar. This past spring saw Westmeath operating a level above their O’Moore counterparts in Division Two of the Lidl National Football League and having faced them as recently as last year’s NFL, Barry has some idea of what to expect from Westmeath this afternoon.

“They have been playing the top level teams in Division Two. Whereas we have been in Division Three of the league and it probably didn’t go according to plan [they finished fifth overall].

“No disrespect to anybody else in Division Three, but they have played higher level teams. You would imagine they would be up to the pitch of the game that bit more than we have had maybe.

“Obviously Westmeath have got some very serious forwards. A key thing for us in the game would obviously be not conceding goals and trying to shut out Westmeath. We’re an attacking team as well, so we’ll have to concentrate on our own game as well going forward. Trying to play as a team unit will be what we have to try and concentrate on.”

Since their campaign in Division Three of the NFL ended in a 3-9 to 0-10 away defeat at the hands of Wexford on March 30, Laois have had just one competitive outing. That was in the semi-final of the Leinster intermediate championship at Echelon Park in Aughrim a fortnight ago against Wicklow – who had advanced to the last-four courtesy of an earlier win over Offaly.

Despite going more than a month without a significant game under their belts, Laois progressed to today’s final with an impressive 3-11 to 0-5 victory. Barry – a secondary school teacher at Castlecomer Community School in Kilkenny – donned the number one jersey in this game having previously featured in three of the seven games they played in NFL Division Three.

Although there was a lull period in the second half of the contest, Barry revealed that Laois were generally satisfied with the performance and result against the Garden County.

“We were happy against Wicklow. Everything we had planned to do as a team was probably carried out. Maybe the game petered out a little bit in the second half and we maybe lost our shape a bit. In general we would be happy with the win against Wicklow and it’s nice to have a championship game under your belt,” Barry added.

EILIS HAND

LOUTH

By Daire Walsh

Geraldines defender Eilis Hand has fond memories of the last time Louth and Carlow clashed in a Leinster LGFA Junior Championship decider.

A day after Louth suffered relegation from the TG4 All-Ireland intermediate football championship courtesy of a 2-12 to 2-8 defeat at the hands of Roscommon in Kinnegad on July 8, 2023, Hand ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament in a club game against St Kevin’s. This kept her sidelined for several months and she missed the Wee County’s entire 2024 campaign in Division Three of the Lidl National Football League.

However, she made a cameo appearance in the early stages of last year’s Leinster JFC and subsequently made her first start for Louth in more than 10 months when they took on Carlow in the third-tier provincial showpiece at Laois Hire O’Moore Park on May 19, 2024. Named at centre half-back, Hand played a significant role in an eventual 2-10 to 1-5 victory for her side.

Louth are now looking to defend their provincial crown when they renew acquaintances with Carlow in today’s Leinster junior final here at TEG Cusack Park today.

“I togged out with my club in a league game and I ruptured my ACL unfortunately. That was July 9th, so I had surgery then in August and obviously the long road to recovery after that. This time last year I was prepping to come back,” Hand recalled.

“I played 10 minutes against Longford in the group stages and then my first start was the Leinster final against Carlow last year. I managed to last the whole game, which was great. A bit of a change in the last year. It’s a bit different this time around, I had plenty of game time over the course of the league. Looking forward to it.”

Alongside her colleagues Kate Flood and Aine Breen, Hand was named on the Division Three Team of the Lidl National Football League after producing a series of outstanding defensive displays. It was a highly productive spring campaign overall for Kevin Larkin’s charges as a record of five wins from seven games saw them finishing third in Division Three – just behind the promoted duo of Cavan and Wexford.

This was an ideal boost coming into the Leinster championship and Louth will also have major aspirations for the upcoming All-Ireland series. Hand was selected at left corner-back when the Wee County lost out agonisingly to Fermanagh in last August’s national junior showpiece at Croke Park and she and her team-mates are eager to go one step further in 2025.

“That loss last year was really tough to take. We had just come down from intermediate championship the year before. We had been competing at intermediate for three years or so. We had been doing quite well, holding our own, but we had a bit of bad luck.

“Things didn’t go our way the year previous, got relegated and we were hoping last year that we would bounce straight back up into the intermediate championship. Unfortunately, that just didn’t happen.

“We came up against a very strong Fermanagh team, who on reflection were probably a lot better prepped and just up for it more. They were the better team on the day. We have a lot to rectify now this year. Hopefully we can do that and hopefully win the All-Ireland. That’s our aim, that’s our goal.”

To say there is a feel-good factor around Gaelic football in Louth at the moment would be the proverbial understatement. Following a gargantuan 68-year wait, the county’s men claimed a Leinster Senior Football Championship title with a magnificent 3-14 to 1-18 win over arch rivals Meath at Croke Park last Sunday.

Their male underage sides are also highly competitive at the moment with their U20s securing a provincial crown of their own, while their minor team are set to face Offaly in a Leinster MFC showpiece in Newbridge tomorrow evening.

With the help of a loyal support base, Hand is hopeful the Louth ladies can maintain the momentum that has been established in recent times and embark on a summer to remember.

“It’s fantastic, there’s a great buzz around the county at the minute. There’s Louth flags on every second house you pass. The atmosphere and the buzz around the county is just incredible at the minute,” Hand added.

“Great buzz around the county and I just hope that we can continue that as well. It has been good, the support has been great. We just hope that the supporters can get behind the ladies as well. It’s really important because the support for the men has been fantastic. Hopefully they’ll row in behind us now throughout the All-Ireland championship as well.”

CLIODHNA NI SHE 

CARLOW

By Daire Walsh

More than any other county in the land, Clíodhna Ní Shé and the Carlow ladies footballers are able to draw on past experience whenever they take on Louth in the competitive arena.

For the second year in succession, the Barrowsiders will face the Wee County in a Leinster LGFA Junior Championship final this afternoon. Whereas their 2024 clash was held at Laois Hire O’Moore Park in Portlaoise, TEG Cusack Park in Mullingar is the venue for their latest provincial decider showdown. 

Their final meeting 12 months ago was preceded by a round robin encounter between the same two sides and was later followed by a reunion at the semi-final stage of the TG4 All-Ireland Junior Football Championship. Today’s game will also be the third clash of Carlow and Louth in 2025 – a Lidl National Football League Division 3 affair was the precursor to a recent Leinster JFC group stage duel – and Ní Shé is well aware of the challenge that awaits in Westmeath this afternoon.

“As long as I’ve been playing for Carlow, I’ve been playing Louth. I think this is the fourth time we’re playing them in a Leinster junior final. It could be more. We definitely know them quite well and it will be the third time we’ve played them this year. It might not be the last. Two teams that know each other very well. It should be a tough battle,” Ní Shé said.

“They were unlucky not to win the junior championship last year, the All-Ireland against Fermanagh. They’re a team littered with talent from their goalie all the way to the forwards. It’s definitely something we’re aware of after playing them so many times.”

Having lost out to them by 15 points (3-16 to 0-10) when they met in the league last March, Carlow were hoping to turn the tables of Louth in their Leinster round robin clash at the Gaelic Grounds in Drogheda a fortnight ago. Yet having already trailed 4-5 to 0-7 at the break, Brian O Ruairc’s side were on the brink of a heavy defeat when their opponents bagged a fifth goal less than five minutes after the resumption.

However, Carlow refused to throw in the towel and brought the gap down to the bare minimum before a Kate Flood point sealed a 5-8 to 2-15 victory for the Wee County. While there were great signs of encouragement in how they performed during the second period of this game, Ní Shé acknowledged that they can’t afford a repeat of their opening half for their latest meeting with Louth.

“We thought we could have gotten the game at the end. There was only a point in it and we got chances. We were obviously happy with our second half performance, but you can’t expect to win games with the kind of first half performance that we put in.

“The goals that we let in and the lack of scoring threat that we had. Hopefully we can learn from that game and play more like we did in the second half for the full 60 minutes.”

Despite that defeat to Louth, wins either side of it against Kilkenny and Longford have ensured Carlow’s return to the Leinster junior final for the third year in succession. Back in 2023, Ní Shé struck 2-3 when the O’Hanrahan County defeated Kilkenny to claim provincial honours at Laois Hire O’Moore Park.

The UCD student would dearly love to get over the line in Mullingar and maintain the growing accumulation of silverware within Carlow. Last year was a double success for Ní Shé as she helped Carlow to get their hands on the Lidl NFL Division Four crown before firing 2-4 in an historic AIB Intermediate Club Championship final triumph at the expense of Annaghdown in Croke Park.

This latter victory was an incredibly special moment for Ní Shé and served the highlight the work that is being done on ladies football in Carlow. 

“Those are days you don’t even dream of as a club from Carlow. It’s not something that would ever have been in our sights, to be honest. It was the stuff of dreams to win an All-Ireland alongside your friends you’ve been playing with growing up,” Ní Shé added.

“There is serious working being done in Carlow. Even the underage squads they’re thriving, which is great to see. We’re off the back of a great club success. We’re looking to build on that and build some experience.

“There’s a good group of us from the club in with Carlow this year as well. Hopefully we can keep to winning ways, but we’re well aware of the threat that Louth pose and hopefully we can get a result on Sunday.”

REPORT: Westmeath Crowned TG4 Intermediate Champions!

TG4 LEINSTER INTERMEDIATE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

Westmeath 1-12 

Laois 0-9

By Daire Walsh

Sarah Dillon registered an outstanding tally of 1-4 on Sunday afternoon as Westmeath claimed their first TG4 Leinster Intermediate Football Championship title since 2011 with a commanding triumph over Laois in the familiar surroundings of TEG Cusack Park in Mullingar. 

After Vicky Carr – whose home club St Loman’s is a short trek from Cusack Park – broke the deadlock with an opening minute point, Dillon and Caoimhe Kilmurray also found the target in fine style. Milltown’s Dillon subsequently pounced on a loose opposition kick-out to fire home a seventh minute goal and Kilmurray was then on hand to add her second point of the contest before Laois finally opened their account through the boot of full-forward Ciara Burke. 

Westmeath responded to the latter score with white flag efforts from Dillon and Anna Jones (free) and while Jane Moore kicked a fine point for their O’Moore County rivals, a third from Kilmurray had Frank Browne’s outfit firmly in the driving seat. 

Dillon superbly split the posts to bring her personal haul up to 1-3 on 24 minutes and even though some last-ditch defending was required to snuff out Laois corner-forward Eva Galvin as she bore down on goal in the latter stages of the half, Westmeath were full value for their 1-8 to 0-2 interval buffer.

Laois were playing with a wind advantage on the resumption, however, and it took just over three minutes for them to match their opening period tally as substitute Emily Lacey kicked over a brace of points. Jones had a goal ruled out for a square ball in between these scores, but the Westmeath full-forward eventually got her side up and running in the second half with a 35th minute pointed free.

Lucy McCartan proceeded to join her cousin and club-mate Carr on the Lake County scoresheet as the third-quarter progressed and Dillon reinforced her attacking prowess with another excellent point under pressure. 

Lacey continued her impressive outing off the bench for Laois with a third point inside the final-quarter and Moore also added her second of the game as the O’Moore side gamely attempted to force their way back into the reckoning.

Substitutes Lauren Kearney and Emma Lawlor were also on target as the final whistle approached, but even though Mo Nerney knocked over a free on the stroke of full-time, an earlier score from Philippa Ruane ensured Westmeath secured provincial honours in accomplished fashion. 

Scorers – Westmeath: S Dillon 1-4, C Kilmurray 0-3, A Jones 0-2 (2f), V Carr, L McCartan, P Ruane 0-1 each.

Laois: E Lacey 0-3, J Moore 0-2, M Nerney 0-1 (f), C Burke, L Kearney, E Lawlor 0-1 each.

WESTMEATH: A Temple; L McCartan, S Murphy, F Coyle; C Gonoud, L Power, S Buckley; V Carr, A Roche; L McCartan, S Dillon, T Dillon; G Byrne, A Jones, C Kilmurray. Subs: A Ruane for Gonoud (37), P Ruane for T Dillon (51), F Walshe for Coyle (57), C Dunne for S Dillon (60).

LAOIS: E Barry; S Farrelly, F McEvoy, G Lalor; A Gorman, A Moore, A Moran; F Dooley, J Moore; S Havill, L Walsh, C Crowley; A Galvin, C Burke, M Nerney. Subs: E Lacey for Walsh (23), E Lawlor for Burke (38), L Kearney for Crowley (41), G Moran for Havill (46), A Byron for Lalor (50). 

Referee: Henri Clifford (Meath).

REPORT: Louth Retain Their TG4 Junior Title

TG4 LEINSTER JUNIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

Louth 2-8

Carlow 1-7

By Daire Walsh

The excellent Kate Flood helped herself to a personal haul of 2-3 at TEG Cusack Park in Mullingar on Sunday as Louth held off a spirited display from Carlow to successfully defend their TG4 Leinster Junior Football Championship title. 

Louth had already withstood a commendable fightback to claim a 5-8 to 2-15 round robin victory over the Barrowsiders at the Gaelic Grounds in Drogheda a fortnight ago and the reigning champions (who also defeated Carlow in last year’s decider) moved two points clear in the early moments of this encounter with consecutive scores from Eimear Byrne and Flood.

While Carlow opened their account through a Clíodhna Ní Shé free on nine minutes, Louth fired back with additional contributions from the dynamic attacking duo of Flood and Byrne.

Even though Elaine Ware bagged a second point for Carlow just shy of the first-quarter mark, three scores on the bounce from Laura Collins, team captain Aine Breen and Flood ensured Louth brought a 0-7 to 0-2 advantage into the interval.

Kevin Larkin’s side maintained their firm grip on the proceedings with a powerful point on the run from Ceire Nolan on the restart, before Flood calmly struck home on 35 minutes for her first goal of the game.

Although Aoibhin Webb added a white flag effort for Carlow at an awkward angle, excellent approach work from Byrne paved the way for Flood to the net for a second time in the 38th minute. 

This left Carlow with a mountain to climb for the remainder of the action, but the determined Barrowsiders gave themselves a fighting chance either side of the third-quarter mark. Their challenge was rejuvenated when Ware flicked the ball to the net after an attempt at a point rebounded off the post on 43 minutes and the gap was suddenly down to a manageable six in the wake of Ní Shé adding a quickfire brace. 

Aibha Kiernan and the evergreen Edel Hayden were also on target to leave just four points between the teams with just eight minutes of normal time remaining.

The pressure was certainly being ramped up on Louth, but – reminiscent of their men’s team in last weekend’s historic Leinster senior football championship triumph over Meath – the Wee County held onto possession for large stretches in the closing moments and ultimately came away with their eighth provincial junior crown. 

Scorers – Louth: K Flood 2-3, E Byrne 0-2, Á Breen, L Collins, C Nolan 0-1 each.

Carlow: E Ware 1-1, C Ní Shé 0-3 (2f), E Hayden, A Webb, A Kiernan 0-1 each.

LOUTH: R Lambe Fagan; S Matthews, E Hand, H Lambe Sally; L Byrne, S McLaughlin, A Russell; R Beirth, Á Breen; L White, E Byrne, E Murray; K Flood, L Collins, C Nolan. Subs: A Halligan for White (46), M Rooney for Collins (50), G McCrave for Lambe Sally (53).

CARLOW: N Hanley; S McCullagh, C Mahon, K Tunstead; T Lyons, A Carroll, R Bermingham; R Bailey, E Ware; B Nolan, E Hayden, E Molloy; A Webb, C Ní Shé, K Burke. Subs: A Kiernan for Webb (38), O Woods for Molloy (39-46, blood), Beibhin Nolan for Mahon (43), Woods for Bronagh Nolan (46), M Townsend for Hayden (53).

Referee: Paul McCaughey (Westmeath).